Digital conservation in biosphere reserves: Earth observations, social media, and nature’s cultural contributions to people

In the “digital conservation” age, big data from Earth observations and from social media have been increasingly used to tackle conservation challenges. Here, we combined information from those two digital sources in a multimodel inference framework to identify, map, and predict the potential for nature’s cultural contributions to people in two contrasting UNESCO biosphere reserves: Doñana and Sierra Nevada (Spain). The content analysis of Flickr pictures revealed different cultural contributions, according to the natural and cultural values of the two reserves. Those contributions relied upon landscape variables computed from Earth observation data: the variety of colors and vegetation functioning that characterize Doñana landscapes, and the leisure facilities, accessibility features, and heterogeneous landscapes that shape Sierra Nevada. Our findings suggest that social media and Earth observations can aid in the cost-efficient monitoring of nature’s contributions to people, which underlie many Sustainable Development Goals and conservation targets in protected areas worldwide.European Union’sHorizon 2020 research and innovation programme,Grant/Award Number: 641762; Program for Excellent Units of the Plan Propio de Investigación of the University of Granada; European Union; University of Granada, Spain; Portuguese Science Foundation, Grant/Award Numbers: DL57/2016/ICETA/EEC2018/13, CEECIND/02331/201

Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory. Structure and basic data

This book shows the structure of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Obsservator

Social media photo content for Sierra Nevada: a dataset to support the assessment of cultural ecosystem services in protected areas

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.This work has been carried out within the H2020 project “ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving future ecosystem benefits through earth observations” (http://www.ecopotential- project.eu/), which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 641762

Observatorio de Cambio Global en Sierra Nevada. Estructura y contenidos básicos

En este trabajo se describe la estructura y los datos básicos del Observatorio de Cambio Global de Sierra Nevada

Long-term monitoring of the Iberian ibex population in the Sierra Nevada of the southeast Iberian Peninsula

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.Projects "LIFE-ADAPTAMED: Protection of key ecosystem services by adaptive management of Climate Change endangered Mediterranean socioecosystems" LIFE14 CCA/ES/000612H2020 project "ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving future ecosystem benefits through earth observations" - European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme 641762Elter H2020 project "European Long-Term Ecosystem and Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure" - European Union's Horizon 2020 programme 654359100100031005001010040016676/2006/A/001571/2007/M/00173/2009/M/00861/11/M/0003/15/M/002016 _00014_M2017-00189

La Alpujarra. Paisaje cultural

La presente Unidad Didáctica va dirigida a escolares de educación secundaria siguiendo el currículo básico del Real Decreto 1631/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas correspondientes a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, (BOE de 5-1-2007) y Orden de 10-8-2007, por la que se desarrolla el currículo correspondiente a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria en Andalucía. (BOJA de 30-8-2007), con lo cual las actividades se adaptan al alumnado cuya edad esté comprendida entre 12 y 16 años. La UD debe entenderse como una herramienta de formación personal, y de adquisición de conocimientos relacionados con el territorio en el que viven, con el objetivo de proporcionar autonomía personal para acceder a aprendizajes futuros y facilitadora del desarrollo integral de la persona.Las actividades no deben restringirse a una acción puntual, ni considerarlas como una actividad extraescolar y lúdica, ya que el objetivo es incluir dichas temáticas relacionadas con el territorio de la Alpujarra en el temario general del curso y de manera transversal en las diferentes asignaturas.La Unidad Didáctica “La Alpujarra, Paisaje Cultural” se ha realizado en el marco del proyecto europeo “MEditerranean MOuntainous LAndscapes. una aproximación histórica al patrimonio cultural basada en los agrosistemas tradicionales” financiado por el Séptimo Programa Marco de Investigación, Desarrollo Tecnológico y Demostración de la Unión Europea, bajo el acuerdo de subvención nº613265

Efficacy of Anakinra in Refractory Adult-Onset Still's Disease: Multicenter Study of 41 Patients and Literature Review

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is often refractory to standard therapy. Anakinra (ANK), an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, has demonstrated efficacy in single cases and small series of AOSD. We assessed the efficacy of ANK in a series of AOSD patients. Multicenter retrospective open-label study. ANK was used due to lack of efficacy to standard synthetic immunosuppressive drugs and in some cases also to at least 1 biologic agent. Forty-one patients (26 women/15 men) were recruited. They had a mean age of 34.4 ± 14 years and a median [interquartile range (IQR)] AOSD duration of 3.5 [2-6] years before ANK onset. At that time the most common clinical features were joint manifestations 87.8%, fever 78%, and cutaneous rash 58.5%. ANK yielded rapid and maintained clinical and laboratory improvement. After 1 year of therapy, the frequency of joint and cutaneous manifestations had decreased to 41.5% and to 7.3% respectively, fever from 78% to 14.6%, anemia from 56.1% to 9.8%, and lymphadenopathy from 26.8% to 4.9%. A dramatic improvement of laboratory parameters was also achieved. The median [IQR] prednisone dose was also reduced from 20 [11.3-47.5] mg/day at ANK onset to 5 [0-10] at 12 months. After a median [IQR] follow-up of 16 [5-50] months, the most important side effects were cutaneous manifestations (n = 8), mild leukopenia (n = 3), myopathy (n = 1), and infections (n = 5). ANK is associated with rapid and maintained clinical and laboratory improvement, even in nonresponders to other biologic agents. However, joint manifestations are more refractory than the systemic manifestations

