Biodiversity Information System for Europe - Topics

Ecosystem services

2012-04-10T14:53:46Z

Ecosystem services are the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being (TEEB D0). They support directly or indirectly our survival and quality of life (Harrison and RUBICODE consortium, 2009).

Ecosystem services can be categorized in four main types:

Provisioning services are the products obtained from ecosystems such as food, fresh water, wood, fiber, genetic resources and medicines.

Regulating services are defined as the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes such as climate regulation, natural hazard regulation, water purification and waste management, pollination or pest control.

Habitat services highlight the importance of ecosystems to provide habitat for migratory species and to maintain the viability of gene-pools.

Cultural services include non-material benefits that people obtain from ecosystems such as spiritual enrichment, intellectual development, recreation and aesthetic values.

Some examples of key services provided by ecosystems are described below:

Climate regulation is one of the most important ecosystem services both globally and on a European scale. European ecosystems play a major role in climate regulation, since Europe’s terrestrial ecosystems represent a net carbon sink of some 7-12% of the 1995 human generated emissions of carbon (ESAC, 2009). Peat soils contain the largest single store of carbon and Europe has large areas in its boreal and cool temperate zones. However, the climate regulating function of peatlands depends on land use and intensification (such as drainage and conversion to agriculture) and is likely to have profound impacts on the soil capacity to store carbon and on carbon emissions (great quantities of carbon are being emitted from drained peatlands).

Water purification by ecosystems has a high importance for Europe, because of the heavy pressure on water from a relatively densely populated region. Both vegetation and soil organisms have profound impacts on water movements: vegetation is a major factor in controlling floods, water flows and quality; vegetation cover in upstream watersheds can affect quantity, quality and variability of water supply; soil micro-organisms are important in water purification; and soil invertebrates influence soil structure, decreasing surface runoff (EASAC, 2009; Turbé et al., 2010). Forests, wetlands and protected areas with dedicated management actions often provide clean water at a much lower cost than man-made substitutes like water treatment plants (TEEB, 2009).

Pests and diseases are regulated in ecosystems through the actions of predators and parasites as well as by the defence mechanisms of their prey. One example of these regulating services is provided by insectivorous birds in farms that use most of their land for agriculture.

Soil biodiversity is a major factor in soil formation, which supports a range of provisioning services such as food, fiber and fuel provision and is fundamental to soil fertility, being a highly important ecosystem service in Europe. In addition, a diverse soil community will help prevent loss of crops due to soil-borne pest diseases (EASAC, 2009; Turbé et al., 2010).

Cultural services provided by ecosystems are also very important to EU citizens. Evidence can be found in the scale of membership of conservation organizations. For example, in the United Kingdom the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a membership of over one million and an annual income of over £50 million (EASAC, 2009).

Although most people associate them mainly with nature conservation and tourism, well managed protected areas can provide vital ecosystem services, such as water purification and retention, erosion control and reduced flooding; they support food and health security by maintaining crop diversity and species, play an important role in climate change adaptation and contribute to mitigation through the storage and sequestration of carbon.

Further reading:

The EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)
BISE -> Ecosystem Assessments in Europe
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on objectives 2, 3, 7, 8 and target B2.2

b) Country profiles on objectives 2, 3, 7 and 8

Selected links:

BIOMES - Biodiversity, Water and Ecosystem Services (JRC)

PEER Research on Ecosystem Services

Rationalising Biodiversity Conservation in Dynamic Ecosystems (RUBICODE)

Assessing Large scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM)

SCALES project

The TEEB Map of case studies

Species

2012-02-17T10:27:39Z

The geographical distribution of species results from a varity of different factors like relief, temperature and vegetation as well as human activities. Compared with the other continents, Europe has relatively few animal species. This is due to the fact that Europe has been largely covered several times by ice during the last million years and also due to the human activities of deforestation, agriculture, and industrialization that have taken place during the last few thousand years. Many European species are characterized by their successful adaptation to life close to humans.

