AD4GD had the pleasure of participating in the GISRUK 2025 conference, which was excellently organized by the University of Bristol. Our own Vitalii Kriukov (Aston University) was there to present the intermediate results from our biodiversity pilot and to connect with the wider geospatial research community.
The conference was a fantastic opportunity to share our work, and we’re excited to recap the key takeaways from our presentation.
Key Findings from the AD4GD Biodiversity Pilot
Vitalii’s presentation focused on the challenges and insights gained from analyzing habitat connectivity trends. Our findings underscore the complex nature of environmental change and the need for sophisticated analytical tools.
- The Forest Thrives: Our analysis revealed a trend of increasing connectivity for forest habitats, while simultaneously showing declining connectivity for shrublands and meadows in Catalonia.
- High Spatial Variability: A primary takeaway was the significant spatial variation in how habitat connectivity is changing along the territory. Although connectivity has increased in the Pyrenees and protected areas, this has not been the case in the Barcelona metropolitan area.
- Local Data Over Regional Trends: For effective nature conservation and spatial planning, our research showed that local indices are more significant than regional trends for authorities making decisions on the ground. Understanding the specific importance of a particular habitat patch allows for much more targeted and impactful interventions.
- Speeding Up Analysis with AI: We demonstrated how a Pix2Pix generative adversarial network (GAN) model can be used to speed up data processing. This machine learning approach delivered results within acceptable accuracy constraints, proving especially useful for analyzing areas on the fringe of built-up environments.
The discussions and feedback we received at GISRUK were invaluable. Events like these are crucial for sharing knowledge and advancing the collective effort towards better, data-driven environmental governance. We look forward to building on these insights as the AD4GD project reaches its finish!
Vitalii Kryukov (AU) in front of the AD4GD poster.