BBN designed to develop future land-use scenarios for the Sierra Nevada under different environmental and management conditions

<p>Land-use change (deforestation for crops and pastures, reforestation, firewood removal, etc.) constitutes one of the primary drivers of global change, since human activity is to a greater or lesser degree altering the vegetation cover of the planet. The combined effects of climate change and shifts in land use determine the distribution and structure of the vegetation of the Sierra Nevada, and the associated ecosystem services. The surface cover of tree formations in Sierra Nevada has expanded from 15% to 51.23% over the last 60 years. Similarly, a densification of the scattered tree cover and the natural forests and a decline in the surface area occupied by cultivated fields (from 17.8% to 4.72%) has occurred in the last six decades (Zamora, et al, 2016). Therefore, it is important to ascertain future land use change and its effects on the vegetation cover. </p><p>The main purpose of this model is to facilitate the land-use management of Protected Areas (PAs) based on ecosystem services (ES). A BBN is being designed to develop future land-use scenarios for the Sierra Nevada under different environmental and management conditions. Afterwards, we will implement these scenarios in other ES assessment models. The analysis of ES trade-offs in several scenarios will help managers to predict the state of ES and their relations in the future.</p&gt

Diseño de herramientas de apoyo a la gestión de espacios naturales protegidos. El caso del servicio ecosistémico de recreación

El presente trabajo de investigación se ha centrado en el diseño de herramientas, metodologías y análisis de datos que sirvan por un lado para orientar las decisiones de gestión y por otro para facilitar la evaluación de la gestión en espacios naturales protegidos a diferentes escalas de aplicación territorial y administrativa en el marco de un ciclo continuo de gestión adaptativa. En conclusión, los diferentes capítulos que conforman el presente trabajo abordan, desde una perspectiva global hasta una escala de detalle, la generación de metodologías y herramientas que pueden ayudar al gestor a evaluar la gestión en los espacios protegidos, así como a obtener información relevante de manera eficaz para gestionar los servicios ecosistémicos culturales, a orientar la toma de decisiones en estos servicios. Igualmente facilitan la evaluación de los resultados de sus decisiones en ámbitos concretos como en el caso del servicio ecosistémico de recreación en centros de recepción e información de los espacios naturales protegidos.This research work has focused on the design of tools, methodologies and data analysis to guide management decisions and to facilitate the evaluation of management in protected natural areas at different scales of territorial and administrative application within the framework of a continuous cycle of adaptive management. In conclusion, the different chapters that compose this work address, from a global perspective to a detailed level, the generation of methodologies and tools that can help the manager to evaluate the management of protected areas, as well as to obtain relevant information in an effective way to manage cultural ecosystem services, to guide decision-making in these services. They also facilitate the evaluation of the results of their decisions in specific areas, as in the case of the ecosystem service of recreation in reception and information centres in protected natural areas.Tesis Univ. Granada.Proyecto H2020 "ECOPOTENTIAL: Improving Future Ecosystem Benefits Through Earth Observations

Outputs of the WiMMed hydrological model for Sierra Nevada (Spain). Sept2015-Aug2022

