With eDentity, Naturalis is building a new infrastructure to provide knowledge about Dutch nature, based on DNA traces in water, soil and air (so-called eDNA). Part of this is a “baseline measurement”: an initial determination of eDNA in many thousands of samples. This approach offers valuable insights into the flora and fauna of the Netherlands, without disturbing ecosystems.
Why participate?
We work with a wide range of organisations: from nature organisations, site managers and water boards to agricultural companies, governments and research institutes. Essential is that you have access to multiple locations where we can take samples of soil, water or air and that you are willing to contribute to a representative and nationwide analysis.
By participating, you invest in collaboration and innovation in ecological research. The programme offers a unique opportunity to work with a wide range of partners, from scientists to government agencies, helping to accelerate nature restoration and conservation efforts. By participating, you will contribute to mapping the biodiversity of the Netherlands. You will receive detailed information about biodiversity at your location.
What we expectfrom you
As a partner, you deliver the soil, water or air samples collected at your location. This is done according to clear instructions you receive from us, so you do not need to be a specialist. We also provide the necessary equipment and training, if required.
The analyses and processing of the samples are fully paid for by eDentity (until December 2028).
Collecting metadata is very easy with our sampling app. This is the same app that is used for our sister project ARISE.
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What do you getin return?
- As an eDentity participant, you actively contribute to a large-scale study on biodiversity in the Netherlands. You will gain insight into the biodiversity (where possible at species level) present at your location, based on modern DNA techniques. This information can be valuable for your own management, monitoring, research or policy-making.
- Very specifically, this means: so-called ASV tables. In other words: spreadsheets in which each line is a unique ASV (DNA code) and each column a sample location. You will receive the corresponding sequences as a separate file. Where possible, we link the DNA to known organisms. This is not always successful yet.
Identifications are often not at species level. For fungi, for example, you usually only get back the genus or a higher taxonomic level. That is still valuable information, but less specific.
- You will also become part of a national network of knowledge institutions, nature managers, companies and governments working together to create a better future for our environment. You contribute to innovation, sustainability and knowledge sharing through open data.
