Biodiversity Digital Twins and the Destination Earth Ecosystem

Rome, Italy

The BioDT Project is reaching the end of its mandate and is organising, in collaboration with Destination Earth (DestinE), its final event taking place in Rome on 3 April 2025.

The event, available also for online participation, will highlight BioDT’s key results relevant for the European Commission’s Digital Twin strategy and its integration with the DestinE ecosystem.

Sustainability, interoperability, and the potential adoption of BioDT’s results by European Research Infrastructures and data spaces will be the key topics to drive discussions, scientific presentations and panel debates. Moreover, participants will assist to live demonstrations of prototype Digital Twins (pDTs) developed during the project.

For the agenda, registration, and further details, visit:

https://biodt.eu/events/biodiversity-digital-twins-and-destination-earth-ecosystem

BioDT Webinar on digital modelling for nature protection

BioDT Webinar

Online

The Biodiversity Digital Twin (BioDT) project offers advanced simulation and prediction models to tackle critical global biodiversity challenges, addressing complex biodiversity dynamics through practical use cases. LifeWatch ERIC is part of this impressive consortium of 22 partners, all working together to drive evidence-based solutions for biodiversity protection and restoration across Europe.

On 27 February, the project members will host a webinar dedicated to the role of Digital Twins in environmental protection: experts from leading Digital Twins initiatives will gather together to discuss how technologies such as real-time monitoring and advanced simulations can be leveraged to support environmental protection and disaster response. Moreover, a cross-collaboration between these digital tools will enhance their impact, and this is the main aspect the webinar is focused on, with examples of practical applications for research institutes, environmental agencies and emergency responders.

The one-hour webinar will feature speakers from InterTwin, DT-GEO, TerraDT, ClimateDT and DestinE, and a round of interactive discussions.

Agenda and registration here: https://biodt.eu/events/biodt-webinar-how-can-cross-use-digital-modelling-tools-help-nature-protection

Biodiversity in Focus: exploring the BioDT Pollinator prototype Digital Twin

Online

On May 22nd, the International Day for Biological Diversity will be celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity for our planet’s health. This year’s theme, “Be part of the Plan”, calls on all stakeholders to take action and support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. A one-hour BioDT webinar will explore the BioDT prototype Digital Twin for Pollinators.

The BioDT Pollinator pDT is a digital tool designed to assess the quality of landscapes for honey bees. It combines real-world data with advanced simulation techniques to provide actionable insights for conservation efforts. This exciting webinar offers a unique opportunity to understand the BioDT project better, explore the technical details behind the Pollinator pDT, demonstrate the pDT’s app, and participate in a live Q&A session with our expert team.

To register, please visit this page: https://biodt.eu/events/pollinator-pDT-webinar

Cultural ecosystem services – testing pDT with experts

Online, 21 March 2024

The BioDT project is organising an online workshop on 21 March 2024 to delve into a pioneering prototype digital twin (pDT) dedicated to Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES). This prototype combines the potential for recreation (RP) with tracking biodiversity occurrence (BD), providing a multifaceted view of ecosystem services.

The BioDT pDT for CES is an innovative approach that aims to model the significant role of cultural ecosystem services in shaping the human experience in natural environments. However, this modelling needs to catch up to other ecosystem services. To bridge this gap, our workshop introduces a visionary prototype digital twin that uniquely blends recreation potential with biodiversity occurrence. The goal is to refine this prototype by integrating expert feedback, revising the roadmap, and improving the models and user interface.

To register, please visit this page.

Digital Twin for Harnessing Genetic Wealth in Crop Wild Relatives

Online, 18 January 2023.

Crop Wild Relatives can transform sustainable agriculture by harnessing their hidden genetic potential through Digital Twinning. Discover how developing crop varieties with better nutrition, higher yields, and increased disease resistance can address global food insecurity and boost food production.

The “Digital Twin for Harnessing Genetic Wealth in Crop Wild Relatives” webinar will demonstrate the use of MoDGP (Modelling the Distribution of Germplasms of Interest) and FIGS (Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy) tools with digital twinning to identify and utilise genetic resources for plant breeding, conservation, and policymaking. Digital twinning facilitates data integration, model updates, uncertainty analysis, and alerts for desirable traits, making it a groundbreaking approach for unlocking the transformative potential of genetic resources.

Crop Wild Relatives is a central focus of the BioDT project and will be highlighted as a prominent use case during the webinar. Don’t miss this opportunity to dive into the future of sustainable agriculture and learn how digital twinning can unveil the untapped genetic potential.

To learn more and register, visit this page.

BioDT Hackathon: Bring Your Own Data (BYOD) – Second End-Users Workshop

BioDT hackathon

Oslo, Norway, 23-25 January 2024

Join the BioDT hackathon to learn how digital twinning can revolutionize global agriculture. Discover how crop wild relatives hold untapped genetic resources to achieve higher yields, better nutrition, and resilience to changing environments. Learn how to identify, manage, and conserve wild crop relatives in a three-day workshop, contribute to a comprehensive wild crop relative characterization toolbox, and be a part of sustainable agriculture.