Here you can find more information on selected species groups:

Amphibians - Mammals - Reptiles

see also Genetic resources - Invasive species

Further reading

EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report
Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report country profiles on target 1.3 - and community level
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets A1.3, A9.4 and A10.1

b) Country profiles on targets A1.3 and A9.4

Selected links

EUNIS species

Euro+Med Plantbase

European Register of Marine Species

Fauna Europaea

FishBase

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES

Global Register of Migratory Species GROMS

The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats Eurobats

The Bern Convention

The Birds Directive

The Habitats Directive

EU Commission activities on Bees

EU Cormorant Platform

Genetic resources

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Animals, plants, micro-organisms and invertebrates which are used for Food, Agriculture and Forestry are called Genetic Resources. Together with the components which fulfill agri-ecological functions they are grouped under the concept Agrobiodiversity.

Genetic resources for Food, Agriculture and Forestry include both wild species and domesticated forms. Reflecting the main areas of use – crop production, animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries and micro-organisms – they are grouped in

Plant genetic resources
Animal genetic resources
Forest genetic resources
Aquatic genetic resources and
Genetic resources of micro-organisms and invertebrates

Conservation strategies

A strategy for the conservation of genetic resources includes the application of in situ/on farm measures and ex situ methods. These are complementary options to preserve the diversity of genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Since the 1970s efforts have been made to mitigate the loss of variability of plant genetic resouces (PGR) by establishing in ex situ collections Genebanks in Europe maintain approximately one third of the world's ex situ crop germplasm collections. The CBD fostered the in situ conservation of species. Article 2 specifically recognizes domesticated and cultivated species as an important component of global biological diversity.

Plant genetic resources

Around 10 000 plant species have been used for human food since the origin of agriculture. Today, only about 150 plant species make up the diets of the majority of the world's population. Of these, just 12 species provide over 70 percent of food, while four – rice, maize, wheat and potatoes – make up over 50 percent of the food supply and only 30 crops provide 90 percent of the world's calorie intake.

Europe has a large responsibility for plant genetic resources, both within the region and in respect to other parts of the world. European countries and institutions have the tradition and very often also advanced technologies needed for ensuring the sustainable use and conservation of plant genetic resources in agriculture and forestry. Genebanks in Europe maintain approximately one third of the world's ex situ crop germplasm collections.

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are species closely related to crops (including crop progenitors) and are defined by their potential ability to contribute beneficial traits to crops, such as pest or disease resistance, yield improvement or stability.

Crop wild relatives have been used to improve the quality and yield of our crops since thousands of years. They helped to improve resistance against pests and diseases and to improve crop tolerance to stressful abiotic conditions such as drought. They have also raised the nutritional contents of crops, including protein in durum wheat, calcium in potato, and Provitamin A in tomato.

According to FAOs second State of the World PGRFA report the interest in and awareness of the importance of conserving CWR, both ex situ and in situ, and its use in crop improvement have increased substantially.

From 50 000–60 000 CWR worldwide (same genus as crop) 700 CWR are considered as highest priority from a global perspective, being the species that comprise the primary and secondary genepools of the world’s most important food crops.

A catalogue of CWR for the Euro/Mediterranean region with 25 000 species has been created by the PGR-Forum. As a first step towards the creation of a European inventory of in situ CWR populations, the ECPGR has called for focal points to be appointed with responsibility for developing national in situ inventories.

Europe is an important centre for crop wild relative diversity. Major crops such as oats (Avena sativa), sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), apple (Malus domestica), annual meadow grass (Festuca pratensis), perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens), have wild relatives in Europe. Many minor crops have also been developed and domesticated in the region; such as arnica (Arnica montana), asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), lettuce (Lactuca sativa), sage (Salvia officinalis), raspberries and blackberries (Rubus sp.), mints (Mentha sp.) and chives (Allium sp.) (Maxted 2008, PGR-Forum, 2005).

Further reading:

EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets A2.1 and A5.2

b) Country profiles on targets A2.1 and A5.2

Selected links:

The European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR)

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resouces for Food and Agriculture

The State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The Crop Wild Relative Specialist Group (CWRSG)

Botanical Gardens Europe

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)

European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP)

The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

EC Genetic Resources in Agriculture

Agrobiodiversity-diversitas

Climate change

2012-03-23T15:15:08Z

Climate change impacts biodiversity through a complex interaction of species and their habitats. Both the structure of habitats and their ecological functions will change in a new climate regime. But the movement of species into or out of a community will also affect both the physical elements of the ecosystem and other species. Changes to local conditions and resources will thus influence a species' ability to survive. And if a species can no longer survive in an ecosystem, it has two choices. If it can disperse rapidly enough and an accessible and suitable alternative habitat exists, it can relocate. Or it can gradually disappear in different locations and eventually go extinct.

