**3. European efforts for habitats mapping and monitoring**

There are different scientific and legislative agreements that define habitats in Europe (Groom et al. 2006). The European Union's Habitats Directive since 1992 sets the rules in Europe for developing a coherent ecological network, called *Natura 2000,* which is the centerpiece of the EU nature and biodiversity policy (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/ index\_en.htm, last accessed May 2011). The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated by Member States under the Habitats Directive, and also incorporates Special Protection Areas (SPA) designed under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC)). Habitats Directive describes two kind of habitat, from the viewpoint of their conservation status (See Annex 1 of the Directive): i) *natural habitat types of Community interest*, habitat types in danger of disappearance and whose natural range mainly falls within the territory of the European Union; ii) *priority natural habitat types*, for the conservation of which the Community has particular responsibility (Appendix 1, Table 13). The establishment of this network of protected areas also fulfills a Community obligation under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

The characteristics and identification of the different habitat types included in the Habitats Directive were firstly described in the Manuel d'Interprétation des Habitats de l'Union Européenne -EUR 15/2 that has been revised several times from 1999 until the present (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/index\_en.htm#inter pretation, last accessed May 2011). The manual enhances that habitat interpretation should be flexible and revised especially in regions with fragmented landscapes that has also a high anthropic influence. Consequently many European regions have developed their own handbooks for the interpretation of the habitats at regional level (Ramil Rego et al. 2008) (Italy: http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/; France: http://natura2000.environnement.gouv.fr/habitats/ cahiers.html; last accessed May 2011) and their own methodologies for habitats mapping and monitoring (Izco Sevillano and Ramil Rego 2001; Jackson and McLeod 2000). At present various methodologies are being used with different fieldwork efforts and levels of complexity and, in some cases, with critical limitations for appropriate and accurate monitoring.

The 2020 EU Biodiversity Strategy (http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms\_Data /docs/pressdata/en/ec/113591.pdf, last accessed May 2011), urges countries to conserving and restoring nature. Countries are responsible of the habitats and species conservation and they must adopt measures to promote it and report about repercussions of this measures on their conservation status. The target 1 of the strategy lay down "*To halt the deterioration in the status of all species and habitats covered by EU nature legislation and achieve a significant and measurable improvement in their status so that, by2020, compared to current assessments: (i) 100% more habitat assessments and 50% more species assessments under the Habitats Directive show an improved conservation status; and (ii) 50% more species assessments under the Birds Directive show a secure or improved status".* Indirectly it requires the development of methodologies to get this goal in an appropriate and accurate way. Any loss of protected habitats must be compensated for by restoration or new assignations with the same ecological value and surface area.

the territory in terms of its habitats. We have to say not yet, at least not only with remote sensing technologies and with an adequate budget and an optimal time. We also need ancillary information, ecological expert knowledge, field work and other auxiliary tools like

There are different scientific and legislative agreements that define habitats in Europe (Groom et al. 2006). The European Union's Habitats Directive since 1992 sets the rules in Europe for developing a coherent ecological network, called *Natura 2000,* which is the centerpiece of the EU nature and biodiversity policy (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/ index\_en.htm, last accessed May 2011). The aim of the network is to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It is comprised of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designated by Member States under the Habitats Directive, and also incorporates Special Protection Areas (SPA) designed under the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC)). Habitats Directive describes two kind of habitat, from the viewpoint of their conservation status (See Annex 1 of the Directive): i) *natural habitat types of Community interest*, habitat types in danger of disappearance and whose natural range mainly falls within the territory of the European Union; ii) *priority natural habitat types*, for the conservation of which the Community has particular responsibility (Appendix 1, Table 13). The establishment of this network of protected areas also fulfills a Community obligation

The characteristics and identification of the different habitat types included in the Habitats Directive were firstly described in the Manuel d'Interprétation des Habitats de l'Union Européenne -EUR 15/2 that has been revised several times from 1999 until the present (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/habitatsdirective/index\_en.htm#inter pretation, last accessed May 2011). The manual enhances that habitat interpretation should be flexible and revised especially in regions with fragmented landscapes that has also a high anthropic influence. Consequently many European regions have developed their own handbooks for the interpretation of the habitats at regional level (Ramil Rego et al. 2008) (Italy: http://vnr.unipg.it/habitat/; France: http://natura2000.environnement.gouv.fr/habitats/ cahiers.html; last accessed May 2011) and their own methodologies for habitats mapping and monitoring (Izco Sevillano and Ramil Rego 2001; Jackson and McLeod 2000). At present various methodologies are being used with different fieldwork efforts and levels of complexity

and, in some cases, with critical limitations for appropriate and accurate monitoring.

for by restoration or new assignations with the same ecological value and surface area.