During the first session, you’ll delve into developing a comprehensive toolbox that enables the predictive characterization of plant genetic resources. Through newly developed and pre-existing modelling techniques and data integration from diverse sources, we will explore how to identify and leverage the genetic potential of crop wild relatives.

The second session will focus on novel data products of digital twinning exercises to establish the overlap between pre-established protected areas and verified distributions of crop wild relatives needing conservation. This tool will identify and propose prioritised genetic reserves for conservation and genetic monitoring of designated CWR conservation populations.

For more information on the BioDT hackathon, please visit this page.

Destination Earth (DestinE) User eXchange

Bonn, Germany, 13-14 November 2023.

The European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) have jointly organised an event to encourage meaningful interactions with DestinE stakeholders. DestinE is a global initiative that aims to create a precise digital model of Earth to examine the interplay between natural phenomena and human activities. The initiative stresses the importance of extensive stakeholder involvement for its success. It aligns with the European Commission’s Green Deal and Digital Strategy, contributing significantly to the twin transition goals of green and digital.

The conference will discuss the BioDT project, which is pivotal in the event’s discussions. One of the key themes explored at the conference is Digital Twin co-development and its applications in renewable energy, hydrology, air quality, and related impact studies.

The conference will also highlight the essential aspect of integrating with other Digital Twins, acknowledging the diverse services landscape facilitating interaction with the Destination Earth system and its components.

For more information about the event, please visit this page.

Mastering Data Citation: Insights from GBIF

Online, 6 November 2023.

This is a series of webinars. If you want to learn more, you can check out the second webinar here.

Acknowledging and citing data is a crucial practice that enhances transparency, credibility, and collaboration in biodiversity research. It recognises the hard work of data collectors and curators while facilitating the sharing and integration of essential biodiversity datasets. In partnership with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), this BioDT webinar is scheduled for November 6 to highlight the vital aspects of recognising and crediting such datasets.

The webinar will offer best practices for standardised citation of datasets, ensuring proper acknowledgement of creators and sources. This webinar is a valuable resource for researchers, data scientists, conservationists, students, and anyone interested in biodiversity research and data management. It promises to make data more accessible and reusable, providing insights and resources that can benefit seasoned experts and field newcomers.

Visit this page to register.

Agenda

  • 15:00 – 15:10 – A general introduction of the BioDT project – Hanna Koivula (CSC)
  • 15:10 – 15:35 – Data citation: the GBIF way – Daniel Noesgaard (GBIF)
  • 15:35 – 16:00 – Q&A

Mastering Data Citation: Insights from the BioDT Research Infrastructures

Online, 20 November 2023.

This is a series of webinars. If you want to learn more, you can check out the first webinar here.

Recognising the crucial role of data citation in promoting transparency, credibility, and collaboration within biodiversity research, we acknowledge the dedicated efforts of data collectors and curators. This acknowledgement helps their work and facilitates the seamless sharing and integration of invaluable biodiversity datasets.

Our upcoming webinar will highlight the essential aspects of recognising and attributing biodiversity research datasets. The goal is to provide best practices for standardised dataset citation, ensuring proper recognition of creators and sources. The webinar aims to enhance data discoverability and reusability while giving due credit to those managing the data.

This event is a collaboration with four leading Research Infrastructures: GBIF, LifeWatch, DISSCO, and eLTER. We invite you to join us on November 20 as experts from these biodiversity research infrastructures guide attendees through essential techniques for effectively citing biodiversity data.

To register, please visit this page.

Agenda

  • 15:00 – 15:05 – main remarks from the GBIF data citation webinar
  • 15:05 – 15:20 – DISSCO data citation
  • 15:20 – 15:35 – eLter data citation 
  • 15:35 – 15:50 – LifeWatch data citation 
  • 15:50 – 16:30 – Q&A and final remarks

BioDT Annual Meeting 2023

Hybrid event, 13–14 June 2023.

The Annual Meeting of the Horizon Europe project BioDT was held in Leiden on 13-14 June 2023 and was hosted by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands. The aim of the Annual Meeting was to gather together as a consortium to facilitate cross-WP collaboration and to discuss upcoming project activities.

The meeting served as a significant event for researchers and experts involved in the BioDT project. It provided a platform for participants to come together and foster collaboration across different work packages (WP). With the event being held in a hybrid format, participants had the flexibility to attend either in person or remotely. The gathering aimed to facilitate cross-WP collaboration, allowing researchers from different domains to exchange knowledge, share insights, and forge partnerships that contributed to the project’s overarching goals.

The meeting served as a platform to review the progress made so far, address any challenges or obstacles encountered, and collectively strategise for the future. Through these discussions, the consortium members aligned their efforts, leveraged each other’s expertise, and ensured the smooth and effective advancement of the BioDT project.

Overall, the BioDT Annual Meeting held in Leiden was an important milestone in the project’s timeline. It brought together researchers, experts, and stakeholders invested in biodiversity research and digital twin development, providing a unique opportunity to collaborate, exchange ideas, and strengthen the collective efforts towards understanding and preserving our planet’s rich biodiversity.