Whether directly or indirectly, climate change can produce a variety of effects on populations, including:

- distribution changes: due to habitat loss;

- range changes: either contraction or expansion, relating to their dispersal ability;

- phenological changes: changes in timing of life stages;

- ecological changes: mismatching of species life cycle events and food sources, decoupled predator-prey relationships, new invasions and spread of already established invasive alien species.

Under a new climatic regime, therefore, individuals of some species may be able to colonise new, more suitable areas. But a variety of factors could limit the availability or accessibility of such areas, including land use changes and fragmentation, hydrological changes and nitrification, and sea level. New species assemblages and changes in the relative abundance of populations are expected in some ecosystems. Changes in species composition, habitat structure and ecosystem functioning will be noticed and, in combination, may affect the resilience of ecosystems and the services they deliver to humanity.

Invasive species

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Invasive alien species (IAS) are non-native species whose introduction and/or spread outside their natural past or present ranges pose a threat to biodiversity. They occur in all major groups, including animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms, and are considered at least on islands to be the second most important reason for biodiversity loss worldwide (after direct habitat loss or destruction) (Shine et al., 2009).

About 10 000 alien species have been registered in Europe. Some of these species were introduced on purpose and remain economically important. However, a proportion of the alien species established cause significant damage to native biodiversity and can be classified as invasive alien species according to the Convention on Biological Diversity (EEA, 2009).

Invasive species can cause great damage to native species by competing with them for food, eating them, spreading diseases, causing genetic changes through inter-breeding with them and disrupting various aspects of the food web and the physical environment (EEA, 2010b).

There is an upward trend in the establishment of new species, with impacts on biodiversity expected to increase because of the growing number of species involved, and an increasing vulnerability of ecosystems to invasions, which results from other pressures such as habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, over-exploitation and climate change (EEA, 2009).

Globalization, particularly increased trade and tourism, have resulted in an upsurge in the number and type of alien species arriving in Europe. Marine and coastal areas are being drastically affected as a result of increased shipping and the building of canals between isolated seas. In order to gain better understanding of invasive alien species and their impact on European biodiversity a list of the worst invasive alien species threatening biodiversity in Europe has been established. The list currently contains 163 species or species groups (EEA, 2010).

Further reading:

EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report

EEA technical report: Towards an early warning and information system for invasive alien species (IAS)
threatening biodiversity in Europe
IEEP report: Assessment to support continued development of the EU Strategy to combat invasive alien species
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on objective 5

b) Country profiles on objective 5

selected links

European Commission: The EU stragey on Invasive Alien Species

Indicator: SEBI 2010 Invasive alien species in Europe

Information Europe: Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe - DAISIE

Information Europe: European Network on Invasive Alien Species - NOBANIS

Information Global: Global Invasive Species Information Network- GISIN

Database Global: Global Invasive Species Database - GISD

Fragmentation

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Europe has faced more habitat and ecosystem fragmentation than any other continent. European ecosystems are literally cut to pieces by urban sprawl and a rapidly expanding transport and energy network. Recent statistics from the EEA illustrate just how significant these trends are. Some 8 000 km² were concreted over during the 1990s, representing an increase in artificial areas of 5% in just 10 years. In the EU, around 1 500 ha of mainly agricultural land are lost every day to infrastructure and urbanisation. This is equivalent to losing the entire agricultural land area of the Netherlands every 3–4 years.

This has weakened the resilience of once biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Fragmentation, particularly when due to infrastructure development, reduces the opportunities for organisms to disperse and affects their ecological needs (e.g. access to specific habitats, sufficient area for food and breeding). If ecosystems however become too small or isolated, they may stop providing us with valuable services such as food and freshwater. These pressures have also major consequences for the long term functioning of protected area networks such as Natura 2000 – with sites frequently being "islands" in a landscape that does not allow for dispersal and genetic exchange.

