WP leader: University of Edinburgh, Marc Metzger
In WP3 we develop a statistically robust framework for monitoring and will form the basis for a system of Europe-wide geographically referenced and comparable data collection of species and habitats of conservation interest. The activities include the creation of a statistically robust sampling framework (multiple stratification systems and algorithms) for monitoring. It aims to develop a system of field monitoring making use of statistical systems for stratification.
The selection of the sites for the data collection will include but is not restricted to the existing LTER sites and includes a framework of a stratified random sites for the whole land surface of Europe, as the project is aimed at delivering data which should form the basis for EU-conservation policy. As we take the whole EU as a starting point, we have to consider that the organisation of monitoring differs strongly per EU country.
Identifying the effects of different protection regimes will help to improve the effectiveness of EU environmental protection policy. This is also a reason that it is essential to collect comparable information for all EU countries. Until now no consistent information is available to determine the quality of the environment for the whole of the EU. WP3 will also determine different sampling intensity patterns that are needed for reliable results. Therefore it is needed to assess the representativeness of designated sites and long term monitoring and research sites (LTER) To do this the following activities are involved:
− Definition of the statistics and description of the European Environmental Classification (Metzger et al 2005);
− Design of a stratified sampling system for habitats and species of conservation interest, which will involve an examination of the extent of classes and the way they can be efficiently subdivided e.g. by altitude.
The Environmental Strata (EnS) can be used at several levels of detail. The aggregated 13 Environmental Zones form the coarsest level. Below these there are 84 strata, which can be subdivided using altitudinal zoning or regional ancillary data (e.g. those for soils) as discussed by Jongman et al. (2006). In addition, the mainly climatic EnS can be combined with other datasets to create suitable stratification for specific objectives.
The importance of a quantitative stratification is also recognized by GEOSS. Within the Ecosystems ‘societal benefit area’ a Global Ecosystem Classification and Mapping Initiative (GEOSS Task EC-06-02) it was defined to construct such a stratification. Current plans are to base the first tiers of the stratification on climatic variables, defining principal biomes and subdividing these biomes based on the techniques used to develop the EnS. At present, approximately 150 strata are envisaged for these data layers, which could be linked to the 84 EnS strata.