Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology of Plants, Biocentre Klein Flottbek and Botanical Garden, University of Hamburg, Ohnhorststr. 18, 22609 Hamburg, Germany.
Environ Monit Assess. 2012 Jan;184(2):655-78. doi: 10.1007/s10661-011-1993-y. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
The international, interdisciplinary biodiversity research project BIOTA AFRICA initiated a standardized biodiversity monitoring network along climatic gradients across the African continent. Due to an identified lack of adequate monitoring designs, BIOTA AFRICA developed and implemented the standardized BIOTA Biodiversity Observatories, that meet the following criteria (a) enable long-term monitoring of biodiversity, potential driving factors, and relevant indicators with adequate spatial and temporal resolution, (b) facilitate comparability of data generated within different ecosystems, (c) allow integration of many disciplines, (d) allow spatial up-scaling, and (e) be applicable within a network approach. A BIOTA Observatory encompasses an area of 1 km(2) and is subdivided into 100 1-ha plots. For meeting the needs of sampling of different organism groups, the hectare plot is again subdivided into standardized subplots, whose sizes follow a geometric series. To allow for different sampling intensities but at the same time to characterize the whole square kilometer, the number of hectare plots to be sampled depends on the requirements of the respective discipline. A hierarchical ranking of the hectare plots ensures that all disciplines monitor as many hectare plots jointly as possible. The BIOTA Observatory design assures repeated, multidisciplinary standardized inventories of biodiversity and its environmental drivers, including options for spatial up- and downscaling and different sampling intensities. BIOTA Observatories have been installed along climatic and landscape gradients in Morocco, West Africa, and southern Africa. In regions with varying land use, several BIOTA Observatories are situated close to each other to analyze management effects.
国际跨学科生物多样性研究项目 BIOTA AFRICA 在整个非洲大陆的气候梯度上启动了一个标准化的生物多样性监测网络。由于发现缺乏足够的监测设计，BIOTA AFRICA 开发并实施了标准化的 BIOTA 生物多样性观测站，这些观测站符合以下标准：(a) 能够以足够的时空分辨率长期监测生物多样性、潜在驱动因素和相关指标；(b) 促进不同生态系统内生成的数据的可比性；(c) 允许整合多个学科；(d) 允许空间扩展；(e) 适用于网络方法。一个 BIOTA 观测站包含 1 平方公里的区域，并细分为 100 个 1 公顷的样地。为了满足不同生物群采样的需求，公顷样地再次细分为标准化的子样地，其大小遵循几何级数。为了允许不同的采样强度，但同时描述整个平方公里，要采样的公顷样地的数量取决于各自学科的要求。公顷样地的分层排序确保所有学科尽可能共同监测尽可能多的公顷样地。BIOTA 观测站的设计确保了生物多样性及其环境驱动因素的重复、多学科标准化清查，包括空间上推和下推以及不同采样强度的选择。BIOTA 观测站已沿着摩洛哥、西非和南非的气候和景观梯度安装。在土地利用变化的地区，几个 BIOTA 观测站彼此靠近，以分析管理效果。
