The monitoring activities focused on improving estimates of the carbon and water exchanges between this type of ecosystem and the atmosphere, as well as to study the response of these biogeochemical cycles to climate variability.
The station is located on a plateau (Muela) at an altitude of 800 m (39º 13 '31 "N, 0º 54' 07" W) in the municipality of Cortes de Pallás (Valencia).
The climate is typically Mediterranean sub arid with dry and warm summers. The average annual temperature is 12.7 ºC and the annual rainfall is 470 mm.
The vegetation corresponds to a typical Mediterranean scrub dominated by shrub species such as rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) the aliaga (Ulex parviflorus Pourret) and the Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera L.), mixed with feet of young pines (Pinus halepensis Mill.) . The area where the station is located has a long history of forest fires so that its current vegetation is the result of the natural regeneration of the scrub. The soils are shallow and rocky. Currently the area constitutes a national hunting reserve.
The station includes the following suite of measurements.
For example, weather variables are measured above the canopy and along a profile from the soil to the canopy-top. Soil temperatures and water content (at different soil depth) and soil heat flux are monitored half-hourly as well as soil respiration. All these variables are used to calculate the carbon, water and energy balances of the forest, and characterize their variability at scales of hours to decades.
Most of the variables of interest are logged automatically by data loggers or computers at a half-hourly period. Data are downloaded every day from the experimental site to the Fundacion CEAM through a 3G mobile connection.
