Our Ecology group has a wide experience of collaboration in national (LTER-Spain, OAPN, etc.) and international (GLORIA, GLOCHAMORE, ECOPOTENTIAL, LIFEWATCH-ERIC, EUBON, ILTER, LTER-Europe, CYTED, GBIF, IUCN, etc) projects and organizations. Our experience, added to that of a large multidisciplinary team of UGR researchers belonging to 6 faculties, allowed us to lead a Thematic Center on Mountain Ecosystems (University of Granada-Sierra Nevada) focused on biodiversity and ecosystem processes within the framework of the European infrastructure LIFEWATCH-ERIC. The coordination of teams from different scientific disciplines has allowed, under the umbrella of the Smart EcoMountains project (https://smartecomountains.lifewatch.dev/), to address from the most basic aspects of taxonomic knowledge of biodiversity, to the use of advanced technological tools in computing and ICT (Deep Learning, Big Data, Remote Sensing, etc.), providing support and guidance to managers and citizens under a scientific framework. The Smart EcoMountains project (LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01) was led from IISTA by Prof. Regino Zamora, also promoting interactions between the different research areas inside and outside the institute, something essential to address far-reaching challenges of the Earth System.
Main applications and services developed by our group:
Linaria (https://linaria.obsnev.es/): the Institutional Information System of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory, which stores ecological and biodiversity data, both from the Observatory’s monitoring and relevant data from researchers.
ClimaNevada (https://climanevada.obsnev.es/): climate data portal, whose main objective is the harmonization, standardization, documentation and integration of existing climate data in the Sierra Nevada environment. The database integrates climate data from multiple sources, for example: institutions such as the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) or the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), networks such as the Environmental Information Network of Andalusia (REDIAM), private companies such as CETURSA, sensors from projects such as LIFE-ADAPTAMED or GLORIA, and even sensors from private researchers.
Microclimanevada (https://microclima.obsnev.es/ventana-de-la-ciencia/): We have designed and deployed a network of micro-stations composed of sensors with the objective of monitoring temperature and humidity variation at a microclimatic scale. These devices operate indefinitely (dual power supply by solar panel and battery) and autonomously. In each micro-station, humidity and temperature are measured in four microhabitats: 1) 40 cm below ground, 2) on the bare soil surface, 3) on the soil surface, but protected by: a) under stone in a forest clearing, or b) under leaf litter in an oak forest or high mountain scrub and 4) air (80-100 cm above ground).
Biblionevada (http://biblionevada.obsnev.es/): is an application for the consultation of the scientific production published in relation to Biodiversity, Environment and the ecological aspects derived from Global Change in Sierra Nevada since 1970. After queries in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, complemented with systematic searches in other search engines and in scientific journals from the 70s and 90s, about 900 publications have been compiled, with the participation of more than 1700 scientific authors, from a total of 160 research institutions.
Participation in the development of various citizen science and scientific dissemination initiatives:
Histonevada (https://histonevada.obsnev.es/): is a web application for the collection and consultation of images and historical documents related to biodiversity, landscape, environment and the use of natural resources in the Sierra Nevada. The application presents a simple and agile interface so that users can contribute images (photographs, drawings, illustrations, posters or engravings) as well as historical documents (books, articles, manuscripts, administrative documents, press/magazines or cartography). The objective of this application is to rescue historical information of great utility to understand the natural and anthropic changes that have occurred throughout the history of the Sierra Nevada.
Lagunas de Sierra Nevada (https://lagunasdesierranevada.es/): 74 Oasis Glaciares de Alta Montaña, is a Citizen Science portal where society can get involved in the research being carried out in the high mountain lagoons of the Sierra Nevada, providing photographs of historical and current lagoons, collecting all the information that will help us understand how these sentinels of global change respond to the increasing pressure and environmental degradation.
Objective Sierra Nevada (https://objetivosierranevada.es/): the objective of this photographic contest is to promote respect for nature, and to publicize the beauty and uniqueness of life and landscapes of the Sierra Nevada through the photographs that participants contribute in different categories of the contest.
Ríos de Vida (https://ecologia.ugr.es/informacion/presentacion/rios-vida): this scientific outreach project pursues several scientific, educational and social objectives based on knowledge and social participation in the study and conservation of the aquatic environment of the Sierra Nevada.