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NPL is partnering with the National Measurement Laboratory (NML) to address the key challenges in standardising airborne environmental DNA (eDNA) measurements. This interdisciplinary approach has the potential to transform global biodiversity monitoring and address the urgent issue of biodiversity decline.
Biodiversity loss threatens vital ecosystem services such as climate regulation. In response, the UK has launched a collaborative initiative to enhance the scientific rigour of airborne eDNA analysis, aiming to improve biodiversity monitoring and support national conservation efforts.
Both organisations will work to overcome key measurement challenges in existing airborne eDNA monitoring techniques. Efforts will focus on improving consistency and reliability across advanced analytical methods, developing robust reference procedures and candidate reference materials, conducting metrology-driven interlaboratory comparisons, and refining dispersion models to simulate the transport and behaviour of airborne eDNA.
Advancements in this field could enable high-resolution tracking of terrestrial biodiversity, inform policy decisions to reverse biodiversity loss, support emerging natural capital markets such as biodiversity credits, and identify changes in species populations as a proxy for climate change. The technology also holds promise for bio-surveillance applications, including the detection of invasive species, agricultural pests, and fungal diseases.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has emphasised the need for improved biodiversity monitoring in its 25 Year Environment Plan, which envisions a resilient network of ecosystems rich in plant and animal life. This aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 15, “Life on Land,” which seeks to halt biodiversity decline.
Andrew Brown, Principal Scientist and Science Area Leader at NPL, said: “This hugely exciting new project brings together for the first time NPL’s long-standing expertise in air quality and aerosol metrology with NML’s established bioinformatics and nucleic acid metrology capabilities. This collaborative cross-disciplinary approach will provide crucial measurement science support to the rapidly expanding airborne eDNA community and lead to more reliable and robust biodiversity surveys.”
Jim Huggett, Science Fellow and Director of Biological Metrology at LGC (NML), commented: “Metrology is at its very core about collaboration. However, what is so great about this work is the synergy between two institutes that work on metrology for gas and bioanalysis, topics that often exist in isolation. This National Measurement System (NMS) driven project, funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), puts metrology at the forefront of eDNA analysis where it is often neglected or misunderstood. This will allow us to improve the accuracy of the methods used to support biodiversity assessment applicable to a wide range of stakeholders from civil engineering, forestry, agriculture to those tasked with monitoring and responding to climate change.”
03 Nov 2025