One of the Observatory's general objectives is to collect and highlight all existing scientific and technical environmental information regarding the Sierra Nevada ecosystems. This serves both to support decision-making in management and to enhance scientific understanding of ecological processes.
Environmental Information
The data sources available for studying the effects of global change on the ecosystems and biodiversity of Sierra Nevada are:
- Time series generated by the Observatory, provided by researchers from the University of Granada and technical staff from the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development (Junta de Andalucía).
- Datasets produced by other researchers that are considered relevant to improving scientific knowledge of Sierra Nevada’s natural systems.
Management under FAIR Principles
Our data management philosophy is based on the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). These principles ensure that data is not only accessible but also well-documented for reuse, which increases its original value.
- Findable: (Meta)data is integrated into internationally recognized repositories with a unique and persistent identifier, allowing it to be located by the scientific community and other users.
- Accessible: Free and open access to (meta)data through publication in Open Access repositories and journals.
- Interoperable: Use of exchange standards (Ecological Metadata Language, Darwin Core). This enables connection with other international initiatives focused on long-term ecological studies of global change and biodiversity (LIFE Adaptamed, LTER Europe, LifeWatch, GBIF, etc.).
- Reusable: Comprehensive description of the data, from its origin to the conditions for its reuse.
The Observatory aims to integrate FAIR principles throughout the data life cycle, from collection to dissemination.
Adding Value
We view documentation not just as an essential step in environmental information management, but as a process that adds value to scientific knowledge of Sierra Nevada’s biodiversity and ecosystems. We have established a three-step workflow to provide added value to this information:
1. Data Documentation
Acompañamos los conjuntos de datos con información básica (metadatos) para poder interpretarlos correctamente y hacer viable su reutilización por otros usuarios. Para ello, utilizamos estándares como el Ecological Metadata Language (EML) o aplicamos modelos de metadatos como los que utiliza la red europea de seguimiento de procesos ecológicos a largo plazo LTER (Long-Term Ecological Research).
2. Data Publication
We provide open access to data by publishing it in internationally recognized repositories and through our institutional Information System (Linaria).
The following table shows the data published to date:
| Data | Año | Repositorio | Acceso |
| A trait database of the vascular flora of Sierra Nevada (SE Spain) | 2020 | PANGAEA | doi.org |
| Biological and physico-chemical characterization of shallow lakes in Spain’s Sierra Nevada | 2023 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of butterfly monitoring in Sierra Nevada (Spain) | 2021 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of Global Change, altitudinal range shift and colonization of degraded habitats in mediterranean mountains (MIGRAME) | 2015 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of Iberian ibex population in Sierra Nevada (Spain) | 2020 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of occurrence and incidence of pine processionary moth in Andalusia (South Spain) | 2019 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain) | 2016 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of Phenology of flora of mediterranean high-mountains meadows (Sierra Nevada) | 2015 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Dataset of Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Coleoptera from Sierra Nevada | 2023 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Diatom abundance from sediment cores (2008-2011) from six lakes of Sierra Nevada Mountains (Spain) | 2023 | PANGAEA | doi.org |
| Ecosystem functioning and functional diversity of Sierra Nevada (SE Spain) | 2020 | PANGAEA | doi.org |
| Georeferenced features of cultural ecosystem services in Sierra Nevada: a dataset based on social media photo content analysis | 2020 | figshare | doi.org |
| HeadwaterstreamSNevada: data on riparian vegetation and water parameters of headwater streams in Sierra Nevada, Spain | 2023 | Zenodo | doi.org |
| High frequency monitoring in high mountain lakes of the Spanish Sierra Nevada after intense Saharan aerosol inputs | 2023 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Long-term record of defoliation intensity in monitoring plots of pine woodland by the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) | 2023 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Monitoring atmospheric aerosol and bioaerosol deposition (nutrients and bacteria) | 2023 | PANGAEA | |
| Sierra Nevada Atmospheric-Pollen Data set (SNOWPOLL) Version l (2016-2019) | 2021 | PANGAEA | doi.org |
| Sierra Nevada Atmospheric-Pollen Data set (SNOWPOLL) Version ll (2016-2022) | 2023 | PANGAEA | doi.org |
| Sinfonevada: Dataset of Floristic diversity in Sierra Nevada forest (SE Spain) | 2014 | GBIF | doi.org |
| Winter bird censuses in pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) monitoring plots | 2023 | GBIF | doi.org |
3. Development of Data Papers
A data paper is an article that provides detailed documentation for one or more accessible datasets, describing their content and the context in which they were created. Its objectives include: increasing the visibility of the dataset, providing recognition to its providers, ensuring resource accessibility, and guaranteeing the quality of both data and metadata.