Whilst agricultural and wetland areas have been cut or lost, forest area has increased over Europe. However, this gain of net area is not uniformly distributed across Europe. When looking at local changes in spatial forest pattern, forest losses occur, resulting in local fragmentation of forest cover and connectivity loss. These processes are likely to have ecological effects. Dam construction, canalisation and drainage can have similar effects in freshwater systems and have a strong impact on migratory fish. A SEBI 2010 indicator on river fragmentation is under development.

The importance of maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems and increasing green infrastructure in Europe is critical in the context of climate change. Areas of relatively low fragmentation can show good examples of making better use of existing road networks instead of building new roads. Integrated planning can ensure that Europe's limited land is used in a more efficient way, giving multi-purpose benefits to biodiversity and man.

further reading

Land use change

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Human land use, and its influence on land cover, is a major factor in the distribution and functioning of ecosystems, and thus in the delivery of ecosystem services. Our demands for food, forest products and renewable energy all compete for land as a resource. The landscape to a large extent reflects the choices that we make in this regard.

For analysing the relationship between land use changes and their impacts on biodiversity, land cover and land use information is needed at different scales – global, European and national. Land-use and maritime use data are also a prerequisite for spatial planning at local and regional level.

Recent statistics from the EEA illustrate just how significant current land use trends in Europe change our environment. In the EU, around 1 500 ha of mainly agricultural land are lost every day to infrastructure and urbanisation. This is equivalent to losing the entire agricultural land area of the Netherlands every 3–4 years.

Better spatial planning could minimize the impacts of land use changes threatening biodiversity and ecosystems. Examples of responses to those threats are the implementation of Green Infrastructure via integrated spatial planning approaches or Integrated Environmental Management Plans in Urban areas. Impact analysis calls for the thorough application of 'Environmental Impact Assessments' for individual projects such as a dam, motorway, airport or factory, and of 'Strategic Environmental Assessment' for plans, programmes and policies. Towards our seas, the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Maritime Spatial planning highlight the need for intelligent planning on land and water.

selected links

Land cover and land use information

BISE->Topics->Green Infrastructure

Integrated Environmental Management Plans in Urban areas

Environmental Assessment - EIA and SEA

Integrated Coastal Zone Mangement - ICZM

Maritime spatial planning

Pollution

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

All forms of pollution pose a serious threat to biodiversity, but in particular nutrient loading, primarily of nitrogen and phosphorus, which is a major and increasing cause of biodiversity loss and ecosystem dysfunction (CBD, 2010a). Atmospheric nitrogen deposition represents a major threat to European biodiversity and a serious challenge for the conservation of natural habitats and species. In addition, nitrogen compounds can lead to eutrophication of ecosystems.

For many European ecosystem types, studies have concluded that nitrogen deposition results in loss of species richness. Peatland ecosystems provide an example of how species replacement, resulting from nitrogen deposition, may alter ecosystems functionality. For example, the carbon sequestration capacity of rain fed (ombrotrophic) bog ecosystems decreases when subjected to elevated nitrogen inputs (COST, 2009).

The critical load of nutrient nitrogen is exceeded by more than 1 200 equivalents nitrogen per ha and year in western France, some parts of Belgium and the Netherlands, and the North of Italy.

Source: Coordination Centre for Effects (CCE), European Critical Loads Database 2008

Pollution continues to be a major problem affecting most of the European seas, in spite of the reduction in point sources (e.g. sewage outfall pipes, fish farm effluents, etc.) of nutrients in some areas. Nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment can result in a chain of undesirable effects, starting with excessive growth of planktonic algae, which increases the amount of organic matter settling to the seabed. This accumulation may be associated with changes in species composition and altered functioning of the food web.

Further reading:

EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report
Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report country profiles on target 2.4 and 3.2 - and community level
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets A2.4 and A3.2

b) Country profiles on targets A2.4 and A3.2

Selected links:

Coordination Centre for Effects

FATE and the impact of pollutans

EEA core set indicator on exposure of ecosystems to acidification, eutrophication and ozone

SEBI indicator on critical load exceedance for nitrogen

Overexploitation

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

The unsustainable use of natural resources and overexploitation, which occurs when harvesting exceeds reproduction of wild plant and animal species, continues to be major a threat to biodiversity (CBD, 2010b).

