Methods of Measuring Biodiversity: Species Richness, Evenness, and Beyond
12 Mar 2025 | 6 min read
Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is transforming the way we approach development and conservation, ensuring that projects leave nature in a measurably better state than before. But how do we measure biodiversity effectively? Understanding biodiversity requires more than just counting species—it involves assessing the composition, structure, and function of ecosystems.
To deliver meaningful BNG outcomes, developers, ecologists, and land managers rely on a range of biodiversity metrics. This article explores the key methods used to measure biodiversity, including species richness, evenness, and more advanced techniques, and how AI-driven tools like BNGAI™ by AiDASH are revolutionising biodiversity assessment.
1. Species richness: The basic count of life
Species richness is the most straightforward measure of biodiversity—it simply counts the number of species in a given area. A site with 50 plant species is considered more biodiverse than one with 20 species. While species richness provides a basic snapshot, it does not account for the abundance of each species or how they interact.
How it’s used in BNG:
- Baseline assessments before development
- Tracking changes in species diversity post-development
- Identifying priority habitats with high species richness
Limitations
- Doesn’t consider whether species are rare or dominant
- Can be skewed by habitat size or sampling effort
2. Species evenness: Balancing the ecosystem
While species richness counts how many species are present, species evenness looks at how evenly individuals are distributed among those species. A habitat where all species exist in similar numbers is considered more “even” than one dominated by a single species.
How it’s used in BNG:
- Helps determine ecosystem health—high evenness suggests resilience, while low evenness may indicate imbalance
- Supports strategic habitat restoration, ensuring no single species outcompetes others
- Improves BNG metric accuracy by evaluating ecological stability
Limitations
- More complex to calculate than species richness
- Requires detailed species abundance data
3. Habitat condition assessment: A key component of BNG
BNG doesn’t just measure biodiversity at the species level—it also assesses habitat quality and condition. The UK’s Statutory Biodiversity Metric assigns habitats a condition score, factoring in vegetation structure, connectivity, and ecological function.
How it’s used in BNG:
- Determines how much compensation (habitat creation/restoration) is required
- Ensures biodiversity uplift is meaningful, not just a numbers game
- Encourages developers to improve not just quantity but also quality of habitats
Limitations
- Traditional habitat condition assessments require field surveys, which are time-consuming
- Results can vary based on observer bias and seasonal changes
4. Functional and genetic diversity: Beyond just counting species
In addition to species richness and evenness, biodiversity can also be measured in terms of:
✅ Functional diversity – Assesses the roles species play in an ecosystem (e.g., pollinators vs. decomposers)
✅ Genetic diversity – Looks at variation within a species, which affects its ability to adapt to environmental changes
How it’s used in BNG:
- Helps identify keystone species that are critical for ecosystem stability
- Guides climate-resilient habitat restoration by favouring genetically diverse plant population
- Encourages developers to improve not just quantity but also quality of habitats
Limitations
- More difficult to measure than species numbers
- Requires advanced data collection and analysis techniques
5. AI-powered biodiversity measurement: The future of BNG
Traditional biodiversity assessments can be time-consuming, inconsistent, and costly. AI-driven solutions like BNGAI™ by AiDASH are transforming how biodiversity is measured by leveraging satellite imagery, remote sensing, and machine learning.
How BNGAI™ enhances biodiversity measurement
✅ Precise habitat mapping: Identify habitats on any land accurately and quickly
✅ Higher value, focus and efficiency: Reduce desk-based reporting, allowing to focus on high-value field assessments.
✅ Generate Defra-compliant reports ready for submission. Automated habitat classification aligned with BNG statutory metrics
✅ 50% faster, reliable outputs: Faster biodiversity assessments, reducing reliance on seasonal fieldwork. Produce scalable analysis faster and ensure the most accurate results.
✅ Consistent, high-accuracy satellite-powered data, minimising human error and bias
✅ Remote monitoring, allowing continuous tracking of biodiversity changes
From baseline assessment to planning, our comprehensive approach streamlines every stage.
1. The Baseline Report identifies development opportunities across areas of varying distinctiveness, breaking down habitat types, condition estimates, and baseline units while flagging potential risks near development sites to ensure consistent, repeatable results.
2. With Scenario Planning, you can model habitat changes — such as replacing modified grassland with shrubs or trees — and calculate biodiversity units in real-time to achieve a 10% net gain, all while testing multiple master plans before finalizing your approach.
3. For End-to-End Compliance, we provide quick pre-bid insights to assess project viability, tools for ecologists to update ground-truthed conditions, and one-click export functionality for submission-ready statutory metric spreadsheets.
By integrating AI-powered tools with traditional ecological surveys, BNGAI™ enables more precise, scalable, and cost-effective biodiversity measurement, helping developers meet BNG requirements without delays or compliance risks.
Strengthening BNG through smarter biodiversity measurement
BNG is more than just a policy—it’s a commitment to reversing biodiversity loss. Measuring biodiversity effectively requires a multi-faceted approach, combining species richness, evenness, habitat condition, and advanced ecological metrics.
With AI-driven innovations like BNGAI™, biodiversity assessments are becoming faster, more reliable, and accessible—helping developers, ecologists, and land managers deliver genuine biodiversity gains. As BNG evolves, embracing smarter measurement methods will be key to ensuring nature recovery is both measurable and meaningful.
Need help with BNG?
Check back regularly for the latest insights and news. Learn how AiDash Biodiversity Net Gain Management System™ (BNGAI™) can help with 10% BNG planning for urban projects. Start your first BNG project now!
Read how BNGAI™ by AiDASH set a new benchmark for natural capital management for Affinity Water here.
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