Digital services for biodiversity protection
Monitor, protect, restore, enhance
The Biodiversity Gateway’s first prototypes are designed to collect, process, and use biodiversity data to address environmental challenges with a knowledge-based approach
A system for turning data into knowledge
- Information gathering and integration
- Data from sensors, international platforms like GBIF and iNaturalist, and other sources are combined to build a solid, accessible knowledge base.
- Information analysis and visualization
- Advanced models help interpret the data, supporting research and decision-making.
- Information management and control
- Digital tools ensure quality, traceability, and interoperability—making biodiversity data useful and reliable.
Service prototypes: the first subject areas involved
The first service prototypes focus on key themes: exotic pest species, phytotechnology, bioactive molecules, Nature-Based Solutions, and data-driven monitoring of marine systems
A-Sprint: monitoring exotic pest species
Some plant species, introduced by humans into environments where they are not native, spread easily and change the balance of the territories where they arrive.
This tool allows local authorities and administrations to assess the spread of invasive exotic species in the metropolitan city of Milan.Through interactive maps, it is possible to explore soil permeability and the level of invasion risk for each plant species analyzed.
The system integrates data from Shapefile and Excel, processes it and returns it with clear thematic visualizations.
Regeneration with phytotechnology
Plants and microorganisms can purify polluted soils, offering asustainable alternative to traditional remediation.
We analyze soil conditions to select the most effective species for absorbing, degrading, or stabilizing pollutants—improving the quality of urban ecosystems. We focus on four main phytoremediation approaches: extraction, degradation, volatilization, and stabilization.
Our aim? Scalable solutions, adaptable to different conditions, and ready for large-scale application.
PollinAId: countering the decline of pollinators
Many pollinator species are at risk, and with them the natural balances that depend on their presence. PollinAId helps to design green spaces that support biodiversity, with a data-driven approach and natural solutions.
It is designed for companies, public officials, researchers and citizens interested in implementing green spaces in line with environmental goals.
It allows the selection of plant species suitable for the local context, filtering by environmental conditions (such as soil pH) and design preferences (such as flower color).
It visualizes the interactions between plants and pollinating insects, shows the functional traits of the insects involved, and helps estimate their potential presence.
Research into new bioactive molecules
Some plants produce compounds with untapped therapeutic potential.
To uncover them, we reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between species and pinpoint the most promising candidates in the pharmaceutical field. Using the open-source software PM4MP(Phylogenetic Methods for Medicinal Plants), we explore plant databases to analyze their medicinal properties and trace their evolutionary roots.
This approach has helped us identify a select group of plants with high potential for the treating major diseases.
NbS CataTool: catalog and tools for designing nature-based solutions
Nature-Based Solutions can solve complex environmental challenges, but only if we make them accessible to those who design them. CataTool was created to do just that.
It is a tool designed for researchers, students and municipal officials who want to identify and explore nature-based solutions in urban, coastal or terrestrial settings.Through interactive navigation, you can explore the NbS database and a map of case studies, with images, tables and fact sheets.The prototype helps compare solutions based on intervention type, terrain, and environmental goals.
Nerea: monitoring marine ecosystems with advanced data
Studying the sea today means combining history and technology. Nerea combines time series and genomic data to read deeply into changes in marine ecosystems.
It is designed for researchers who collect and integrate physicochemical, biogeochemical, and bioinformatics data, providing useful evidence for local agencies to guide shared protection strategies.
Starting with a sample that can be filtered by site, year, and season, microscopy data can be analyzed (via interactive treemap), information from HPLC, CTD, and LOFAS can be visualized in tables and graphs, and taxonomies can be explored in depth via drill-down.
The goal is to facilitate synoptic reading of biodiversity in the Bay of Naples.
Lagoon atlas: explore the complexity of the Venice lagoon
To address the environmental and territorial challenges of the Venice Lagoon, tools capable of restoring its complexity are needed.
The Atlas is a geoportal that collects, organizes and makes accessible data related to the lagoon, the territory and the coastal area of Venice.
Designed for public officials and citizens, it allows them to navigate between categories such as Biology, Morphology and History, displaying the different themes on a map and reading the associated data in the form of graphs, tables and thematic sheets.The content is organized into thematic layers and accessible through standard map services (WMS and WFS) hosted on the CIGNo Atlas and CIGNo CNR-ISMAR platforms.
