Conference Agenda

Monitoring progress towards policy goals such as the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires large-scale coordination of effort to assess the current state of biodiversity and track change. Current monitoring efforts and tools are developed by individual actors without being shared across organizations and borders, which can lead to the duplication of effort in some places while others have less resources to allocate to biodiversity monitoring and reporting. BON in a Box, developed by the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), is an open, transparent and collaborative analysis sharing platform that addresses this challenge. BON in a Box contains a modelling tool that connects analysis workflows contributed by the scientific community into automated pipelines that can be run locally or on the cloud. Currently, BON in a Box has a number of functional pipelines to calculate Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and indicators using a variety of data sources, including STAC catalogs such as the Planetary Computer. Pipelines using earth observation data to calculate EBVs and indicators are in development, as well as integrations with satellite processing platforms such as openEO.

This demonstration will give a brief overview of BON in a Box and walk through examples of how to use the tool to run an analysis, including an example of how to use BON in a Box to calculate EBVs and indicators using Earth observation data. Participants will be organized into breakout groups to explore how Earth observation data can be further utilized for monitoring biodiversity within BON in a Box, identify priority analyses, and provide opportunities for open question sessions throughout the event

The upcoming hands-on demonstration at BioSpace will showcase the Global Ecosystems Atlas, an innovative platform designed to map and monitor the world's ecosystems. This session will introduce participants to the platform's current capabilities, offer insights into its development, and provide a glimpse into its future functionalities.

Overview of the Global Ecosystems Atlas

The Global Ecosystems Atlas is a comprehensive, harmonized, open resource that provides detailed information on the extent of ecosystem distribution worldwide. It will combine existing high-quality ecosystem maps with new data generated through advanced Earth observation technologies, artificial intelligence, field data, and local expertise. The Atlas is designed to support a wide range of users, including policymakers, researchers, conservationists, and the general public, by offering accessible and actionable spatial data about ecosystems.

Current Capabilities to Explore:

1. Discovery of ecosystem distribution and diversity:

Discover how to navigate the Atlas’s interface to explore ecosystems across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms. Learn to zoom into specific regions, and visualize ecosystem classifications informed by the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology.

2. Integrated Data Sources:

Understand the diverse datasets feeding into the proof-of-concept Atlas platform, including the 45 national, subregional, regional and global datasets. The demonstration will cover how these data sources are harmonized to ensure quality and consistency.

3. Use Cases and Applications:

See practical examples of how harmonised ecosystem data is supporting cross-boarder conservation planning and environmental management. Case studies will illustrate its role in ongoing pilot projects, such as national mapping initiatives in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

Participants will have the chance to engage directly with the Atlas, explore regions of interest, and provide feedback. This is a unique opportunity to understand both the current capabilities and the exciting roadmap ahead for the Global Ecosystems Atlas.

The workshop aims to showcase and discuss the role of ecosystem accounting, enabled through Earth Observation (EO) data and advanced modelling technologies, to support biodiversity monitoring frameworks (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) and biodiversity applications (EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 actions). The System for Economic Environmental Accounts (SEEA) provides a methodological basis for three headline indicators of the monitoring framework of the KM-GBF, while EO provides a geospatial basis to generate SEEA EA accounts.

Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding in SEEA EA, its use in different policies and the link with biodiversity monitoring using current state-of-art data (Earth Observation) and technologies (modelling and tools). Participants will have the opportunity to share experiences and provide feedback on an ecosystem accounting Research and Development (R&D) roadmap.

The workshop is directed to foster links between experts from different communities: earth observation, modelling, biodiversity and accounting, and will be conducted in English. The audience is expected to have read the R&D roadmap (D19 at https://esa-people-ea.org/en/results/deliverables) prior to the workshop.

The workshop aims to equally distribute its time between presenting concepts (introductory) and experiences (case studies from innovative projects) and discussions (interactions) between the participants. At the end of the workshop several recommendations are expected to be formulated to improve the R&D roadmap to better capture the necessary actions to monitor biodiversity with ecosystem accounts using EO data and innovative modelling and technical solutions. A revision of the R&D roadmap will be conducted thereafter, which acts as an important input for several programs at ESA, EU Horizon and further.

