Episode 1 - Follow us into the field

The BioMonitor4CAP project is about simple and advanced biodiversity monitoring systems to measure biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Therefore it combines classical biodiversity indicator systems with new technological approaches. 

Our new podcast series takes you behind the scenes, from field work at our research sites, to presentations of the cutting edge monitoring technologies or discussions about biodiversity in agriculture.

In this podcast episode, join our research team in the Spreewald. Discover how they conduct fieldwork and explore how the set up devices used to monitor biodiversity. Follow Martina Clausen (DLG) and Paul Jarick (Spreewald Biosphere Reserve) on this audio journey into the fields.

Listen to the 1st episode here.

Episode 2 - Follow us into the lab

The BioMonitor4CAP project focuses on innovative biodiversity monitoring in agricultural landscapes, blending traditional indicator systems with cutting-edge technology.

Our podcast series takes you behind the scenes - whether it’s fieldwork at research sites, deep dives into state-of-the-art monitoring technologies, or discussions on biodiversity in agriculture.

In our last episode, we ventured into the fields to explore how audio recorders and cameras are used to collect data. But what happens next? How are these recordings analyzed to track biodiversity? Join Martina in Ilmenau as she visits the Fraunhofer Institute’s laboratory to uncover the process.

Listen to the 2nd episode here.

Episode 3 - Follow us beneath the surface

The BioMonitor4CAP project focuses on innovative biodiversity monitoring in agricultural landscapes, combining established indicator approaches with cutting-edge technology. In Episode 3, we take the next step “beneath the surface” and look at how soil and insect samples can be turned into robust biodiversity data using modern genetic methods.

This episode puts the spotlight on eDNA (environmental DNA) and metabarcoding, approaches that help reveal biodiversity that often remains hidden below the surface and is difficult (or impossible) to capture by sight alone.

Together with Ameli Kirse (LIB – Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change), we discuss how samples are collected and prepared, what happens after DNA extraction, how reliable the results are, and why these methods are becoming increasingly important for soil health, soil fertility, and resilient agriculture.

Listen to the 3rd episode here.

Episode 4 – Follow us from science to policy

The BioMonitor4CAP project focuses on innovative biodiversity monitoring in agricultural landscapes, combining established indicator systems with new technological approaches. But reliable data are only the first step. To make biodiversity-friendly farming work in practice, scientific evidence needs to be connected with farm management, incentives and agricultural policy.

In Episode 4, we follow the path from science to policy and explore how biodiversity is integrated into the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Together with Antonia Lütteken from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Vitaliy Krupin from IRWIR PAN discusses what biodiversity policy needs to achieve, how biodiversity can be measured at farm and landscape level, and what can help farmers adopt biodiversity-friendly practices.

Listen to the 4th episode here.