The ecological footprint analysis compares human demands on nature with the biosphere's ability to regenerate resources and maintain ecosystem services. It does this by assessing the biologically productive land and marine area required to produce the resources consumed and to absorb the corresponding waste, using available technology (TEEB, 2009). Overall biological resources use and waste emission is well above the biological capacity available within Europe, showing that the continent cannot sustainably meet its consumption demands within its own borders. The EU-27 on its own has a Footprint of 4.7 global hectares per person, twice the size of its biocapacity (EEA, 2009). Europe’s high per capita consumption and waste production means that its impact also extends well beyond its borders (EC, 2008).

Overfishing is still widespread across the pan-European region with 88% of Community fish stocks fished down beyond maximum sustainable yields (meaning that less fishing pressure now would allow stocks to recover); thirty per cent of Community fish stocks are overfished outside safe biological limits that may not allow their recovery (EEA, 2010c).

Non sustainable forest management, intensification measures, the drainage of peatlands and wet forest, fertilization and forest-tree genetic ‘improvement’ have had a particularly negative effect on the biodiversity values of forests (EEA, 2008b). Whilst wood harvesting in the EU is largely sustainable, deadwood (which is a key indicator for forest biodiversity and the conservation value of a forest) remains well below optimal levels from a biodiversity perspective in most European countries (EEA, 2009).

Intensive agriculture, as currently practiced in Europe, is centred on crop monoculture with minimization of associated species. These systems offer high yields of single products, but depend on high rates of use of fertilizers and pesticides. The maintenance of high productivity over time is unlikely to be sustainable in the face of disturbance, disease, soil erosion and overuse of natural capital (for example water).

Pressures on European water resources have increased in recent decades and in many locations agriculture, energy supply, industry, public water supply and tourism pose a threat to water resources, with demand often exceeding availability. The increase in artificial storage volumes in turns reduces the share of water allocated to natural systems and increases their fragmentation because of damming. Over-abstraction and prolonged periods of low rainfall or drought have frequently reduced river flows, lowered lake and groundwater levels and dried up wetlands. In addition, salt water increasingly intrudes into ‘over-pumped’ aquifers throughout Europe (EEA, 2010a).

read more from the EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets A3.5, A3.6, A3.7 and objective 8

b) Country profiles on targets A3.5, A3.6, A3.7 and objective 8

Tipping points

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Small changes can make a big difference for the earth system. Beyond certain thresholds, known as ‘tipping points’, ecosystems may collapse and transform into distinctly different states.

The tipping points are a major concern for decision-makers because of their potentially large impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate change and human well-being. Accoding to the Global Biodiversity Outlook synthesis report of the CBD it can be extremely difficult for societies to adapt to rapid and potentially irreversible shifts in the functioning and character of an ecosystem on which they depend. While it is almost certain that tipping points will occur in the future, the dynamics in most cases cannot yet be predicted with enough precision and advance warning to allow for specific and targeted approaches to avoid them, or to mitigate their impacts. Responsible risk management may therefore require a precautionary approach to human activities known to drive biodiversity loss.

A tipping point is defined, for the purposes of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, as a situation in which an ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state, with significant changes to biodiversity and the services to people it underpins, at a regional or global scale. Tipping points also have at least one of the following characteristics:

The change becomes self-perpetuating through so-called positive feedbacks, for example deforestation reduces regional rainfall, which increases fire-risk, which causes forest dieback and further drying.
There is a threshold beyond which an abrupt shift of ecological states occurs, although the threshold point can rarely be predicted with precision.
The changes are long-lasting and hard to reverse.
There is a significant time lag between the pressures driving the change and the appearance of impacts, creating great difficulties in ecological management.

(source : Global Biodiversity Outlook3 synthesis report of the CBD)

read more from the EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report

selected links

Global Biodiversity Outlook 3

EU FP7 project: Arctic Tipping Points

Protected areas

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

According to IUCN's new definition, a protected area is a 'clearly' defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values (Dudley, 2008).

With more than 100 000 sites designated in 52 countries, Europe accounts for more protected areas than any other region. To some extent this reflects the high pressure on land use arising from agriculture, transport and urban development in Europe.

