ARISE

The loss of biodiversity is one of the main threats to humanity's survival. But only if we know what is there, we can make an effort to preserve it. For this reason, we urgently need better instruments for species identification and for monitoring biodiversity.

The ARISE (Authoritative and Rapid Identification System for Essential biodiversity information) is a collaboration between several research institutes and universities supported by SURF and the eScience Center and part of the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities. ARISE aims to develop a digital infrastructure for semi-automated species identification and biodiversity monitoring in the Netherlands. This infrastructure will be the first of its kind, and combine information from eDNA, AI-based recognition of both images, audio, and radar data, generated in new and existing monitoring programs, to yield a comprehensive picture of the country's biodiversity. It will also bring together many new insights in the fields of artificial intelligence and data science.

To achieve this goal, ARISE relies on a novel open data management architecture, known as the data lakehouse, which enables the integration and management of a wide variety of data types and metadata standards. The architecture is designed to support FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), ensuring that data and metadata are well-described, accessible, and usable by both humans and machines.

In the scope of this large infrastructure project, the Netherlands eScience Center provides expertise in software development, data management, and data analysis. Through their collaboration, ARISE and the eScience Center are working to create a sustainable, innovative and scalable data infrastructure that will benefit not only the scientific community but also policymakers and society as a whole.

An additional internal eScience Center Software Sustainability project was awarded to further increase sustainability of the ARISE biocloud software.