SBDI Days 2026: Artificial Intelligence in Ecology and Biodiversity Research

SBDI Days 2026

The Swedish Biodiversity Data Infrastructure (SBDI), in partnership with SciLifeLab’s Planetary Biology Strategic Area, is hosting the SBDI Days at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, on 10-11 February 2026.

The conference will bring together researchers working in the fields of ecology, biology, biodiversity, remote sensing, genetic monitoring, Earth system science, and data science, to explore how AI and machine learning are reshaping the study of Life on Earth. In fact, far from being just a tool, AI is becoming a vital partner in understanding and protecting biodiversity.

The theme of the event for 2026 is “AI and Biodiversity: a Perfect Pair”. The sessions will explore big data methods such as e-DNA, a-DNA, remote sensing and image analysis, and their potential when coupled with advanced AI and ML techniques.

Learn more about the SBDI Days here: https://biodiversitydata.se/event/sbdi-days-2026-artificial-intelligence-in-ecology-and-biodiversity-research

EuroGEO 2025

EuroGEO 2025

The EuroGEO 2025 workshop has the objective to consolidate and coordinate European activities that contribute to GEO (Group on Earth Observations) initiatives. The event takes place every year, and in 2025 it is based in The Hague, Netherlands. From 13 to 15 October, the Earth Observations community will “combine, coordinate and cooperate” to advancing collective Earth Intelligence under the message #OneEuroGeo – One Voice.

The European landscape is constantly evolving both at EU level, and at GEO level: there is now a strong need to coordinate and integrate a huge number of resources to address global and regional challenges, and a shift of focus from “Earth observation” to “Earth Intelligence”, and from services to equity. Therefore, the workshop’s objectives are to accelerate the delivery of Earth Intelligence by strengthening Europe’s contributions to the GEO Work Programme, reinforcing the links to Copernicus, and aligning research, innovation, and national coordination with global and European priorities.

The agenda is structured in three days, with interactive sessions supported by facilitators, engaging panel discussions and peer-to-peer exchanges and engagement with experts. The first day offers an overview on “Vision and Global Engagement”, while Day 2 and Day 3 are dedicated to “Research and Innovation in action”, and “National GEOs and Implementation”.

LifeWatch ERIC will participate in the Action Group Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Geodiversity with the presentation Virtual Research Environments and LifeWatch ERIC, by CEO Christos Arvanitidis.

For more information visit: https://eurogeosec.eu/egw2025

ERSAC 2025: European Services on Agroecology Conference

European Research Services on Agroecology

Kaunas, Lithuania

The second ERSAC – European Research Services on Agroecology Conference takes place in Kaunas, Lithuania, on October 1 and 2, 2025. Organised in partnership with the Department of Agriculture at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), the event shares the program with the Rural Development international scientific conference.

The AgroServ project (of which VMU is a consortium partner), will also be present at the Rural Development event with a keynote speech by its coordinator Michel Böer, on sustainable agrifood systems. The project will also curate the second day’s scientific sessions on Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Technologies, and conclude the conference with its General Assembly.

Info: https://agroserv.eu/blog/ersac-2025

MAMBO Project’s webinar: Measuring vegetation structure with airborne LiDAR

Measuring vegetation structure

Online, 16 October 2025

This webinar will explore how to measure and map vegetation structure using airborne LiDAR, in ecological and biodiversity research, following examples from European countries and nature reserves.

The one-hour session will be held online on Thursday 16 October and is organised by the MAMBO Project, which aims to propose modern approaches to biodiversity monitoring. It invites ecologists, reserve managers, biodiversity consultants, environmental practitioners, scientists and anyone with an interest in land-use planning, conservation, and ecosystem monitoring.

Starting with an introduction to airborne laser scanning technology, MAMBO will highlight and share resources on its potential practical applications in ecology, such as measurements of large herbivores’ trail networks, mapping of the spatial distribution of 3D vegetation structures and of individual trees, as well as trees identification.

