A typology of indicators of biodiversity change as a tool to make better indicators

Indicators of biodiversity change are of growing political relevance. To be effective, they need to meet a number of scientific requirements, some of which are not easy to fulfil. Here we use a simple typology of biodiversity indicators according to the following two requirements: (1) indicators should reflect changes in biodiversity in general rather than the ups and downs of particular species and species groups, and (2) indicators should be linked to environmental drivers. We apply this typology to existing indicators developed for the Dutch Environmental Data Compendium and describe how the typology may guide the development of indicators of biodiversity change. We conclude that more conceptual and statistical work is needed to make better biodiversity indicators.