Protected areas have long been the only way to preserve remarkable natural assets from adverse land use. The size of Europe’s designated areas varies greatly, ranging from an individual tree, such as the Kačja smreka in Godovic, Slovenia, to over 97 million hectares (ha) for a site in Greenland. Ninety per cent of sites are less than 1000 ha, however.

• Protected areas provide a wide range of services in a context of increasing pressures and a rapidly changing environment.

• Europe is the region with the greatest number of protected areas in the world but they are relatively small in size.

• Europe's Natura 2000, unique in the world and still young, and the Emerald network under development, are international European networks of protected areas that catalyse biodiversity conservation.

The Natura 2000 network

Natura 2000 is an EUwide network of nature protection areas established under the 1992 Habitats Directive. The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conservation designated by Member States under the Habitats Directive, and also incorporates Special Protection Areas which they designate under the 1979 Birds Directive. It also applies to the marine environment. The Natura 2000 network consists currently of nearly 26 000 protected areas and has a total area of more that 850 000 sqkm, representing approximately 18 % of the total EU terrestrial area.

The Emerald network

The Emerald Network is an ecological network which was launched by the Council of Europe in compliance with Resolution 4 and 6 of the the Bern Convention.

It involves all the European Union states, some non-Community states and a number of African states. The Emerald Network is based on the same principles as Natura 2000, and represents its de facto extension to non-Community countries.

Further reading:

The EU 2010 Biodiversity Baseline report
EEAs message on protected areas
EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets A1.1, A1.2, A3.6, A4.3, A9.4, B2.5 and B3.1

b) Country profiles on targets A1.1, A1.2 and A3.6

Selected links:

More on Natura 2000 from DG ENV web page

Building the Natura 2000 network

search Life project database

Natura 2000 map viewer

Data on Natura 2000

Statistics on Natura 2000

Digital Observatory for Protected Areas (DOPA)

The Emerald Network

Nationally Designated Areas (CDDA)

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)

Protectedplanet.net - WDPA map viewer

Green infrastructure

2012-03-14T10:34:12Z

Green infrastructure and the wider countryside

Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation are by far the biggest drivers of terrestrial biodiversity loss at EU level over the past 50 years. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Europe's territory is more fragmented than any other continent.

This is largely due to the fact that vast areas have been transformed into urban zones or cut up by transport infrastructures. In addition, traditional land use practices have been replaced by more intensive, mechanised and industrial-scale activities, especially in the agricultural and forestry sectors. This has weakened the resilience of once biodiversity-rich ecosystems.

If ecosystems become too small, depleted or isolated, they may stop providing us with valuable services such as food and freshwater. These pressures have also major consequences for the long term functioning of protected area networks such as Natura 2000 – with sites frequently being "islands" in a landscape that does not allow for dispersal and genetic exchange.

Europe's main contribution to reverse this trend and to link and strengthen various ecosystems in urban and rural areas will be Green Infrastructure. It consists of spatially or functionally connected areas which maintain ecological coherence as an essential condition for healthy ecosystems. Its added value however comes from broader investments in natural capital with a view to 'greening' existing infrastructure and strengthening the functionality of ecosystems for delivering goods and services as well as mitigating and adapting to climate change effects, and enhancing the quality of life (health, tourism, conserving historic and cultural heritage).

Green Infrastructure is built up of natural and man-made, rural and urban elements. It encompasses ecological networks, by ensuring the ecological coherence of the Natura 2000 Network. Green Infrastructure includes reforestation zones, green bridges and green roofs, green urban areas, fish migration channels, floodplain restoration and flood-retention facilities as well as natural areas, high-value farmland and forest areas, which demonstrate the advantages of nature-based solutions to purely technical ones, or innovative planning approaches for intelligent, multi-purpose land use.

