Unlike the highly humanized areas of the planet, where societal activities directly influence local biogeochemical cycles, high-mountain areas, which are regions with limited industrial or agricultural activity, are preferred locations to study the modification of biogeochemical cycles at the global scale. High-mountain areas are excellent for monitoring global change, as they are among the regions where atmospheric influence on nature is most clearly manifested. In fact, high-mountain aquatic ecosystems are considered ‘sensors’ (or ‘sentinels’) of environmental change, as they integrate signals from both natural and anthropogenic disturbances occurring in the atmosphere and watersheds, ultimately influencing the ecology and chemistry downstream. Despite the evident effects of global change on high-mountain ecosystems, current knowledge is severely limited by: i) the lack of studies and/or monitoring plans that adopt a comprehensive landscape approach (considering processes in the atmosphere-soil-water continuum), ii) the lack of data collected at relevant spatial-temporal scales (e.g., high-frequency data or multi-watershed sampling), and iii) the lack of hydro-biogeochemical studies that consider the coupling (and interaction) between different biogeochemical elements (e.g., C and N), taking into account the magnitude of mutual influences.
This project aims to implement a monitoring plan (or observation network) that will enable the analysis of new evidence on the directional responses of high-mountain watersheds to environmental change and, consequently, generate new knowledge about the modification of biogeochemical cycles at regional and global scales. From this general objective, three specific objectives are derived, related to possible alterations in the biogeochemical cycles in high-mountain areas as a result of global change.
Funding: Ayudas Excelencia RYC-MaX (CSIC) para investigadores Ramón y Cajal de la convocatoria 2022 de la AEI. Proyecto Intramural Especial (CSIC).
