Monitoring global change in Sierra Nevada LTER platform (Spain): Preliminary results

Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory is a long term monitoring program to assess the effects of global change in Sierra Nevada LTER platform, a high mountain region (reaching 3,482 m.a.s.l.) located in Southern Spain. The basic objective is to ensure the collection of information necessary to identify as early as possible the impacts of global change, to design management actions that minimize them and encourage the system adaptation to new scenarios. To achieve this objective, a solid monitoring programme has been designed to evaluate the effects of global change on Sierra Nevada.

This monitoring programme, initiated in 2007, is based on thematic areas proposed by GLOCHAMORE Research Initiative (GLObal CHAnge in MOuntain REgions). A set of 48 monitoring methodologies were defined to assess both the state of key ecological functions and the structure of the main ecosystems and socioeconomic activities in the Sierra Nevada.

Five years after its implementation, this poster summarizes some preliminary results of different thematic areas:

- Future climate scenarios show that there will be an increase of minimum average temperature of 4.8ºC at the end of the XXIth Century in Sierra Nevada. The rainfall will suffer a slight decrease.

- We have run a time series analysis with MODIS snow products over Sierra Nevada. Results show that there is a negative trend in snow duration.

- Land use changes are a very important driver of global change in Mediterranean mountains. In the 1950s, overgrazing and charcoal extraction resulted in degradation of soil and vegetation cover. After abandonment of these rural activities, oak forests began a resprouting process up to the current situation. Actually, this driver is still affecting ecological dynamics and the structure of natural forests in Sierra Nevada.

- The ecosystem services assessment in Sierra Nevada has revealed that 27% of ecosystem services in this LTER platform are not being used sustainably.

- Thanks to GLORIA project, It has been observed a 8% decrease in the number of flora species in four summits of Sierra Nevada. In addition, the species distribution models that we have created show a progressive reduction in the potential distribution area of most plant species.

- In the freshwater ecosystem we have detected an asynchronous pattern between water flow and brown trout density. Heavy and torrential rainfall decreases brown trout populations due to physical effects on their habitat.

Related Materials and Graphics: 

poster_resultados.pdf