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Approaches to rapidly collecting global biodiversity data are increasingly important, but biodiversity blind spots persist. We organized a three-day Datathon event to improve the openness of local biodiversity data and facilitate data reuse by local researchers. The first Datathon, organized among microbial ecologists in Uruguay and Argentina assembled the largest microbiome dataset in the region to date and formed collaborative consortia for microbiome data synthesis.

Biodiversity is more than just the diversity of living species. It includes genetic and phenotypic diversity of organisms, functional diversity, interactions and the diversity of populations and whole ecosystems. The recent Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report confirmed that our planet experiences a rapid loss of biodiversity with dramatic consequences for mankind. Answers to scientifically and societal relevant questions can only be found based on the availability of data integrated from multiple sources and building on different knowledge domains in science and society. The FAIR data principles provide a framework towards such integration. To foster access to interoperable data, NFDI4BioDiversity focuses on the following six objectives: 1) Promoting research data management as an integral part of biodiversity research, 2) Enabling FAIRness of data, 3) Consolidating FAIRness with quality, 4) Embedding NFDI4BioDiversity into the (inter-)national landscape, 5) Addressing NFDI-wide cross-cutting topics and 6) Promoting collaborative governance, viability and sustainability of data infrastructure services and science. These objectives are implemented by the NFDI4BioDiversity work programme and its five task areas: Task Area 1 - Community engagement (2involve): This task area will integrate across different knowledge holders and take care of research data management requests related to biodiversity data. A large part of all species data is collected by volunteers in natural history societies, NGOs, museums and citizen science projects as well as collected by different authorities This task area includes 23 use cases with community-driven topics and cross-domain user groups. Task Area 2 - National and international networking (2connect): This task area ensures that any cross-domain activities and developments of NFDI4BioDiversity are coordinated and in-line with the overall development of the NFDI as well as inte

Im vorliegenden Beitrag identifizieren wir Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer Aufarbeitung bisher noch ungenutzter Datenquellen für raum-zeitliche Biodiversitätsanalysen in Deutschland. Im Rahmen des Syntheseprojekts sMon (https://www.idiv.de/smon) des Deutschen Zentrums für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig erprobt eine Arbeitsgemeinschaft aus Bundes- und Landesbehörden gemeinsam mit Fachgesellschaften, Verbänden und wissenschaftlichen Einrichtungen Methoden, wie heterogene Daten der letzten Jahrzehnte für retrospektive Trendanalysen genutzt werden können. Darauf aufbauend schlagen wir gangbare Wege zur Zukunft des deutschen Biodiversitätsmonitorings vor und illustrieren, wie Daten aus der Vergangenheit helfen können, Monitoring künftig zu gestalten. In this article, we identify possibilities and limits of processing as yet unused data sources for spatio-temporal biodiversity trend analyses inGermany. The sMon synthesis project (https://www.idiv.de/smon) of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzigis a joint working group of federal and state authorities cooperating with natural history societies, nature protection organisations and scientific institutions. In this group, we develop and evaluate methods for using heterogeneous data for retrospective trend analyses over the last decades. Building on this, we propose viable approaches for the future of German biodiversity monitoring and illustrate how data from the past can help to shape monitoring in the future.

Despite conservation commitments, most countries still lack large-scale biodiversity monitoring programs to track progress toward agreed targets. Monitoring program design is frequently approached from a top-down, data-centric perspective that ignores the socio-cultural context of data collection. A rich landscape of people and organizations, with a diversity of motivations and expertise, independently engages in biodiversity monitoring. This diversity often leads to complementarity in activities across places, time periods, and taxa. In this Perspective, we propose a framework for aligning different efforts to realize large-scale biodiversity monitoring through a networked design of stakeholders, data, and biodiversity schemes. We emphasize the value of integrating independent biodiversity observations in conjunction with a backbone of structured core monitoring, thereby fostering broad ownership and resilience due to a strong partnership of science, society, policy, and individuals. Furthermore, we identify stakeholder-specific barriers and incentives to foster joint collaboration toward effective large-scale biodiversity monitoring.

Biodiversity is more than just the diversity of living species. It includes genetic and phenotypic diversity of organisms, functional diversity, interactions and the diversity of populations and whole ecosystems. The recent Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report confirmed that our planet experiences a rapid loss of biodiversity with dramatic consequences for mankind. Answers to scientifically and societal relevant questions can only be found based on the availability of data integrated from multiple sources and building on different knowledge domains in science and society. The FAIR data principles provide a framework towards such integration. To foster access to interoperable data, NFDI4BioDiversity focuses on the following six objectives: 1) Promoting research data management as an integral part of biodiversity research, 2) Enabling FAIRness of data, 3) Consolidating FAIRness with quality, 4) Embedding NFDI4BioDiversity into the (inter-)national landscape, 5) Addressing NFDI-wide cross-cutting topics and 6) Promoting collaborative governance, viability and sustainability of data infrastructure services and science. These objectives are implemented by the NFDI4BioDiversity work programme and its five task areas: Task Area 1 - Community engagement (2involve): This task area will integrate across different knowledge holders and take care of research data management requests related to biodiversity data. A large part of all species data is collected by volunteers in natural history societies, NGOs, museums and citizen science projects as well as collected by different authorities This task area includes 23 use cases with community-driven topics and cross-domain user groups. Task Area 2 - National and international networking (2connect): This task area ensures that any cross-domain activities and developments of NFDI4BioDiversity are coordinated and in-line with the overall development of the NFDI as well as inte

