Unlocking biodiversity data: Prioritization and filling the gaps in biodiversity observation data in Europe

Florian T. Wetzel, Heather C. Bingham, Quentin Groom, Peter Haase, Urmas Kõljalg, Michael Kuhlmann, Corinne S. Martin, Lyubomir Penev, Tim Robertson, Hannu Saarenmaa, Dirk S. Schmeller, Stefan Stoll (+2 others)
2018 Biological Conservation  
A B S T R A C T Large quantities of biodiversity data are required to assess the current status of species, to identify drivers of population and distributional change, and to predict changes to biodiversity under future scenarios. Nevertheless, currently-available data are often not well-suited to these purposes. To highlight existing gaps, we assess the availability of species observation data in Europe, their geographic and temporal range, and their quality. We do so by reviewing the most
more » ... evant sources for European biodiversity observation data, and identifying important barriers to filling gaps. We suggest strategies, tools and frameworks to continue to fill these gaps, in addition to producing data suitable for generating Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). Our review of
doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2017.12.024 fatcat:d7omosiju5hrhckk3fobswaz5y