SUMMARY

Problems to be solved: The European environment is continually undergoing change caused by a combination of socio-economic and climatic processes operating at global to local levels. The clearest indication of these environmental changes manifests itself in changing land cover which may be related to pressures, such as, intensification, abandonment, afforestation and urbanisation. These pressures subsequently affect the biodiversity of the environment, but the link is not straightforward and will be different in different parts of Europe. To protect the environment, ensure sustainable use of natural resources and maintain an acceptable level of biodiversity a wide variety of national and international legal mechanisms (e.g. Amsterdam Treaty 1997, Habitats Directive, EU Common Agricultural Policy and Kyoto Protocol) have been established. These mechanisms have encouraged the establishment of a wide range of, often unconnected, environmental monitoring activities. Today Europe urgently needs to consolidate these monitoring efforts to properly address the issues of land cover change and the pressures on biodiversity at the pan-European level. The GMES initiative aims at achieving a ‘European capacity for Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security’ by 2008 and BIOPRESS will provide a number of key products and demonstrations related to land cover change and biodiversity.

Scientific objectives and approach: The initial focus of BIOPRESS is to develop a standardised historical (1950 – 2000) land cover change product that will be extendable to the pan-European level. For a sample of Natura2000 sites and their surroundings, land cover change matrices will be produced by back dating CORINE land cover 1990 (level 3) with aerial photos of the 1950’s. For a subset of the sample of Natura2000 sites a more detailed interpretation and analysis of aerial photographs acquired in 1950, 1990 and 2000 will be undertaken. The land cover change matrices from both exercises will be analysed and then extrapolated to the pan-European level using CORINE land cover 1990.

The pan-European products will be used to link measures of land cover change to pressures on biodiversity (intensification, abandonment, afforestation, urbanisation) in combination with other biological, environmental and socio-economic data. A state-of-the-art semi-quantitative pressure state-model called MIRABEL will convert the quantified pressures into assessments of biodiversity at the pan-European level.

The development of a GIS framework that will not only support the extrapolation of the change matrices but also facilitate the integration of pan-European spatial data sets building upon existing European led initiatives and concepts (e.g. EEA TERRIS database). The work will also include the development of a pan-European land cover change (1990-2000 and beyond) monitoring concept based on the integration of Earth observation and field data and focusing on the area in and around the Natura 2000 sites.

Expected impacts: The land cover change and pressures on biodiversity products of BIOPRESS are aimed at the EU-user community concerned with the impact of land cover/use changes on the environment and biodiversity. The land cover change products will be useful in a range of applications assessing the impacts of natural processes, anthropogenic effects and socio-economic policies. The biodiversity information could be extended further to better understand the interactions occurring within the natural environment. The proposed activities of the project are geared to the responsibilities of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and European Topic Centres (ETC’s) and support the further development of Community Information Systems for nature, biodiversity and forests