The following table shows the data papers published to date:
| Data paper | Año | Revista | Acceso paper | Abstract | Imagen |
| A remote-sensing-based dataset to characterize the ecosystem functioning and functional diversity in the Biosphere Reserve of the Sierra Nevada (southeastern Spain) | 2020 | Earth System Science Data | doi.org | Conservation Biology faces the challenge of safeguarding the ecological processes that sustain biodiversity. Characterization and evaluation of these processes can be carried out through attributes or functional traits related to the exchanges of matter and energy between vegetation and the atmosphere. Nowadays, the use of satellite imagery provides useful methods to produce a spatially continuous characterization of ecosystem functioning and processes at regional scales. Our dataset characterizes the patterns of ecosystem functioning in Sierra Nevada (Spain) from the vegetation greenness dynamics captured through the spectral vegetation index EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) since 2001 to 2018 (product MOD13Q1.006 from MODIS sensor). First, we provided three Ecosystem Functional Attributes (EFAs) (i.e., descriptors of annual primary production, seasonality, and phenology of carbon gains), as well as their integration into a synthetic mapping of Ecosystem Functional Types (EFTs). Second, we provided two measures of functional diversity: EFT richness and EFT rarity. Finally, in addition to the yearly maps, we calculated interannual summaries, i.e., means and inter-annual variabilities. Examples of research and management applications of these data sets are also included to highlight the value of EFAs and EFTs to improve the understanding and monitoring ecosystem processes across environmental gradients. The datasets are available in two open-source sites (PANGAEA: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.904575 (Cazorla et al. 2019) and http://obsnev.es/apps/efts_SN.html), and bring to scientists, managers and the general public valuable information on the first characterization of the functional diversity at ecosystem level developed in a Mediterranean hotspot. Sierra Nevada represents an exceptional ecology laboratory of field conditions, where a long-term monitoring (LTER) program was established 10 years ago. The data availability on biodiversity, climate, ecosystem services, hydrology, land-use changes and management practices from Sierra Nevada, will allow to explore the relationships between these other environmental data and ecosystem functional data that we provide in this work. | Imagen |
| Dataset of MIGRAME Project (Global Change, Altitudinal Range Shift and Colonization of Degraded Habitats in Mediterranean Mountains) | 2015 | PhytoKeys | doi.org | In this data paper, we describe the dataset of the Global Change, Altitudinal Range Shift and Colonization of Degraded Habitats in Mediterranean Mountains (MIGRAME) project, which aims to assess the capacity of altitudinal migration and colonization of marginal habitats by Quercus pyrenaica Willd. forests in Sierra Nevada (southern Spain) considering two global-change drivers: temperature increase and land-use changes. The dataset includes information of the forest structure (diameter size, tree height, and abundance) of the Quercus pyrenaica ecosystem in Sierra Nevada obtained from 199 transects sampled at the treeline ecotone, mature forest, and marginal habitats (abandoned cropland and pine plantations). A total of 3839 occurrence records were collected and 5751 measurements recorded. The dataset is included in the Sierra Nevada Global-Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this mountain range. | Imagen |
| Dataset of occurrence and incidence of pine processionary moth in Andalusia, south Spain | 2019 | ZooKeys | doi.org | This dataset provides information about infestation caused by the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)) in pure or mixed pine woodlands and plantations in Andalusia. It represents a long-term series (1993–2015) containing 81,908 records that describe the occurrence and incidence of this species. Data were collected within a monitoring programme known as COPLAS, developed by the Regional Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning of the Andalusian Regional Government within the frame of the Plan de Lucha Integrada contra la Procesionaria del Pino (Plan for Integrated Control Against the Pine Processionary Moth). In particular, this dataset includes 4,386 monitoring stands which, together with the campaign year, define the dataset events in Darwin Core Archive. Events are related with occurrence data which show if the species is present or absent. In turn, the event data have a measurement associated: degree of infestation. | Imagen |
