Between 2022 and 2025, the total number of species occurrence records in Brazil grew by 65.49%, reaching 37.5 million. This data is included in the Assessment of Brazilian Biodiversity Data – 2025, released this Tuesday (26) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) based on the Brazilian System of Biodiversity Information (SiBBr).

This is the second edition of the Assessment. It examines the evolution of the quantity, quality and comprehensiveness of species occurrence records in the country. The analysis covers nine major taxonomic groups — amphibians, arthropods, birds, fungi, mammals, mollusks, bony fish, vascular plants, and reptiles — with data consolidated up to December 2025.

The results show significant progress in the mobilization and access to biodiversity data, while also highlighting the persistence of structural limitations, such as sampling biases, geographic gaps, inconsistencies, and insufficient metadata.

The IBGE's Environment and Geography Manager, Leonardo Bergamini, explains that the systematic assessment of biodiversity data provides support for the formulation of public policies, territorial planning, and the conservation of ecosystem services that sustain the economy and the quality of life of the population. “For example, by integrating information on species, habitats, and anthropogenic pressures, it is possible to monitor trends, identify priority areas for protection, and guide adaptation actions to climate change, ensuring more effective and evidence-based decisions,” he comments.

Part of the publication's results is available on the IBGE's System of Automatic Retrieval (Sidra), allowing detailed queries by Municipality and Federation Unit.

In 2025, the largest absolute volumes of cataloged species in Brazil are concentrated in the groups of birds (19,011,519 records), plants (11,157,476), and arthropods (3,694,793). The largest increases compared to 2022 were observed in fungi, with an increase of 176.6%, followed by mammals (155%) and fishes (139.9%).

Another relevant aspect identified by the survey is the expansion of data sources. Although Biological Collections remain important providers of records, Citizen Science initiatives have taken on a central role, accounting for 49.83% of available occurrences. In the case of birds, this participation reaches 93.84%, highlighting the significant contribution of observers and collaborative platforms.

In addition to the number of species records, the publication also points to quality improvements in the information records, mostly in the spatial dimension, which presented some frailties in the previous edition of the Assessment. In 2025, 34.1% of the records were classified as "Level 1," a category that includes data with greater comprehensiveness and suitability for analysis, surpassing the percentage observed in 2022 (32.74%).

Among the groups analyzed, birds showed the best performance, with approximately half of the records classified as Level 1. In contrast, fungi registered only 3.5% in this category. Reptiles stood out for their evolution, increasing from 11% to 24% of high-quality records during the period.

Despite improvements, previously identified problems persist. The absence of geographic coordinates remains the main limitation, affecting approximately 9.45 million occurrences in 2025. Data redundancy has become the second leading cause of compromised quality, in addition to gaps in taxonomic identification.

The study indicates that the increase in data volume stems from both the generation of new information and the digitization and availability of historical records. Improvements were also observed in the completion of taxonomic, spatial, and temporal attributes, with notable advances in the spatial dimension for plants and fungi, and in the temporal dimension for fish and fungi.

Regional inequality in data knowledge persists

The Assessment of Brazilian Biodiversity Data – 2025 also included an update to the Biodiversity Knowledge Index, which synthesizes information on the quantity, age, distribution over time, and sample comprehensiveness of records for the nine taxonomic groups. Thus, the indicator offers a view of the state of knowledge about Brazilian biodiversity.

The updated index reveals that regional inequalities persist. Areas with the highest level of knowledge continue to be concentrated in the Southeast Region and along the Brazilian coast. In contrast, large areas of the North Region, especially in the states of Pará and Amazonas, still present significant information gaps.

The study also points out that the recent growth in records has occurred mainly in already well-sampled areas, but with less progress in covering regions with little data. In the marine environment, although a recent increase has been identified, data are still scarce compared to the terrestrial environment, and in many cases, old.

In 2025, out of the 5,571 Brazilian municipalities, 376 had fewer than ten records of species occurrences, and 43 had no records at all in the analyzed database. On the other hand, the municipality with the highest number of occurrences was Poconé (MT), with 897,113 records, followed by Brasília (DF), with 463,333; São Paulo (SP), with 441,166; Alta Floresta (MT), with 314,795; and Foz do Iguaçu (PR), with 314,001 records.

From 2022 to 2025, 4,877 municipalities showed improvement in the Biodiversity Knowledge Index, while 651 registered a reduction. In all Federation Units, more than 70% of the municipalities showed improvement, with Amapá standing out, where there was progress in all municipalities.

The publication reinforces the importance of expanding, improving, and making data on biodiversity more accessible, as a fundamental tool for environmental planning, biodiversity conservation, and the formulation of public policies in Brazil.