In October/November of 2023, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted its first Biodiversity field and airborne campaign across terrestrial and aquatic environments in the South African Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR). From 4 airborne instruments (Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG), Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter (PRISM), Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES), and Land, Vegetation, and Ice Sensor (LVIS)) the BioSCape Campaign’s remote sensing data products provides an unprecedented level of image spectroscopy from VSWIR to TIR wavelengths as well as full-waveform laser altimeter measurements. Airborne data are supplemented with a rich combination of contemporaneous biodiversity-relevant field observations toward an approach to measure and understand functional, phylogenetic, and taxonomic biological diversity as components of ecosystem function.

A majority of the BioSCape Campaign data will be archived through the NASA-funded Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center (ORNL DAAC). The discipline-specific Center provides dataset content to NASA’s Earthdata Cloud which includes a standardized metadata called Common Metadata Repository (CMR), data discovery, and open access.

This hands-on demonstration will leverage a managed cloud environment to show programmatic discovery, access, and analysis of NASA BioSCape data/resources and concurrent orbital data. Included will be content and tutorials demonstrating derivation of estimates of biodiversity variables including:

• An overview of the BioSCape Campaign data acquisition

• NASA Earthdata Cloud: Search, Access, and Analysis Basics

• Explore BioSCape vegetation plot and image spectroscopy data

• Invasive species analysis from AVIRIS-NG and Vegetation Plot Data

• Vegetation Structural Diversity derived from LVIS and GEDI full waveform lidar data.

• Aquatic biodiversity estimates from PRISM, PACE, and EMIT

GBIF - the Global Biodiversity Information Facility - provides free and open access to over 3 billion species occurrence records to anyone with an account with the organisation. The use of this valuable data source is increasing year on year, with over 12000 peer-reviewed publications using GBIF-mediated data. t is a key data source for monitoring the state of biodiversity.

In this session, we aim to showcase the principles of good use of GBIF-mediated data and will address:

·       Data Sources and Standards - an introduction to GBIF data publication workflows and how the data is organised

·       Data Quality - key data quality issues that users should be aware of, and how to deal with such issues in data use

·       Data Access - the different mechanisms for accessing data including APIs, cloud computing and SQL downloads, and how to correctly cite data use

The session will be through a set of presentations, interspersed with guided navigation through GBIF resources on www.gbif.org, to support the effective use of GBIF-mediated data for all those who have used, or are planning to use, GBIF-mediated data.

· Grasslands and savannahs are key landscapes globally, whether as hay meadows, grazing marshes, open rangelands or woody clearings. They maintain biodiversity and food production, but also influence ecological processes including pollination, water supply, carbon sequestration, and climate regulation. They cover a significant part of the EU and 70 % of the world's agricultural land, resulting in grasslands that are both diverse and extensive habitats.

· These important habitats are currently facing numerous threats, agriculture conversion, tree plantations, intensification and abandonment, and may be considered to have been undervalued in conservation and restoration policies. However, European legislation (under the Habitats Directive) actively protects natural grasslands and requires the European Union Member States to take steps to avoid degradation in their protected sites with the Natura 2000 network, and reports on their actual conservation status. They highlight the urgent need for effective monitoring although until recently there have been some limitations to monitor their actual extent and ecosystem dynamics using remote sensing techniques. However, in recent years interest has increased, and new technologies have been used for monitoring different features related to degradation or sustainable land use.

· The aim of this workshop is to provide a forum to present and exchange information on novel grassland research, operational user requirements, monitoring approaches for biodiversity and land management practices. The workshop focuses on the advances in Earth Observation solutions to address grassland characteristics and properties, including

· Essential Biodiversity Variables, ecosystem extent and connectivity, biophysical parameters, species distribution, climate change impacts and ecosystem services. The final outcome will be recommendations and onward collaborations to support research and services to conserve and restore grasslands and savannahs worldwide.

· The workshop is organised by the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), the Global Grasslands and Savannahs Dialogue Platform organized by WWF and the EU Grassland Watch team.