| Dataset of Passerine bird communities in a Mediterranean high mountain (Sierra Nevada, Spain) | 2016 | ZooKeys | doi.org | In this data paper, a dataset of passerine bird communities is described in Sierra Nevada, a Mediterranean high mountain located in southern Spain. The dataset includes occurrence data from bird surveys conducted in four representative ecosystem types of Sierra Nevada from 2008 to 2015. For each visit, bird species numbers as well as distance to the transect line were recorded. A total of 27847 occurrence records were compiled with accompanying measurements on distance to the transect and animal counts. All records are of species in the order Passeriformes. Records of 16 different families and 44 genera were collected. Some of the taxa in the dataset are included in the European Red List. This dataset belongs to the Sierra Nevada Global-Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area. | Imagen |
| Dataset of Phenology of Mediterranean high-mountain meadows flora (Sierra Nevada, Spain) | 2015 | PhytoKeys | doi.org | Sierra Nevada mountain range (southern Spain) hosts a high number of endemic plant species, being one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean basin. The high-mountain meadow ecosystems (borreguiles) harbour a large number of endemic and threatened plant species. In this data paper, we describe a dataset of the flora inhabiting this threatened ecosystem in this Mediterranean mountain. The dataset includes occurrence data for flora collected in those ecosystems in two periods: 1988–1990 and 2009–2013. A total of 11002 records of occurrences belonging to 19 orders, 28 families 52 genera were collected. 73 taxa were recorded with 29 threatened taxa. We also included data of cover-abundance and phenology attributes for the records. The dataset is included in the Sierra Nevada Global-Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area. | Imagen |
| FloraSNevada: a trait database of the vascular flora of Sierra Nevada, southeast Spain | 2020 | Ecology | doi.org | "Providing a complete data set with species and trait information for a given area is essential for assessing plant conservation, management, and ecological restoration, both for local as well as global applications. Also, these data sets provide additional information for surveys or data collections, establishing the starting point for more detailed studies on plant evolution, vegetation dynamics, and vegetation responses to disturbance and management. This database covers Sierra Nevada mountains (southeastern Spain), a recognized plant biodiversity hotspot within the Mediterranean context. According to previous available data (before this augmented compilation), these mountains host 7% of the 24,000 Mediterranean vascular plants, despite covering just 0.01% of its area. Another characteristic of the Sierra Nevada is the great singularity of its flora, with 95 taxa being endemic to the high-mountain area of Sierra Nevada and surroundings. From these endemic taxa, 70% are endangered by different threats, global warming being a leading cause. In this paper, we seek to provide a complete and updated database of the flora of the Sierra Nevada mountains (southeast Spain). The goal of the present data set is to compile the names of all the vascular plant taxa inhabiting Sierra Nevada, together with relevant features including taxonomical, morphological-ecological traits, distribution, habitats, abundance, and conservation status. The data were compiled according to all the available information sources on taxonomy, ecology, and plant-species distribution. The resulting data set includes 2,348 taxa belonging to 1,937 species, 377 subspecies and 34 hybrids, from a total of 756 genera and 146 families represented in the collection. For each taxa, together with taxonomical information (Phylum, Class, Family, Genus, Taxa), we compiled plant traits (life-form, spinescence, flower symmetry, flower sexuality, plant gender, androecium:gynoecium ratio, flower color, perianth type, pollinator type, flowering, seed dispersal, vegetative reproduction), and their environmental association (origin, endemic character, general distribution, substrate, elevation, habitat, local abundance, hygrophilous behavior, conservation status). All these traits were compiled from all the available information sources, resulting in a complete and updated database for Sierra Nevada vascular flora." | |