Visit the MAMBO Project website to learn more about this event and registration (which is limited to 300 participants): https://www.mambo-project.eu/events/webinar-measuring-vegetation-structure-airborne-lidar

Picture source: https://www.mambo-project.eu

“Marine SABRES in Fairs” at the European Researchers’ Night 2025

Marine SABRES inFairs - European Researchers Night 2025

Lecce, Italy

On September 26, 2025, LifeWatch ERIC participates in the European Researchers’ Night, contributing to its programme and engaging with participants, thanks to its research stand “Marine SABRES in Fairs: protecting and restoring biodiversity, sustainable blue economy, and ecotourism”.

At the ‘Marine SABRES in Fairs’ stand, LifeWatch ERIC will present the project’s results and materials: thematic videos, the documentary trailer and, in preview, a demonstration of the scientific game dedicated to students (aged 10-18) to explore the links between human activities, changes in marine ecosystems and impacts on people’s well-being.

More info: https://www.lifewatch.eu/2025/09/12/marine-sabres-in-fairs-europeans-researchers-night-2025/

MARBEFES Autumn School 2025

MARBEFES Autumn School

Seville, Spain

The Autumn School “Protecting marine biodiversity for nature and humans” will take place in Seville (Spain) from 8 to 10 October 2025. It will offer participants travel, accommodation and lunch (see terms and conditions), for the duration of the programme, and has the objective of presenting one of the main project’s results: a set of easy-to-use-tools to help practitioners and policy makers maximise the ecological value and optimise a sustainable socio-economic use of the marine system for current and future generations.

Info: https://www.lifewatch.eu/marbefes-autumn-school-2025

RESTORE4Cs trainings for scientists and policy makers

RESTORE4CS trainings

Malaga, Spain

Join the RESTORE4Cs Autumn Series of trainings for scientists and policy makers in November 2025!

The trainings will take place in Malaga (Spain), from 3 to 6 November, and they will focus on the main project output: a digital Decision Support System (DSS) that will provide stakeholders and wetland practitioners at all levels with more reliable estimation of cost and benefits in order to drive and prioritise wetlands restoration actions.

RESTORE4Cs Autumn School 2025 for the Scientific Community: November 3-6, 20 participants
RESTORE4Cs Training for Policy Makers: November 5-6, 10-15 participants
For more and upcoming details on the detailed programme, travel conditions and applications, follow up on the RESTORE4Cs website: https://www.restore4cs.eu/restore4cs-autumn-series-2025-save-the-date

LifeWatch ERIC at EUROSOIL 2025

Eurosoil

Seville, Spain – VII EUROSOIL 2025

EUROSOIL is the official meeting of the European Confederation of Soil Science Societies (ECSSS): a great opportunity for knowledge transfer in the Soil Sciences community, and one of Europe’s most important international conferences on soil sciences and sustainable land management.

Every four years the meeting gathers a large audience to share their scientific and technical findings through presentations, workshops, and products or services exhibitions. The objective: raising awareness in society, encouraging communication by facilitating the exchange of ideas and information, and creating business opportunities.

The VII EUROSOIL 2025 edition takes place in parallel with the Iberian Congress of Soil Sciences (CICS), from 8 to 12 September 2025 at the FIBES Seville Congress Palace (Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos), spanning a wide range of topics relevant for society, academia, and industry.

Xavier Rotllan-Puig will represent LifeWatch ERIC with the oral presentation: “Empowering Soil Research through Virtual Research Environments: LifeWatch ERIC Services under the AgroServ and SUS-SOIL Projects”. The talk will demonstrate how LifeWatch ERIC services are advancing soil research, education, and policy across Europe, within the framework of the SUS-SOIL project. It will also present services developed under the AGROSERV project, in collaboration with UTAD (Portugal) and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain).

Learn more about the event here: https://eurosoil2025.eu/EUROSOIL2025

ECODL 2025 – Workshop on Digital Libraries and AI-based Information Systems for Ecological Research and Practice

ECODL 2025

Tampere, Finland

ECODL 2025 – the Workshop on Digital Libraries and AI-based Information Systems for Ecological Research and Practice – aims to explore the integration of AI, digital libraries, and FAIR data principles in ecological research to improve knowledge synthesis and predictive modelling.

