Standardising airborne eDNA for biodiversity monitoring: A UK collaboration to advance measurement science
The UK has suffered a dramatic decline in biodiversity over recent decades and is now among the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The natural world plays numerous vital societal roles whether through climate regulation, air and water quality, pollination of crops or by providing significant health benefits by reducing stress and improving public well-being. However, current methods used for biodiversity monitoring are inconsistent, biased toward well-known species and to date have not been supported by the measurement science (metrology) community.
The pressing need for enhanced biodiversity monitoring has been highlighted by Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan, which aspires to build a thriving, resilient network of ecosystems teeming with plant and animal life, and by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 15, “Life on Land,” which seeks to stop biodiversity decline.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis from air samples provides a promising, interdisciplinary field poised to transform global biodiversity monitoring, but it lacks standardised methods, robust datasets, and validated models. Advancing this technology could enable high-resolution tracking of terrestrial biodiversity, inform policy to reverse biodiversity loss, support natural capital markets like biodiversity credits, and serve as a climate change proxy. It also offers potential for bio-surveillance, including detection of invasive species, agricultural pests, and fungal diseases.
A new collaboration between National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the National Measurement Laboratory at LGC (NML) will address key challenges in standardising airborne eDNA measurements, enhancing consistency and reliability across cutting-edge methods, developing robust reference measurement procedures and candidate reference materials, conducting a metrology-focused interlaboratory comparison, and adapting dispersion models to simulate airborne eDNA behaviour transport. These efforts will ultimately address key metrology gaps and enhancing the accuracy and consistency of biodiversity measurements.
Jim Huggett, NML, commented: “Metrology is at its very core about collaboration. However, what is so great about this work is the synergy between two institutes that work on metrology for gas and bioanalysis, topics that often exist in isolation. This National Measurement System (NMS) driven project, funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), puts metrology at the forefront of eDNA analysis where it is often neglected or misunderstood. This will allow us to improve the accuracy of the methods used to support biodiversity assessment applicable to a wide range of stakeholders from civil engineering, forestry, agriculture to those tasked with monitoring and responding to climate change.”
By ensuring data quality, consistency, and comparability, this approach will further strengthen the significant role of citizen science in biodiversity monitoring, connecting grassroots efforts with rigorous scientific standards, driving real-world impact.
Andrew Brown, NPL, said: “This hugely exciting new project brings together for the first time NPL’s long-standing expertise in air quality and aerosol metrology with NML’s established bioinformatics and nucleic acid metrology capabilities. This collaborative cross-disciplinary approach will provide crucial measurement science support to the rapidly expanding airborne eDNA community and lead to more reliable and robust biodiversity surveys.”