Countryside Survey provides scientifically reliable evidence about the state or ‘health’ of the UK’s countryside today. We can compare 2007’s findings against the findings of previous Countryside Surveys from 1998, 1990, 1984 and 1978. We can then identify change (and the relative rate of change) in the countryside. This evidence is used to help form policies that influence management of the countryside, both now and in the future. ... [Information of the supplier]
The Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge (SEEK) is a five year initiative designed to create cyberinfrastructure for ecological, environmental, and biodiversity research and to educate the ecological community about ecoinformatics. SEEK participants are building an integrated data grid (EcoGrid) for accessing a wide variety of ecological and biodiversity data and analytical tools (Kepler) for efficiently utilizing these data stores to advance ecological and biodiversity science. An intelligent middleware system (SMS) will facilitate integration and synthesis of data and models within these systems. The three components of the SEEK cyberinfrasture are: (1) the EcoGrid, (2) a Semantic Mediation system, and (3) an Analysis and Modeling system. These infrastructure components will be built with input and participation from three SEEK working groups: (1) Knowledge Representation, (2) Biological Taxonomy and Classification, and (3) Biodiversity and Ecological Analysis and Modeling. ... [Information of the supplier]
A functional prototype of the Biodiversity-Exploratory Information System (BExIS) has been established by Dr. Jens Nieschulze and colleages (group leader Prof. Dr. Ernst-Detlef Schulze), MPI Biogeochemistry Jena. The system is heavily used within the project "Biodiversity Exploratories", mostly by the resources and map functionality but increasingly also by its data management capabilities. ... [Information of the supplier]
The overall aim of the project Status and Trends of European Pollinators (STEP) is to assess the current status and trends of pollinators in Europe, quantify the relative importance of various drivers and impacts of change, identify relevant mitigation strategies and policy instruments, and disseminate this to a wide range of stakeholders. This aim is underpinned by 7 specific objectives which reflect the overall work program of STEP: Document the status and trends of pollinator (managed honeybees, wild bees and hoverflies) and animal-pollinated plant populations; Determine and analyze the multiple pressures that are driving changes in pollinators and animal-pollinated plants at scales ranging from single fields to landscapes to the whole of Europe; Assess the impact of changes in pollinator populations and communities on wild plants and crops and changes in floral resources on pollinators; Evaluate and synthesize strategies to mitigate the impacts of changes in pollinators and animal-pollinated plants; Assess how multiple drivers affect pollinators and animal-pollinated plants at local and landscapes scales using focused empirical tests and observations; Analyze and improve the interface between the scientific knowledge-base on pollinator change assessment and policy instruments to reduce pollinator/pollination loss and mitigate its effects; Develop communication and educational links with a wide range of stakeholders and the general public on the importance of recent shifts in pollinators, the main drivers and impacts of pollinator shifts and mitigation strategies through dissemination and training. ... [Information of the supplier]