Conservation of forest biodiversity at a global scale is directly dependent on understanding the factors influencing habitat structure. Yet, the standard metrics for assessing biodiversity (Essential Biodiversity Variables) do not capture 3D ecosystem complexity and are constrained to simplistic measures of ecosystem structure (e.g. canopy cover or tree height). Understanding the factors influencing more complex tree architectural traits in forests will support mapping and monitoring of forest biodiversity and the effectiveness of conservation efforts.

In this demonstration, we will introduce participants to the technology of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and the NASA-funded Global TLS Database (global-tls.net) as a method of capturing 3D structural biodiversity traits. We will cover the following topics:

1. TLS Acquisition, Technology and Limitations
2. Processing Approaches
3. Global TLS Database and Current Developments
4. Applications to Biodiversity Science

We will begin with a general introduction to TLS technology - exploring the field acquisition methods and considerations for users. We will continue, detailing common TLS processing approaches, from basic forest inventory measurements to advanced single-tree 3D reconstructions and plot-level forest structures. Next, we present recent developments from our community-built global database containing thousands of ground-based laser scanning plots - the Global TLS Database. The Global TLS Database uses an open source workflow to derive tree-level and plot-level architectural traits important for biodiversity. Finally, in this interactive demonstration, participants are encouraged to discuss and ask questions regarding applications and potential future implementations of TLS technology in the context of biodiversity measurements and trait extraction.

Overall, our goal is to provide participants with an introduction to TLS technology and a clear understanding of how to leverage the Global TLS Database for biodiversity mapping and future biodiversity science.

This demo session introduces researchers and policymakers to the innovative use of data cubes in biodiversity informatics and ecological modeling, as they are developed in the B-Cubed project (https://b-cubed.eu/). Participants will gain insights into practical applications for biodiversity monitoring and development of indicators, emphasizing collaboration and open science.

Session Outline:

1. Introduction to GBIF Data Cubes and the B-Cubed project (30 minutes). Participants will be introduced to biodiversity data cubes, their structure, and their applications in biodiversity monitoring. Key topics will include an overview of biodiversity data, common biases, and how the data cubes can be generated using the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) APIs. The principles of open science will be highlighted through practical examples.

2. Using Biodiversity Data Cube for Indicators (25 minutes). This section will provide a live demonstration of building workflows to generate indicators out of the GBIF data cubes. During the demonstration, the Phylogenetic Diversity indicator will be explained and applied to a specific case.

3. Ecological Modeling and Simulated Data Cubes (25 minutes). Participants will explore advanced analytical techniques for ecological modeling, focusing on climate-related impacts and adaptation strategies. The session will demonstrate how Virtual Suitability Data cubes can be generated and used in modeling workflows.

4. Open discussion (10 minutes).

Outcome:

Attendees will leave with an understanding of the potential of data cubes for biodiversity and ecological analysis, insights into open science practices, and inspiration to apply these techniques in their own work.

Earth Observations (EO) from space are essential for monitoring, understanding, and guiding biodiversity conservation but EO’s value is only partially exploited. This workshop’s main objective is to identify specific barriers to full exploitation and to propose activities that space agencies should consider to increase their impact. The outcome will provide input to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS, a coordinating group of the world’s civil space agencies) which is actively exploring ways to increase space agency engagement with biodiversity so societal impact can be increased. It will also provide input to several specific agencies that are in the process of long-term Earth science planning.

The workshop will start with several contextual presentations by agencies and others to set the stage for further discussions that will focus on questions such as:

* What are the barriers to using EO data for biodiversity conservation applications? Which barriers should agencies focus on to increase the impact of their data products?

* What EO data products are missing or inadequate and why? What should agencies do to address this, including, for example, developing more algorithms, generating more products, or increasing product quality?

* Assessing where EO has been successfully used for biodiversity conservation to date and the reasons for these successful applications

* What tools are needed to facilitate data product access and utilization for improved decision making?

* How can inter-agency and other partnerships be leveraged to increase the impact of EO on biodiversity conservation?

Answers to these and related questions will be consolidated into actions that space agencies can consider.