The workshop, in its first edition, tackles the challenges of Ecology’s complexity and data heterogeneity in generalisation, and the high computational capacity needed to achieve a structured knowledge representation, search, and decision support.

It invites researchers from ecology, AI, and digital information systems, to discuss AI-driven data synthesis, semantic search, causal inference, and machine learning applications in biodiversity and conservation. 

The event will take place in Tampere, Finland, co-located with the TPDL 2025 Conference The 29th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries).

LifeWatch Italy will be present at the event, with an abstract and a poster presentation:

  • Cristina Di Muri (CNR – LifeWatch Italy), will present the poster: “A Terminology Service to empower semantic interoperability in environmental sciences“;
  • Andrea Tarallo (CNR – LifeWatch Italy), will present the oral contribution: “Managing FAIR research products for biodiversity and ecosystems within the LifeWatch Italy Infrastructure“, published in the conference proceedings on Springer series Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS).

The preprint of their accepted paper, the poster, and the presentation slides are available on the EcoDL ZENODO Community: https://zenodo.org/records/17161089.

For more information about this event, visit: https://sites.google.com/view/ecodl2025/home

Living Data 2025

Living Data 2025

Bogotá, Colombia

We are pleased to announce that LifeWatch ERIC’s abstracts have been selected for presentation at Living Data 2025, to be held in Bogotá, Colombia, from 21-24 October 2025. The Living Data 2025 Conference brings together biodiversity networks, scientists, researchers, practitioners and other experts from around the world, offering an opportunity to connect with the Latin American and learn from global biodiversity data communities.

This year, the conference will explore three main themes:

  • Building standards that promote data sharing and interoperability;
  • Bringing together and providing access to diverse sources of information;
  • Monitoring our progress toward conserving and restoring the planet’s biodiversity.

Here the abstracts that LifeWatch ERIC will present at the conference:

  • Christos Arvanitidis | Transforming Knowledge into Practice: Science, Technology and Innovation in Support of the UN SDGs. | Session 6788879 | Long Live Biodiversity Data: Knowledge Transfer and Continuity across Research Projects
  • Christos Arvanitidis | Biodiversity Knowledge Hub: Bridging Research Infrastructures, Aggregators, and Communities – Past, Present, and Future. | Session 6788879 | Long Live Biodiversity Data: Knowledge Transfer and Continuity across Research Projects
  • Maite Irazábal Pla | A FAIR tool for assessing the environmental impact of energy transition policies. | Session 6796507-2 | Unlocking Biodiversity data Potential in Latin America: Tools and Practices of Data Integration (Part 2).

The event will also see the participation of LifeWatch Italy, with CNR (National Research Council of Italy) members, presenting contributions on the LifeWatch Italy infrastructure and the projects it collaborates to:

  • Andrea Tarallo | A new platform to build and support citizen science projects in biodiversity. | Session 6803025 | The Power and Pitfalls of Civic Science
  • Andrea Tarallo | LifeWatch Italy infrastructure: a national asset for Open and FAIR Biodiversity Data. | 6960773-6 | Data Integration & Platform Development (Contributed Oral presentations)
  • Martina Pulieri | Bridging biodiversity data: an ontology-driven approach | Session 6803114 | Integrating (and increasing the use of) additional data types
  • Ilaria Rosati | Traits Thesaurus: a semantic artefact to harmonise data and metadata of aquatic organism traits | Session 6803114 | Integrating (and increasing the use of) additional data types
  • Cristina Di Muri | A FAIR and Open approach for the study and integrated management of Invasive Alien Species in Italy | Session 6960773-5 | Applied Research & Policy Integration: Conservation Applications
  • Cristina Di Muri | Empowering data integration and semantic interoperability across environmental domains to address the biodiversity crisis and related environmental challenges | Session 6798859 | Advacing Sustainable Geo- and Biodiversity infrastructures, communities, and ideas.

Learn more about the event: www.livingdata2025.com
We hope to see you in Bogotá!