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The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) has established eight topical Working Groups to build the various substantive components of the Network. Each Group is responsible for developing its own membership, implementation plan, activities and goals. They then focus on carrying out practical activities aimed at delivering biodiversity products and services to users and advancing the “GEO BON Implementation Plan” (click here for the agreed outline).
The eight Working Groups are:
Working Group 1: Genetics
Global and regional scale monitoring of genetic and phylogenetic diversity will use a range of complementary strategies; these include the monitoring of key species or taxonomic groups over time, the indirect monitoring of indicators such as range size, and the use of large-scale models of genetic/phylogenetic turnover as a “lens” to interpret remotely-sensed changes in land/water condition.
Working Group 2: Terrestrial species monitoring
This working group focuses on monitoring terrestrial biodiversity at the species level. It aims to integrate available data, identify gaps, develop standard protocols and stimulate new monitoring programs.
Working Group 3: Terrestrial ecosystem change
National, regional and continental monitoring of changes in the distribution, extent and conditions of ecosystems is essential to understanding the role of natural succession as well as human impacts.
Working Group 4: Freshwater ecosystem change
Observing relationships between biophysical features of freshwater ecosystems (e.g., hydrology, diversity and conservation status of species, dynamics of populations) and examining the provision of ecosystem services by freshwaters makes possible global comparisons of systems and how they change in response to management, regulation and use.
Working Group 5: Marine ecosystem change
This component focuses on the distribution, extent, and condition of marine ecosystems and how they are changing over time.
Working Group 6: Ecosystem Services
Change detection, trend recognition, forward projections, range interpolations and model-based estimations of the supply of ecosystem services, and global comparison studies underlie this relatively new field.
Working Group 7: In-situ / remote-sensing integration: integration and modelling across scales
This Group considers all ecosystem at various temporal and spatial scales, with a special focus on the interaction of land-freshwater-marine components within an integrated framework.
Working Group 8: Data integration and inter-operability; informatics and portals
Addressing the many challenges of coordinating, standardizing and managing in situ data that are collected by disparate institutions and individuals for differing purposes can ensure that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.
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