A Yarnball of Frayed Strings - Communication, Impact & Cohesion of European Biodiversity Research Infrastructures

Abstract

European biodiversity research infrastructures (BioRIs) play a critical role in addressing the escalating biodiversity crisis by providing data, tools, and services necessary for scientific research and policy-making. However, despite their potential, these infrastructures are often fragmented in terms of communication and coordination, scientific fields most impacted as well as the interoperability and cohesion of their services. This fragmentation impedes their ability to collaborate effectively and facilitate comprehensive solutions to biodiversity challenges. Motivated by the need to enhance the coherence and impact of European BioRIs, this study investigates four major infrastructures: Distributed System of Scientific Collections (DiSSCo), Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem Research (eLTER), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and LifeWatch ERIC. Through surveys of managerial staff and literature tracking, we assess the communication and collaboration efforts within and across these infrastructures, evaluate their scientific impact, and explore the cohesion of their services and data. Our results show that while internal communication is stronger within individual BioRIs, cross-infrastructure collaboration is limited. Notably, eLTER and LifeWatch exhibit higher levels of internal interaction compared to DiSSCo and GBIF. Our study also highlights significant challenges in public engagement and data standardization. We conclude with recommendations for improving interoperability and communication to strengthen the role of BioRIs in addressing biodiversity issues at both European and global scales.