Project LIFELINE aims to substantially advance the understanding of trends in biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services over time, progressing the field towards forecasting change. LIFELINE will investigate multiple biodiversity dimensions across different biological groups and different aquatic ecosystems and habitats worldwide.

LIFELINE will (1) use time series to reveal temporal trends of taxonomic biodiversity (and their environmental drivers), and of (2) phylogenetic and functional aquatic biodiversity, whilst disentangling the role of multiple biodiversity dimensions in stabilizing ecosystems. It will (3) also use the built statistical models of biodiversity trends to reveal expected changes in biodiversity; also, develop a network approach of biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning and services from data gathered in a literature review; and combine these approaches to reveal expected changes in ecosystem functioning and services.