Soil organisms, including earthworms, are a key component of terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity, their distribution, and the threats affecting them. We compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from 6928 sites in 57 countries as a basis for predicting patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass. We found that local species richness and abundance typically peaked at higher latitudes, displaying patterns opposite to those observed in aboveground organisms. However, high species dissimilarity across tropical locations may cause diversity across the entirety of the tropics to be higher than elsewhere. Climate variables were found to be more important in shaping earthworm communities than soil properties or habitat cover. These findings suggest that climate change may have serious implications for earthworm communities and for the functions they provide., Unión Europea. Horizonte 2020, Unión Europea. FP7, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICCIN), sDiv [Synthesis Centre of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Academy of Finland, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, DOB Ecology, TULIP Laboratory of Excellence, Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Tarbiat Modares University, Aurora Organic Dairy, UGC (NERO), Slovak Research and Development Agency, Science for Global Development through Wageningen University, Norman Borlaug LEAP Programme and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, U.S. Department of the Navy, Commander Pacific Fleet, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India, Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) of the U.S. Department of Defense, Maranhão State Research Foundation (FAPEMA), Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, Colorado Wheat Research Foundation; Zone Atelier Alpes, French National Research Agency, Austrian Science Fund, Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank Frankfurt am Main, Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, SÉPAQ, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland, Science Foundation Ireland, University of Toronto (Faculty of Forestry), Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve, NKU College of Arts and Sciences, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft, Mountain Agriculture Research Unit of the University of Innsbruck, Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala, UNEP/GEF/TSBF-CIAT, GRDC, AWI, LWRRDC, DRDC, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), National Agency of Scientific and Technological Promotion (FONCyT), Universidad Nacional de Luján/FONCyT, Fonds de recherche sur la nature et les technologies du Québec, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, CONACYT, NSF, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dean’s Scholar Program at UIC, Garden Club of America Zone VI Fellowship in Urban Forestry from the Casey Tree Endowment Fund, J. E. Weaver Competitive Grant from the Nebraska Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at DePaul University, Elmore Hadley Award for Research in Ecology and Evolution from the UIC Dept. of Biological Sciences, Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (CICYT), Yokohama National University, MEXT KAKENHI, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI, ADEME, Syngenta Philippines, UPSTREAM, LTSER, Comisión Europea, National Science and Technology Base Resource Survey Project of China, McKnight Foundation, Program of Fundamental Researches of Presidium of Russian Academy of Sciences, Brazilian National Council of Research CNPq, French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

In the spirit of our common interest to build what could become an international beacon for sharing the benefits of high-quality research data and research data management, the signing NFDI consortia strongly support the idea that NFDI must build on a coordinated and inclusive effort fostering the FAIR data principles. Recalling the challenges that interoperability and sharing of data faces, the 21 consortia signing this declaration agreed on a common list of cross-cutting topics.

Concern about the functional consequences of unprecedented loss in biodiversity has prompted biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) research to become one of the most active fields of ecological research in the past 25 years. Hundreds of experiments have manipulated biodiversity as an independent variable and found compelling support that the functioning of ecosystems increases with the diversity of their ecological communities. This research has also identified some of the mechanisms underlying BEF relationships, some context-dependencies of the strength of relationships, as well as implications for various ecosystem services that humankind depends upon. In this chapter, we argue that a multitrophic perspective of biotic interactions in random and non-random biodiversity change scenarios is key to advance future BEF research and to address some of its most important remaining challenges. We discuss that the study and the quantification of multitrophic interactions in space and time facilitates scaling up from small-scale biodiversity manipulations and ecosystem function assessments to management-relevant spatial scales across ecosystem boundaries. We specifically consider multitrophic conceptual frameworks to understand and predict the context-dependency of BEF relationships. Moreover, we highlight the importance of the eco-evolutionary underpinnings of multitrophic BEF relationships. We outline that FAIR data (meeting the standards of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability) and reproducible processing will be key to advance this field of research by making it more integrative. Finally, we show how these BEF insights may be implemented for ecosystem management, society, and policy. Given that human well-being critically depends on the multiple services provided by diverse, multitrophic communities, integrating the approaches of evolutionary ecology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology in future BEF research will be key to refine conser

In the spirit of our common interest to build what could become an international beacon for sharing the benefits of high-quality research data and research data management, the signing NFDI consortia strongly support the idea that NFDI must build on a coordinated and inclusive effort fostering the FAIR data principles. Recalling the challenges that interoperability and sharing of data faces, the 21 consortia signing this declaration agreed on a common list of cross-cutting topics.