Elements for a better knowledge on biological characterisation of ecosystems, their pressures and conditions - ETC/BD Working paper N°C/2016

The EU target 2 aims to maintain and restore ecosystems and theirs services. In this respect, the state or condition of the ecosystems must be assessed for the sake of biodiversity as aimed by the 2020 Headline target, halting the loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystem services.
Levels of conditions can be defined according to several values (historical, ecological, socio-cultural values) but also based on policy targets. That can lead to lengthy discussions on what should be the reference underlying the assessment. With a pragmatic approach and due to the importance of the role of services highlighted in the policy context, we decided to consider ecosystem condition with a service perspective.

Prepared by: Martin Götzl, Gabriele Sonderegger, Elisabeth Schwaiger, Bernhard Schwarzl and Peter Tramberend (from ETC/BD partner UBA, AT), Sophie Condé and Bálint Czúcz (from ETC/BD-MNHN, FR)