LIFEPLAN
KEY POINTS- Samples of fungal and insect DNA, audio and image
- Unique coverage of the globe
- Understanding of biodiversity patterns and dynamics
Project overview
Participants
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Short summary
LIFEPLAN aims to establish the current state of biodiversity across the globe, and to use our insights for generating accurate predictions of its future state under future scenarios.
We characterize biological diversity through a worldwide sampling program, and develop the bioinformatic and statistical approaches needed to make the most out of these data. Importantly, we employ modern sampling methods that do not require taxonomic expertise from those collecting the data, and that result in data that are directly comparable among different locations.
The sampling scheme contains 83 global locations, 44 national locations (19 in the Nordic countries and 25 in Madagascar, and two sets of hierarchical designs that cover the scales from 0.5 to 500 km in Sweden (run by us here) and Madagascar.
We use five sampling methods. Cyclone sampling collects fungal spores, Malaise trapping collects insects and soil sampling collects soil which we sample for fungal DNA. Camera trapping captures images of mostly mammals and birds, and audio recording captures bird and bat sound.
Read more about Lifeplan - project page at Helsinki University
