Satellites are transforming biodiversity monitoring for global nature targets, but major gaps remain

• New review highlights how remote sensing could help countries monitor progress
under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)
• Tropical forests are a key focus, with satellites now capturing important aspects of ecosystem structure and function
• Major gaps remain in observing species-level, evolutionary and genetic dimensions of biodiversity from space
• The authors emphasise that field data remain essential, alongside rapidly advancing satellite technologies

A new scientific review outlines how satellites and other remote sensing technologies are increasingly shaping how biodiversity and ecosystem health can be monitored at scale — offering new opportunities for countries reporting under international nature targets, while also underscoring important limitations.

Published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, the study synthesises current knowledge on the use of satellite-based Earth observation, LiDAR, radar and airborne sensing to track changes in ecosystems across the planet.

The review focuses on a central challenge for the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): how countries can consistently measure and report on the state of biodiversity across large and often inaccessible regions.

Tropical forests are highlighted as a critical case study. They contain a disproportionate share of global biodiversity, deliver essential nature contributions to people, and are increasingly affected by climate change, land-use change and disturbance.

The authors show that remote sensing is becoming increasingly important for monitoring aspects of forest structure, biomass, canopy traits and ecosystem functioning. These data allow researchers to assess how forests resist, recover from and adapt to environmental change — key components of ecosystem resilience.

The review also notes that satellite data can provide indirect indicators, or “proxies”, for different dimensions of biodiversity, including functional and taxonomic diversity, and to a more limited extent phylogenetic and genetic diversity. These links are increasingly relevant to biodiversity monitoring frameworks such as Essential Biodiversity Variables.

However, the authors emphasise that remote sensing cannot yet provide a complete picture of biodiversity. Many important dimensions — including species turnover, evolutionary history and genetic diversity — remain difficult to observe directly from space and continue to rely on field-based measurements.

They therefore stress that satellite observations must be integrated with ground-based ecology to produce robust and reliable biodiversity assessments.

Looking ahead, the study highlights that next-generation satellite missions and improved sensor technologies, including hyperspectral imaging, LiDAR and radar systems, are expected to significantly expand what can be measured from space in the coming years.

The research is led by Dr Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez, Associate Professor and Group Lead of Biodiversity and Earth Observation at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute (ECI), and also Associate Professor and NERC Independent Research Fellowship (IRF) based at Imperial College London where he leads the Biodiversity & Remote Sensing Lab.

Dr Aguirre-Gutiérrez said:

“Remote sensing is transforming how we can observe biodiversity and ecosystem change at large scales. Satellites now provide unprecedented information on forest structure and function, helping us understand how ecosystems respond to disturbance.

“However, this is not a complete solution. Many dimensions of biodiversity are still difficult to observe directly from space, which is why combining satellite data with field observations remains essential. Future satellite missions will continue to expand what we can measure, but biodiversity monitoring will always depend on integrating multiple sources of evidence.”

Co-authors include researchers from the University of Oxford and international partners across the UK, Mexico, the USA, South Africa and Japan.

The authors conclude that while satellite technologies are rapidly improving the ability to observe and track ecosystems globally, effective biodiversity monitoring under the Global Biodiversity Framework will depend on combining remote sensing with field ecology and emerging biodiversity data frameworks.

Notes to Editors

Background on biodiversity and monitoring

Tropical forests contain around 50% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, despite covering only a small fraction of the Earth’s surface.

Forests cover approximately 31% of global land area and play a major role in regulating climate and ecosystem processes.

The Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes the global goal of conserving 30% of land and sea by 2030 (“30×30”).

Biodiversity is multi-dimensional, including species (taxonomic), functional, genetic and evolutionary diversity, many of which are not directly observable from space.

Why remote sensing matters

Satellite Earth observation now provides near-continuous global coverage, enabling consistent monitoring across regions that are difficult to access on the ground.

Recent advances in sensors (e.g. LiDAR, hyperspectral imaging and radar) are expanding the range of ecosystem properties that can be observed, including forest structure and biomass.

Despite this, species-level and genetic diversity cannot yet be directly measured from space at scale, meaning field data remain essential for calibration and validation.

Policy context

The GBF requires countries to report progress using improved biodiversity indicators, but global biodiversity monitoring systems remain uneven and incomplete, particularly in tropical regions.

Frameworks such as Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) are being developed to standardise how biodiversity is measured across scales and data sources.

Journal

Nature Reviews Biodiversity

DOI

10.1038/s44358-026-00178-6

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