Izvorni znanstveni članak

https://doi.org/10.20302/NC.2026.35.36

Biodiversity citizen science development in Croatia: Insights from over half a million iNaturalist records

Ozren Polašek ; Croatian Science Foundation, Zagreb, Croatia *

* Dopisni autor.

Sažetak

Citizen science platforms are rapidly expanding biodiversity data availability, yet their national trajectories and policy implications remain under-documented in Southeast Europe. iNaturalist observations from Croatia were analysed for 2016-2025, to describe temporal growth, spatial coverage, taxonomic composition, and engagement with taxa flagged as threatened. The dataset comprised 506,816 verifiable observations contributed by 14,950 observers and identified by 10,437 identifiers to 14,138 species. Activity surged during the COVID-19 period (2020-2022) across observations and species, with sustained but slower growth thereafter. Records concentrated along the Adriatic coast, major cities, and protected areas, while inland regions showed persistent under-representation. Platform-flagged threatened taxa accumulated 23,585 observations spanning 525 species from 3,378 observers, indicating strong potential for conservation monitoring if expert review capacity keeps pace. A relative stagnation in the number of active identifiers versus the growth in observations suggests a validation bottleneck. Proposed tasks include a practical programme to (i) micro-target inland gaps, (ii) invest in identifier capacity, and (iii) integrate citizen-science streams with institutional monitoring and data governance. These steps would convert high volunteer effort into verified, policy-relevant biodiversity information for Croatia.

Ključne riječi

Citizen science; biodiversity monitoring; iNaturalist; spatial bias; threatened taxa; Croatia; validation bottleneck

Hrčak ID:

351401

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/351401

Datum izdavanja:

31.12.2026.

Posjeta: 0 *