Seed transport in water bodies as an indicator for biodiversity and as an early warning system (Yes!IndSeed)

Watercourses are the reservoirs of their surroundings, also for seeds. Their accompanying floodplains are a hotspot of biodiversity. The dispersal of seeds by rivers promotes biodiversity on the one hand, but also spreads undesirable (invasive) species on the other. Seeds in rivers are therefore indicators: 1. for the biodiversity of floodplains; 2. for the potential of restored river sections; 3. for the spread of invasive species as an early warning system. However, the identification of seeds has hardly been practiced to date, as it is tedious or uncertain.

In the Yes!IndSeed project, artificial intelligence will be used to develop an image analysis that recognizes species from photos of seed samples. The focus will be on invasive and typical floodplain species. The new method can be tested and verified using seed samples from various rivers. It should clearly identify selected species (desirable and undesirable) and determine the number of species in the sample. The project can thus serve as a pioneer for quickly and easily recording transported biodiversity using a smartphone app and citizen science.