Observation and monitoring

Ecological or environmental monitoring is a systematic method for collecting information about the Earth's natural resources in response to growing public and political concern about environmental problems.

Gradually, ecological monitoring has become a discipline closely linked to management. Its fundamental usefulness lies in discovering patterns of ecological functioning, forecasting the future and guiding decision making.

Some benefits of ecological monitoring are:

• Determine whether a factor is affecting one or more resources.

• Understanding how a variable changes (prediction).

• Define acceptable ranges of variation (tolerance).

• Early detection of undesirable changes (early warning).

• Decide when to intervene or modify the management undertaken.

• Evaluate and contrast the efficiency of the practices of management.

BIOMA members actively participate in several monitoring networks and programs, focusing particularly on biological impacts. To do so, they use a set of sampling techniques and methodologies that generate large volumes of data which form the pillars on which the other areas of research are based.