New video explains: What is biodiversity data – and why is it so important for the conservation of biodiversity?

Biodiversity data – for many, this sounds abstract at first. A new video, created in collaboration with the diverse partner institutions of the NFDI4Biodiversity network and now available on YouTube, illustrates what the term means and what exciting and highly relevant info is behind it.

The short film guides viewers through various methods of data collection and explains how biodiversity data is collected: from animal and plant observations in the field to experiments in laboratories and genetic analyses. At the same time, he makes tangible how versatile this data is: For example, biodiversity data can appear as collection items in museums or botanical gardens, as historical maps or as digital data sets.

The video was produced on the occasion of this year's Environment Week in the garden of Bellevue Palace, where NFDI4Biodiversity was able to present an information stand this year. As so often, the NFDI consortium addressed a very diverse audience, ranging from researchers to nature conservationists and nature lovers to representatives from business and politics. The film offered a low-threshold introduction to a complex topic – and an opportunity to engage in conversation with visitors from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of knowledge and to explain to them the great importance of better available biodiversity data.

What does the data reveal to researchers and other data enthusiasts and why is it of immense importance for the protection of global biodiversity? Find out in the video.

The production was supported by various partner organizations of the NFDI4Biodiversity network, which provided impressive image material from their respective institutions: the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, the Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin, the Directorate General of the Bavarian State Archives, the Bavarian Main State Archives Munich, the Bavarian Forest National Park, the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen (MARUM), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. We would like to thank all participating institutions in the network for their help!