Bioblitz 2014 Kalvebod Fælled, Denmark

BioBlitz 2014 - a snapshot of the biodiversity in Kalvebod Fælled. On June 13th 2014, Bioblitz 2014 took place in Kalvebod Fælled ("Kalvebod Commons"), also known as Vestamager ("Western Amager"), which takes up roughly one fourth of the island of Amager near Copenhagen, Denmark. The area consists of reclaimed sea bed, with a number of former islets making up small isolated hills; it was dammed and drained during the 1940s, originally to serve as an artillery training range. Currently it functions as a recreational area and nature park, and a large area in the southwestern corner is set aside under the Natura 2000-scheme as an EU-recognized bird protection area to which the general public has no access. This locality is known for its parkland featuring a range of nature types, from young forests to tidal marshes. The public, mostly school children, participated in this event together with scientists, educators and nature guides from the Natural History Museum, The Nature Center Vestamager and the Entomological Society in Denmark. The students and teachers were from the schools: Utterslev Skole, Humlebæk Skole, Skelgårdsskolen og Langelinieskolen. The purpose of Bioblitz 2014 was to present to the public the diversity of Kalvebod Fælled’s nature, mapping as many different plants, fungi and animals as possible and also to highlight the tasks carried out by the researchers at the museum. Collected specimens were identified with qualified help from the Natural History Museum of Denmark's researchers and other associated experts, and were recorded in a designated registration system as references for the future. The recording system was developed in collaboration with DanBIF (www.DanBIF.dk) and project www.allearter.dk. A total of 554 expert-validated recordings were made and 373 species were identified throughout this event.