BioSCape combines local knowledge and remote-sensing technology for inclusive biodiversity science

BioSCape is an integrated remote-sensing and field campaign that was conducted in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa in October and November of 2023. The GCFR spans eight terrestrial and six marine biomes, hosts two of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, and has exceptional levels of terrestrial and aquatic endemism⁴. Biodiversity in the GCFR is threatened by factors including drought, invasive plants, changes to ocean chemistry and currents, and complex pressures from human populations^5,6,7. The GCFR is a microcosm of global challenges — a highly biodiverse region that must support sustainable human development while surviving the threat of climate change. Fortunately, the region has a long history of data-informed conservation and provides learning opportunities that can inform management of similar regions worldwide⁸.

During BioSCape, airborne imaging spectroscopy (also known as hyperspectral remote sensing) and LiDAR data were acquired over terrestrial, freshwater and marine study areas. Imaging spectroscopy measures reflected and emitted solar radiation at high spectral resolution, which enables the retrieval of biodiversity information such as mapping aquatic primary producers or leaf functional traits^9,10. In combination with LiDAR measurements of the three-dimensional structure of terrestrial ecosystems, imaging spectroscopy data provide further opportunities for remote sensing of biodiversity, such as classifying tree species¹¹. BioSCape’s airborne dataset, acquired using three imaging spectrometers and two LiDAR instruments, is unprecedented, covering much of the ultraviolet (UV), visible-to-shortwave-infrared (VSWIR) and thermal-infrared (TIR) ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as structural measurements. This combined spectral and structural airborne dataset is necessary to explore the potential of satellite remote sensing for measuring and monitoring global biodiversity¹².

BioSCape’s airborne dataset is accompanied by field measurements on land and in water. Field data were collected by 19 individually funded principal-investigator-led research projects, each with its own objectives that included: mapping marine and freshwater biodiversity, including phytoplankton, kelp and harmful algal blooms; quantifying how changes in ocean chemistry and sea-level rise associated with climate change will affect aquatic ecosystems (specifically, estuaries and kelp forests); mapping terrestrial ecosystem properties, including evapotranspiration, plant traits, vegetation 3D structure and mineralogy; quantifying spatial variation and drivers of plant community assembly and ecosystem function, including alien plant invasions; and combining novel field methods, including environmental DNA and acoustic indices, with remotely sensed data to estimate the composition and diversity of biotic communities.

BioSCape’s research projects all aim to better understand the structure, function and composition of the GCFR’s ecosystems, and to learn how and why they are changing in time and space. These diverse projects will integrate and analyse remote-sensing and field data, and advance models and algorithms for measuring and monitoring biodiversity at multiple scales. By combining satellite, airborne and field-based measurements, BioSCape aims to expand the capacity of integrated datasets to produce accurate and scalable findings and help to improve conservation efficacy. High species richness and endemism in the GCFR, combined with open and often scrubby vegetation, make remote sensing particularly challenging. BioSCape will be testing the limits and potential of remote sensing for biodiversity applications worldwide. As a team member noted “if we can do it in the GCFR, we can do it anywhere.”

Applying global perspectives and technology in local contexts requires international collaboration, which can bring benefits including increased scientific impact and applicability¹³. However, international collaboration can be challenging as countries can have different skills and access to resources. In such cases, extra care must be taken to ensure the collaboration is inclusive and benefits everyone involved.

Since its conception, BioSCape has emphasized creating and maintaining deep and meaningful collaboration between US and South African researchers, and the importance of codeveloping research. The early inclusion of South African researchers in the design of airborne and field components of BioSCape led to a diverse team of about 160 members, of whom approximately half are affiliated with South African institutions and half with US institutions. US participation ensured global applicability and access to best-in-class technology, and bridged gaps in capacity. South African expertise ensured that the research agenda for BioSCape was locally relevant and that local ecological expertise was incorporated.

As biodiversity is intrinsically site-specific, effective conservation hinges on local knowledge and region-specific actions. In the GCFR, strong personal and institutional relationships among research institutes, environmental management authorities and conservation managers have yielded rapid dissemination and uptake of novel science relevant to decision-making. South Africa is a well-known early adopter of systematic conservation planning, has been relatively successful in operationalizing conservation planning into government policy and decision-making, and has ‘set the standard’ for using scientific information in conservation planning and implementation^8,14. Therefore, data products created by BioSCape will inform biodiversity conservation, environmental decision-making and policy in South Africa, and guide the management of similar ecosystems worldwide⁴ (Fig. 1).

Measuring and monitoring biodiversity variables in campaigns such as BioSCape can directly affect biodiversity conservation. For example, in South Africa, biodiversity observations can be processed to produce relevant data products that are used to inform biodiversity assessment, planning and reporting, which directly affects biodiversity policy and conservation management decisions (which, in turn, inform observation approaches and product development). For this reason, the most impactful biodiversity research projects are codesigned with local stakeholders.

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The GCFR’s megadiversity, established pathway from science to application, and diverse threats to biodiversity are a microcosm of global biodiversity challenges and opportunities. As satellite acquisitions of rich, highly dimensional data types improve in area coverage, spatial resolution and temporal latency in the coming years, BioSCape provides a proof of concept for remote sensing of biodiversity using imaging spectroscopy and LiDAR combined with several complementary field techniques. Although some of BioSCape’s planned approaches might fail, we expect they will teach us almost as much about the remote sensing of biodiversity as the successes — not to mention the serendipitous discoveries.