Measuring biodiversity is a highly complex multidimensional challenge because it involves quantifying variation at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. A multidisciplinary scientific approach is essential because traditional single-discipline methods, such as counting species, fail to capture the full picture.
The ICEB was awarded a strategic infrastructure grant of 2.4 million euros for the “BioDivTech Lab” project. The grant will be used to invest in state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary technologies for quantitative research and development in biodiversity and ecosystem services. This project is currently the largest externally funded project in CUAS‘ history.
The BioDivTech Lab comprises technologies for recording landscapes and ecosystems, as well as species, populations, and genetic diversity, which are brought together in digital workflows (Jungmeier et al., 2025). Technologies from the fields of remote sensing, ICT/AI,sensor technologies, robotics, platforms, and molecular biology will be utilized in the integration of the following four key infrastructure components:
• On-site research infrastructure for long-term use in Metschach, Carinthia. The Privatstiftung Kärntner Sparkasse provides this 15-hectare area, which has more than 30 years of environmental data records available.
• Mobile research infrastructure for multi-sited and short-term use: this infrastructure allows us to capture multimodal field data with a biodiversity truck equipped with multidisciplinary data capture devices and sensors.
• A molecular biology lab that focuses on genetic and eDNA scales.
• High-performance digital data integration and analysis lab. These components enable the realization of an innovative framework that provides a new, multidisciplinary, and holistic paradigm for time-synchronized environmental monitoring.
This framework supports key EU policies, such as the “Biodiversity Strategy for 2030”and the “Nature Restoration Law”.
Further information on the project is available here: projekte.ffg.at/projekt/5123280
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) providedthe grant through the R&D Infrastructure Funding Call 2023(FO999912144). The project is also co-funded by the EuropeanUnion‘s IBW/EFRE & JTF grant program.
