Scotland Leads the Way: National Habitat Condition Monitoring using State of the Art Machine Learning and eDNA data

With an unwavering commitment to becoming nature positive by 2030 and restoring biodiversity across the nation by 2045, Scotland has embarked on an ambitious endeavor – harnessing the power of environmental DNA (eDNA) for comprehensive national habitat monitoring. In an exciting collaboration, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), NatureScot, and the Scottish Government's Marine Directorate joined forces to evaluate the transformative potential of eDNA analysis.

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The Challenge of Achieving National Monitoring at Scale

Conventional monitoring techniques, while valuable, lacked the scalability and comprehensiveness required to accurately assess Scotland's ecological health at a national level. Each species group often necessitated specialized surveys by trained experts, rendering extensive monitoring efforts extremely resource-intensive. There was a critical need for innovative, cost-effective methods that could complement existing approaches and create a holistic picture of Scotland's biodiversity.

eDNA Unveils a Treasure Trove of Biodiversity Data

To unlock the potential of eDNA, the partners conducted sampling across four iconic Scottish habitats – marine lochs, freshwater lochs, woodlands, and peatlands. From just 358 samples, the eDNA analysis unveiled a staggering 9,000 different species, including many threatened, invasive, and ecologically important indicator species crucial for conservation efforts.

The results demonstrated eDNA's unparalleled ability to outperform conventional surveys in characterizing entire communities. eDNA data enabled classifying sites by habitat quality, mapping species distributions regionally, and providing new bioindicators of ecological condition – capabilities critical for informing science-based conservation priorities and restoration strategies.

Pioneering a Restoration Tracking Framework with AI and Machine Learning

NatureMetrics employed state of the art machine learning to classify habitat conditions -  the first eDNA-based statistical framework for tracking habitat restoration over time at a national level. This pioneering model represents a significant milestone, paving the way for the seamless integration of eDNA monitoring into Scotland's biodiversity assessment and reporting protocols going forward.

"This project demonstrated the transformative potential of eDNA for enhancing monitoring across Scotland's terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The scalable technology bridges critical data gaps, complements our existing methods, and will ultimately support us in achieving our ambitious post-2020 nature recovery goals," said Dr. Pauline Lang of SEPA.

A Toolkit for Assessing Nature Positive Progress

With simple, standardized sampling techniques, eDNA offers an unparalleled opportunity to comprehensively survey whole ecosystems in a fraction of the time and cost associated with conventional methods. Ongoing national eDNA monitoring will precisely map biodiversity changes over time, enabling Scotland to accurately assess its progress towards the ambitious 2030 and 2045 nature restoration milestones.

This innovative eDNA toolkit represents a paradigm shift in how nations can holistically evaluate their ecological health to drive evidence-based conservation decisions and nature restoration initiatives. Scotland's pioneering eDNA framework, borne from the collaborative efforts of its environmental agencies and NatureMetrics, serves as a blueprint for other countries striving to achieve a nature-positive future, particularly in the run up to COP16, where progress on biodiversity goals set out in the Global Biodiversity Framework will be examined.

This pioneering project accomplished in Scotland has unlocked the potential for eDNA monitoring to be replicated and scaled across the globe, accelerating the global transition towards sustainable, nature-positive policies and practices. As nations worldwide grapple with the biodiversity crisis, Scotland's success story offers a beacon of hope, demonstrating that innovative solutions can help pave the way for a nature-positive future.

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Dive deeper into the transformative potential of eDNA monitoring by exploring the groundbreaking findings from this pioneering project. Discover how Scotland is leading the charge in harnessing cutting-edge technology to drive biodiversity regeneration and chart a course towards a nature-positive future.

Explore the full SEPA reports here:  Scotland Leads the Way: National Habitat Condition Monitoring using State of the Art Machine Learning and eDNA data | NatureMetrics Success Story

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