Bio-O-Ton project

Biodiversity assessment of biotope types by machine learning using citizen-science sound recordings and satellite images

Funding: Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)

Duration: 2025 bis 2027

Project consortium: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), ci-tec GmbH, Institute for Social-Ecological Research (ISOE)

The interdisciplinary Bio-O-Ton project is pursuing an innovative, scalable approach for monitoring biodiversity (loss) based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods. The aim is to develop a species- and biotope-independent classification scheme that maps the biodiversity of biotopes. The development is simultaneously based on expertise from administrative practice and environmental protection, as well as the AI-supported evaluation of spatially and temporally high-resolution satellite data, and sound recordings from citizen-science projects. In parallel, an AI classification algorithm is being implemented that evaluates local biodiversity in Germany based on the satellite data and sound recordings using the iteratively developed classification scheme. Within the project consortium, ci-tec is primarily responsible for developing the AI methods for biodiversity classification.

The Bio-O-Ton approach aims to supplement existing official monitoring, which relies on conventional mapping methods, with a time-saving and comprehensive assessment of biodiversity. The results are accessible via an interactive platform that visualizes local biodiversity. In addition, technological development is accompanied by targeted stakeholder processes to account for practical requirements and ensure the acceptance and applicability of the results.

The Bio-O-Ton project is funded as part of the BMFTR-Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity FEdA .