| HeadwaterstreamSNevada: Data on riparian vegetation and water parameters of headwater streams in Sierra Nevada, Spain | 2023 | Ecology | doi.org | Providing historical data on riparian plant biodiversity and physico-chemical parameters of stream water in Mediterranean mountains helps to assess the effects of climate change and other human stressors on these sensitive and critical ecosystems. This database collects data from the main natural headwater streams of the Sierra Nevada (southeastern Spain), a high mountain (up to 3479 m above sea level [m asl]) recognized as a biodiversity super hotspot in the Mediterranean basin. On this mountain, rivers and landscapes depend on snowmelt water, representing an excellent scenario for evaluating global change's impacts. This dataset covers first- to third-order headwater streams at 41 sites from 832 to 1997 m asl, collected from December 2006 to July 2007. Our goal is to supply information on the vegetation associated with streambanks, the essential physico-chemical parameters of stream water, and the physiographic features of the subwatersheds. Riparian vegetation data correspond to six plots sampled at each site, including total canopy, individual number, height and DBH (diameter at breast height) in woody species, and cover percentage for herbs. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ (electric conductivity, pH, dissolved O2 concentration, stream discharge) and determined in the laboratory (alkalinity, soluble reactive phosphate-phosphorus [SRP], total phosphorus [TP], nitrate-nitrogen [NO-3–N], ammonium-nitrogen [NH+4–N], total nitrogen [TN]). Watershed physiographic variables comprise drainage area, minimum altitude, maximum altitude, mean slope, orientation, stream order, stream length, and land cover surface percentage. We recorded 197 plant taxa (67 species, 28 subspecies, and 2 hybrids), representing 8.4% of the Sierra Nevada vascular flora. Due to the botanical nomenclature used, the database can be linked to FloraSNevada database, contributing to Sierra Nevada (Spain) as a laboratory of global processes. This data set can be freely used for non-commercial purposes. Users of these data should cite this data paper in any publications resulting from its use. | |
| Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in Sierra Nevada (SE Iberian Peninsula) | 2020 | Scientific Data | doi.org | This dataset provides long-term information on the presence of the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica Schimper, 1848) in Sierra Nevada (SE Iberian Peninsula). Data on the abundance and demographic structure of the Iberian ibex population were compiled over the last three decades. Transects were laid out to record different variables such as the number of individuals sighted, the perpendicular distance of each group of Iberian ibex to the transect line and sex as well as age of individuals in the case of males. These data enabled the calculation of population parameters such as density, sex ratio, birth rate, and age structure. These parameters are key for Iberian ibex conservation and management, given that Sierra Nevada harbours the largest population of this species in the Iberian Peninsula. The data set we present is structured using the Darwin Core biological standard, which contains 3,091 events (582 transect walk events and 2,509 group sighting events), 5,396 occurrences, and 2,502 measurements. The occurrences include the sightings of 11,436 individuals (grouped by sex and age) from 1993 to 2018 in a total of 88 transects distributed along Sierra Nevada, of which 33 have been continuously sampled since 2008. | Imagen |
| Sinfonevada: Dataset of Floristic diversity in Sierra Nevada forests (SE Spain) | 2014 | PhytoKeys | doi.org | The Sinfonevada database is a forest inventory that contains information on the forest ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada mountains (SE Spain). The Sinfonevada dataset contains more than 7, 500 occurrence records belonging to 270 taxa (24 of these threatened) from floristic inventories of the Sinfonevada Forest inventory. Expert field workers collected the information. The whole dataset underwent a quality control by botanists with broad expertise in Sierra Nevada flora. This floristic inventory was created to gather useful information for the proper management of Pinus plantations in Sierra Nevada. This is the only dataset that shows a comprehensive view of the forest flora in Sierra Nevada. This is the reason why it is being used to assess the biodiversity in the very dense pine plantations on this massif. With this dataset, managers have improved their ability to decide where to apply forest treatments in order to avoid biodiversity loss. The dataset forms part of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area. | Imagen |
| Social media photo content for Sierra Nevada: a dataset to support the assessment of cultural ecosystem services in protected areas | 2020 | Nature Conservation | doi.org | This dataset provides crowd-sourced and georeferenced information useful for the assessment of cultural ecosystem services in the Sierra Nevada Biosphere Reserve (southern Spain). Data were collected within the European project ECOPOTENTIAL focused on Earth observations of ecosystem services. The dataset comprises 778 records expressing the results of the content analysis of social media photos published in Flickr. Our dataset is illustrated in this data paper with density maps for different types of information. | Imagen |
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