Assessing the Multidimensional Complexity of Biodiversity Using a Globally Standardized Approach

Quantifying biodiversity across the globe is critical for transparent reporting and assessment under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Understanding the full complexity of biodiversity requires consideration of the variation of life across genetic, species and ecosystem levels. Achieving this in a globally-standardized way remains a key international challenge for biodiversity monitoring efforts. Here, we present the Sustainable Ecology and Economic Development (SEED) framework, which consolidates multiple dimensions of biodiversity into a single measure of biocomplexity as a holistic estimate of the current state of nature at a given location. The SEED framework continuously integrates state-of-the-art datasets and maps of the biological variation in plants, microbes, animals, and ecosystems to estimate the local biocomplexity across the planet relative to a comparable, minimally-disturbed ‘reference’ ecosystem. The SEED framework allows an assessment of ecological health in response to positive and negative human impacts, and informs decision makers who strive to improve the global state of nature.