ALTER-Net is a network of 24 partner institutes from 17 European countries. ALTER-Net integrates research capacities across Europe: assessing changes in biodiversity, analyzing the effect of those changes on ecosystem services and informing the public and policy makers about this at a European scale. Originally funded by the European Union’s Framework VI program to stimulate a collaborative approach, ALTER-Net is now operating independently. On this website you can find information about key issues of concern and ALTER-Net projects contributing to the lasting integration of Europe’s research capacity on biodiversity. ALTER-Net is building upon a number of activities developed during the first (EC-funded phase), including: (1) Identification of common research priorities and development of a common research programme, (2) Further development of the LTER-Europe network of Long-Term Ecosystem Research sites (LTER) and Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research platforms (LTSER). ... [Information of the supplier]
During the first thirty years of Atlas Florae Europaeae (AFE), the basic technology for the collection of distribution data and publication of distribution maps has remained practically unchanged. Manual map production as such is rather tedious. Furthermore, distribution data available only on printed maps are not suitable for further (computerized) analyses. The construction of the Atlas Florae Europaeae database was started in 1992. The primary goal was to make the distribution data available in digital format, and the additional goal was the computerization of the editorial process of AFE. The printed AFE distribution maps were processed this way: - the maps were scanned at 300 dpi resolution / - locations of the grid cells (4419) were calculated on the scanned bitmap images / - arrays of black pixels were searched from the bitmaps using custom software / - the map originals and and their interpretation were compared using custom software. So far all printed AFE volumes (1 to 12) have been processed this way. ... [Information of the supplier]
B-VegAna (Vegetation edition and Analysis) is an integrated software package oriented towards the storage, management and analysis of ecological data. The package consists of several programs which can be run independently. It includes ten applications (Fagus, Quercus, Ginkgo, Yucca, Zamia, Taxus, Webherb, Wisteria WMS, Welwitschia and Araucaria). The first seven applications offer the opportunity for any user to manage biodiversity data in many interesting ways with an unified interface and data format, the last three apps provide webservices. After almost nine years of development they have become solid tools with a clearly defined added value. Examples for available applications are: (1) Ginkgo - multivariate analysis tool. Oriented mainly towards ordination and classification of ecological data, stressing methods based on symmetric matrices. (2) Quercus - a relevé table editor. It handles relevé data allowing the user to perform phytosociological works. (3) Fagus - floristic records editor. It can handle data coming from field surveys, bibliographic sources or collections. (4) Yucca - a cartographic plotting tool, that enables the user to plot taxa or syntaxa distributions. Taxon, syntaxon or bibliographic thesauri can be edited within the programs. ... [Information of the supplier, modified]
The Baltic Sea Alien Species Database is an interactive tool, which includes the following information retrieving options: "Database Search", "Baltic Sub-regions" and "Species Directory". The information comprised in the Database comes from: a) members of the Baltic Marine Biologists Working Group on Non-indigenous Estuarine and Marine Organisms and other researchers involved in invasive biology studies; b) published papers, environmental reports, grey literature, Internet sites; c) the Database Questionnaire. The Database contains following information: Taxon - Phylum/division or class ... ... [Information of the supplier, modified]
BiodivERsA is a network composed of national organisations funding or managing research programmes on biodiversity across Europe. The objectives of this ERA-Net are to promote the cooperation between funding agencies in the field of biodiversity research and to coordinate research programmes at strategic and management levels to eventually develop and implement joint activities. The European partners in the BiodivERsA network have joined efforts to organize and fund a Pan-European call for international research projects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. ... [Information of the supplier]
The Biodiversity Heritage Library for Europe (BHL-Europe) is a 3 year project, involving 28 major natural history museums, botanical gardens and other cooperating institutions. The libraries of the European natural history museums and botanical gardens collectively hold the majority of the world’s published knowledge on the discovery and subsequent description of biological diversity. However, digital access to this knowledge is difficult. The objective of the BHL-Europe project is to make available Europe’s biodiversity information to everyone by improving the interoperability of European biodiversity digital libraries. The project will provide a multilingual access point for biodiversity content through a global portal (BHL) with specific biological functionality and to a wide European cultural audience through Europeana. ... [Information of the supplier]
The database BioLIS (Biological Literature Information Senckenberg) indexes biological journal literature from the period 1970 to 1996. It is bilingual (German/English) and includes journals and series from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. With regard to subject and geographical orientation it forms an extension of the Biological Abstracts database. The bibliographic information about the articles indexed is expanded through comprehensive, content descriptive keywords and organism names so that special searches, especially in regard to literature concerning particular organisms, are possible. BioLIS was developed at the Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main and is now made available online, without charge, by the University Library Johann Christian Senckenberg. ... [Information of the supplier, translated]
BioSyst.EU represents European scientists dealing with topics of systematic biology. It considers itself as a collaborative counterpart to the Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities (CETAF) where European Natural History Institutions have joined, whereas in BioSyst.EU individual scientists are to be represented via their national or regional societies. BioSyst.EU aims to provide a European platform to: a) hold joint meetings on a regular basis; b) promote research, teaching, and training in all areas of systematic biology, including phylogenetic, taxonomic, and biodiversity research; c) encourage collaboration and interchange among researchers, both individually and through their respective societies and institutions; d) coordinate national and international efforts without infringing on the autonomy of the member societies; e) encourage formation of additional national systematic societies, while continuing to represent systematists in countries still lacking formal societies and f) increase the profile and funding of systematic biology in the European parliament. ... [Information of the supplier]
Genetic variation is a vital component of biodiversity, providing ecosystems, species, populations and individuals with the raw material to adapt and survive environmental change and enabling natural selection, as envisaged by Darwin 150 years ago, to operate. Genetic biodiversity has long been recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the EU Biodiversity Strategy as one of the three essential elements of living diversity. Yet conserving genetic variation is poorly addressed in practice compared to the two other biodiversity components – species and ecosystems. In addition the link between science, policy and implementation needs a step-change if we are to help ‘future-proof’ essential components of our biodiversity against the anticipated global threats of the coming decades. There exists both a policy-based and capacity impediment to the optimal management of genetic biodiversity in the EU. ConGRESS aims to rectify the problem by delivering dissemination tools which policy makers and conservation managers can conveniently use to incorporate genetic biodiversity into their policy and management frameworks.ConGRESS will empower organizations to efficiently use genetics in conservation for the first time. ConGRESS aims to make genetic expertise, information and user-friendly tools available, beginning at the initial stages of a conservation program (study design and assessment), through to management decision-making and implementation and finally for policy development at a local and regional level. By ensuring that all stakeholders can understand, apply and evaluate genetic data in their conservation programs ConGRESS aims to finally fully include genetic biodiversity in EU conservation actions and improve best practice in the future. ... [Information of the supplier]