European Commission on green infrastructure

LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity Projects

2012-02-07T14:23:36Z

Between 1992 and 2010, LIFE has co-financed over 1 100 projects that improve the conservation status of endangered species and habitats and contribute to halting the loss of biodiversity, and a new call for new proposals is launched every year. You can find out all about these projects on the LIFE web site. In particular you can:

consult the 20 LIFE Nature thematic publications which highlights particularly successful projects on specific topics such as wetlands, grasslands, forests, marine, birds, plants, invasive alien species, military sites or communicating Natura 2000.
consult the thematic pages dedicated to coasts, seas and fisheries, forests, grasslands, scrublands and bogs, rivers and lakes, wetlands, and animal and plant species, which provides information on the recent and on-going projects in each theme, grouped by sub theme (e.g. wetland projects are divided into coastal wetlands, bogs, Mediterranean wetlands, etc) .
consult the LIFE project database, which contains detailed information on every LIFE project and allows you to search by country, year, theme, keyword, species, habitats or Natura 2000 site.

Ecosystems and habitats

2012-03-06T11:48:42Z

The ecosystem concept describes the interrelationships between living organisms and the nonliving environment. The CBD defines an "ecosystem" as a "dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit". The ecosystem approach aims at an integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way.

Due to its physical geography and the long history of cultural development Europe harbours a huge variety of ecosystems. Given the inherent complexities of the ecosystem approach the following links provide information on the major broad ecosystem types:

Agro-ecosystems and grasslands - Coastal - Forest - Ice / Rock / Polar - Islands

Lakes, rivers and wetlands - Marine - Mountains - Heath and scrubs - Urban

In the fields of nature conservation and biodiversity the common meaning of the term ‘habitat’ is a group of animals and plants in association with their environment. Habitats considered by experts to require particular attention at a European scale are covered by the EU Habitats Directive. There are currently 231 habitat types listed on Annex I of the Habitats Directive.

SEBI - Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators

2012-03-30T14:59:21Z

The Pan-European SEBI initiative was launched in 2005. Its aim was to develop a European set of biodiversity indicators – based on those already existing, plus new indicators as necessary – to assess and inform about progress towards the 2010 targets. From its inception SEBI linked the global framework set by the Convention on Biological Diversity with regional and national indicator initiatives.

SEBI is a partnership between the EEA (the European Environment Agency), its Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (ETC/BD), DG Environment of the European Commission, the Czech Republic (as lead country for the Kiev Resolution action plan on biodiversity indicators, ECNC (the European Centre for Nature Conservation), UNEP/ PEBLDS Secretariat, and UNEP-WCMC (the World Conservation Monitoring Centre). The strategic orientation of the work has been undertaken by a Coordination Team with representatives from the above organisations.

Since, 2005, the Coordination Team has set up several Expert groups involving more than 120 experts from European countries as well as Non-Governmental Organisations. Supported by expert contributions, the first set of 26 SEBI indicators was chosen at the end of 2006.

One of the principal working methods of SEBI is to build on current monitoring and available data to avoid duplication of efforts and to complement and not replace other activities to describe, model and understand biodiversity and the pressures upon it. This means that a large part of the 26 SEBI indicators originates from various external ongoing programmes and processes at the national, European and global levels.

From the very beginning, the proposed set of indicators has been seen holistically, stressing mutual relationships among the individual indicators and their power to deal with uncertainty. Special attention was paid to the task to produce user-friendly indicators. Furthermore SEBI aimed at improving the provision of information to policy-makers along the DPSIR chain (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact, Responses) in support of policy effectiveness.

While SEBI is pan-European in scope, some of the indicators specifically link to the community policy framework that exists for EU Member States.

Moving forward towards 2020 it will be important to transparently measure progress towards the new European and global 2020 biodiversity targets. SEBI is in a strong position to contribute to this.

Access to SEBI Indicators
NEW BISE-> EU Biodiversity Stragegy and possible SEBI indicators

Further reading:

EU Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Report:
a) Community report on targets C1.2 and C1.3

b) Country profiles on targets C1.2 and C1.3

Related links:

All documents related to SEBI activities
EU level: DG Environment web page
Global level: Biodiversity Indicators partnership 2010 BIP
National level: BISE -> Countries & Networks

Biodiversity Information System for Europe - Topics

Ecosystem services

Species

Genetic resources

Climate change

Invasive species

Fragmentation

Land use change

Pollution

Overexploitation

Tipping points

Protected areas

The Natura 2000 network

The Emerald network

Green infrastructure

European Commission on green infrastructure

LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity Projects

Ecosystems and habitats

SEBI - Streamlining European Biodiversity Indicators