The 2020 EU Biodiversity Strategy (http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms\_Data /docs/pressdata/en/ec/113591.pdf, last accessed May 2011), urges countries to conserving and restoring nature. Countries are responsible of the habitats and species conservation and they must adopt measures to promote it and report about repercussions of this measures on their conservation status. The target 1 of the strategy lay down "*To halt the deterioration in the status of all species and habitats covered by EU nature legislation and achieve a significant and measurable improvement in their status so that, by2020, compared to current assessments: (i) 100% more habitat assessments and 50% more species assessments under the Habitats Directive show an improved conservation status; and (ii) 50% more species assessments under the Birds Directive show a secure or improved status".* Indirectly it requires the development of methodologies to get this goal in an appropriate and accurate way. Any loss of protected habitats must be compensated

**3. European efforts for habitats mapping and monitoring** 

under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

landscape ecology indices.

Through its 17th Article, Habitat Directive forces countries to monitor habitat changes every six years and to assess and report to the European Union on the conservation status of the habitats and wild flora and fauna species of Community interest: the mapping of the distribution area, the trends, the preservation of their structure and functions together with the future perspectives and an overall assessment.

Then, to meet the requirements of global and regional biodiversity targets such as the *Strategy Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi biodiversity targets, the 2020 EU Biodiversity Strategy* or the European *Natura 2000* Network, the development of more cost and time effective monitoring strategies are mandatory (Bock et al. 2005).

At the moment, the first habitats reports were submitted in electronic format to the European Environmental Agency (www.eunis.eea.europa.eu, last accessed May 2011) (EEA) until March 2008, through an electronic platform on the Internet. This platform is managed by the EEA and the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) (http://bd.eionet.europa.eu/, last accessed May 2011). Currently, this information was supplied by 25 of the 27 countries that currently comprise the European Union (all except Bulgaria and Romania).

We have developed a map (Figure 1) about the distribution of habitats of Community interest derived from this information. The data were compiled, refined and standardized in

Fig. 1. Distribution of habitats of Community interest in Europe (Source: Developed from EIONET 2011)

Assessing Loss of Biodiversity in Europe

of Community interest

Through Remote Sensing: The Necessity of New Methodologies 25

Table 1. Correspondences between Corine Land Cover classification (3rd level) and habitats

a database using the *ETRS 1989 Lambert azimuthal equal-area* projection system (following INSPIRE Directive). All the spatial data of the habitats of Community interest, derived from each country, were harmonized and represented in a 10 km2 UTM grid (Universal Transverse Mercator Projection) following the recommendations of the European Commission (EuropeanCommission 2006). The output map follows the EUNIS (European Nature Information System) classification system and represents finally all the European habitats of Community interest.

The EUNIS system constitutes a pan-European classification proposed by the EEA (www.eunis.eea.europa.eu, last accessed May 2011). It is developed and managed by the European Topic Centre for Nature Protection and Biodiversity (ETC/NPB in Paris), and covers the whole of the European land and sea area, i.e. the European mainland as far east as the Ural Mountains, including offshore islands (Cyprus; Iceland but not Greenland), and the archipelagos of the European Union Member States (Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores), Anatolian Turkey and the Caucasus (Davies et al. 2004). It represents a common classification scheme for the whole of European Union, as it is compatible with the units of protection established in the strategy of *Natura 2000*-protected areas. It covers all types of habitats from natural to artificial, from terrestrial to freshwater and marine. EUNIS is also cross-comparable with CORINE Land Cover (Bock et al. 2005; Moss and Davies 2002) (Appendix 1, Table11).
