Towards global data products of Essential Biodiversity Variables on species traits

Abstract

Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) allow observation and reporting of global biodiversity change, but a detailed framework for the empirical derivation of specific EBVs has yet to be developed. Here, we re-examine and refine the previous candidate set of species traits EBVs and show how traits related to phenology, morphology, reproduction, physiology and movement can contribute to EBV operationalization. The selected EBVs express intra-specific trait variation and allow monitoring of how organisms respond to global change. We evaluate the societal relevance of species traits EBVs for policy targets and demonstrate how open, interoperable and machine-readable trait data enable the building of EBV data products. We outline collection methods, meta(data) standardization, reproducible workflows, semantic tools and licence requirements for producing species traits EBVs. An operationalization is critical for assessing progress towards biodiversity conservation and sustainable development goals and has wide implications for data-intensive science in ecology, biogeography, conservation and Earth observation.

A novel procedure for measuring functional traits of herbaceous species through field spectroscopy

“…To ensure the long‐term usability and data sharing of species‐level data, consistent measurement protocols and guidelines are essential (Kissling et al, ). Standardized protocols for functional trait measurement of vascular plants are available and widely adopted as standard field and laboratory instructions among ecologists (Pérez‐Harguindeguy et al, ).…”

“…It, therefore, offers a particularly suitable approach to generate specieslevel libraries, where the spectral properties of species are coupled to their functional traits (spectranomics; Asner & Martin, 2016), and intraspecific variability -due to phenotypic but also spatiotemporal differences -is inherently included. Consequently, our method could offer a powerful complementary tool for tracking and reporting progress towards policy targets (Proença et al, 2017), for which specieslevel trait data are often required (Kissling et al, 2018). Moreover, it provides high quality ground-reference data that are essential for mapping and monitoring spatiotemporal trends in species composition from space (Neumann, Itzerott, Weiss, Kleinschmit, & Schmidtlein, 2016), which is for example relevant in the detection and monitoring of invasive species (Niphadkar & Nagendra, 2016).…”

Unifying functional trait approaches to understand the assemblage of ecological communities: synthesizing taxonomic divides

“…Petchey and Gaston (2006) similarly provide suggestions for how to collect trait data based on functional relevance for a given research question. However, the ecological underpinnings of plant functional ecology do not always transfer well to other taxonomic disciplines (Kissling et al 2018), limiting our ability to identify functionally relevant traits in understudied taxa. Grounding trait selection explicitly in community assembly may better incorporate understudied taxa in functional trait research and comparative ecology.…”

“…a trait that influences individual fitness, organismal performance and ecosystem processes (Lavorel and Garnier 2002)), are there feedbacks between the environment and selected traits that impact the relative importance of each? Despite its over thirty-year history within the literature, functional trait approaches are still evolving, especially across environmental contexts and in understudied taxa (Kissling et al 2018). Incorporating other datasets (e.g.…”

The need for coordinated transdisciplinary research infrastructures for pollinator conservation and crop pollination resilience

“…GEO-BON does not specifically target pollinators, but it has defined a set of essential biodiversity variables (EBV) to study, report, and manage biodiversity change, focusing on linking monitoring initiatives with decision makers (Pereira et al 2013). Among these EBVs, species interactions, including plant-pollinator interactions, are explicitly considered and there is rapid progress towards enabling large-scale global data products around the EBVs (for an example of this progress on species traits, see Kissling et al 2018).…”