Online service for the threat assessment of Finnish species now open

The threat assessment of Finnish species has been carried out for the fifth time. The Red List for Finnish species includes an assessment of the status of nearly 22,500 species. For the first time, the results of the threat assessment can be examined directly after its publication at the Red List online service.

The online service (punainenkirja.laji.fi) enables easy access to Red List categories and related criteria, in addition to which the searchable data include the causes of threat and current threat factors. Due to the ability to conduct searches, the online service supplements the printed book, which includes extensive summaries for groups of organisms. Data can be categorised, for example, by habitat; what are the primary causes of threat for species in alpine heaths and meadows, or which butterfly species classified as threatened live in mire environments? The data can also be downloaded from the service for desktop analyses.

Online service available to citizens and scholars

The documentation related to the threat assessment of species and the online service has been implemented as part of the services provided by the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility FinBIF. A tool for evaluating conservation status developed by FinBIF was used for documentation, enabling the information to be stored immediately in the facility’s data repository. The tool and the online service also make use of the national checklist of Finnish species maintained by FinBIF.

FinBIF is a national biodiversity data management and research infrastructure coordinated by the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus. The Species.fi (Laji.fi) portal of the facility hosts nearly 32 million individual records of species occurrences, available for browsing and download. In the future, the availability of species information will improve further, as species data from, among others, Natural Resources Institute Finland Luke, Metsähallitus and SYKE will be made available through the online service. This will make it easier and more effective to use the data in work aimed at preserving biodiversity in all sectors.

Further information

Ulla-Maija Liukko, senior researcher, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE, phone +358 295 251 387, firstname.lastname@ymparisto.fi

Aino Juslén, unit director, Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus, phone +358 50 310 9703, aino.juslen@helsinki.fi

Eija-Leena Laiho, IT planning officer, Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus, phone +358 50 318 2454

Red List online service

Species.fi

New estimate — every ninth species in Finland is threatened (SYKE's press release)