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 site studied is located in the Alinyà valley in the eastern Pyrenees at 1770 m s.n.m. It is a grassland located in a plain (42 ° 12'N, 1 ° 27'E) dominated by herbaceous species, with some isolated bushes (Juniperus communis) and surrounded by forests of Pinus uncinata. For the installation of the tower, a wide and flat pasture area was selected that meets the requirements of the eddy covariance method.
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.