<p>Ecosystem  Services related to flood prevention, aquifer recharge and erosion prevention in SIERRA NEVADA (Spain) were quantified through the WiMMed hydrological model (Watershed Integrated Model in Mediterranean Environments; Herrero et al., 2014). WiMMed is a distributed and physically based model that combines hourly and daily meteorological data with soil hydro-physical properties and land use and land cover information to simulate water balance and flow circulation at basin scale (see Herrero et al. (2014) for details). </p><p>In this study we applied the WiMMed model considering the land use and land cover data for 2020 (according to SIPNA) and the meteorological data from Sept2015 to Aug2022 to evaluate the value of ecosystem services, following the work made by Moreno-Llorca et al. (2020). Specific parameters, expressing the influence of vegetation changes in the hydrological processes of the study area, were considered, namely on evapotranspiration, interception, infiltration, overland flow and soil erodibility. Aquifer recharge (mm/m2/year) was calculated as the total volume of water moving from the soil into the aquifer and becoming groundwater. For that, the model firstly interpolates the precipitation at the cell scale (Herrero et al., 2009), and then calculates rainfall/snowfall partition, reproduces the interception from the vegetation, calculates the snow accumulation and melting (Herrero et al., 2009), and separates surface runoff from infiltration on the ground surface. Vertical and horizontal soil water movement was reproduced by a two-layer soil approach, using Darcy-Buckingham law with Mualem-vanGenuchten parameterization (Muñoz Carpena and Ritter Rodriguez, 2005). Evapotranspiration extract water from soil using a parameterization based on potential evapotranspiration and soil water content (Herrero et al., 2014). Water percolating through the second layer of soil becomes aquifer recharge. Soil erosion prevention (T/ha/year) was calculated by considering the inverse of soil loss by water flow concentration (rill processes) and raindrop impacts (interrill processes). WiMMed uses the variation of different parameters that link soil loss, with changes in vegetation cover and land uses, as described in (Millares et al., 2019). Changes on soil erodibility were estimated from vertical distribution of root biomass, by adapting empirical models (e.g. Gale and Grigal, 1987; Jackson et al., 1996) to Mediterranean environments reported previously (Martinez- Fernandez et al., 1995). From these estimations, distributed soil erodibility was calculated from the empirical model proposed by Flanagan and Livingstone (1995). The calibration and validation of the WiMMed model in Sierra Nevada has been conducted through a series of studies that analysed each hydrological process in the area and designed and corrected each WiMMed module, pertaining to snow (Herrero et al., 2009), soil (Aguilar and Polo, 2011), baseflow (Millares, 2008; Millares et al., 2009), river flow (Pérez-Palazón et al., 2014), or soil loss and sediment transportation (Bergillos et al., 2016; Millares et al., 2020).</p><p><strong>INPUT DATA</strong></p><p>The input data used in the hydrological simulations were:</p><ul><li>Digital elevation model from national remote sensing program PNOA-LIDAR MDT02 and the topographic features calculated by WiMMed from the DEM: surface drainage system, river delineation, slope, aspect, sky view factor and horizon (sky obstruction in 8 directions).</li><li>Meteorological data from more than 50 weather stations in the area: hourly/daily rainfall (mm), hourly and daily temperature (oC), daily solar radiation (MJ/m2), average daily wind speed (m·s−1), average daily relative humidity (%), average daily barometric pressure (hPa).</li><li>Physico-chemical and hydraulic properties of the soil selected from the available spatial database performed by Rodríguez (2008), in which thematic maps were obtained for Andalusia at a 250-m resolution: hydraulic conductivity (mm·h−1), saturation and residual moisture values (mm·mm−1), air-entry matric potential (mm), retention parameter of the van Genuchten (dimensionless) and soil thickness (mm).</li><li>Land cover and land use information from SIPNA 2020.</li><li>Aquifer regions and information from hydrogeological atlas of Andalusia (ITGE-Junta de Andalucía, 1998; Castillo, 2008).</li></ul><p><strong>OUTPUT DATA</strong></p><p>The results contained in this database are raster files in UTM ETRS89 30S, with a spatial resolution of 30x30 meters, for the whole SIerra Nevada. The raster files are Esri-ASCII ArcGIS (.asc) grids with 3846 columns (X) and 2099 rows (Y). There are different time scales for each variable. The prefix of the file indicates this time scale, namely "Ano" for annual maps, "mes" for monthly maps and "Tot" for the whole simulation. The suffix indicates the variable of interest:</p><ul><li>Pre: Accumulated precipitation (solid + liquid) in mm</li><li>T_m: Mean temperature in ºC</li><li>P_n: Accumulated snowfall in mm</li><li>ErT: Accumulated total erosion (rill + interrill) in kg/m2</li><li>ET0: Accumulated potential evapotranspiration in mm</li><li>EvC: Accumulated real evaporation from canopy (intercepted precipitation) in mm</li><li>EvN:Accumulated real sublimation from snow in mm</li><li>EvS: Accumulated real evapotranspiration ration from soil in mm</li><li>Exp: Accumulated direct runoff in mm</li><li>Fus: Accumulated snowmelt in mm</li><li>HSol1: Instantaneous soil moisture in surface layer 1 (upper 25 cm) in mm</li><li>HSol2: Instantaneous soil moisture in deep layer 2 in mm</li><li>Inf: Accumulated infiltration from surface into soil in mm</li><li>Per: Accumulated aquifer recharge (from soil to groundwater) in mm</li><li>Qlat: Accumulated lateral flow (horizontal movement of water between cells) in mm</li><li>Tmn: Minimum temperature in ºC</li><li>Tmx: Maximum temperature in ºC</li></ul><p>There are also some other grid files (Tot_XXX.asc) related to the initial and final conditions of the state variables or internal conditions of the model.</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Aguilar, C., Polo, M.J., 2011. Generating reference evapotranspiration surfaces from the Hargreaves equation at watershed scale. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 15, 2495–2508. doi: 10.5194/hess-15-2495-2011.</p><p>Bergillos, R.J., Rodríguez-Delgado, C., Millares, A., Ortega-Sánchez, M., Losada, M.A., 2016. Impact of river regulation on a Mediterranean delta: assessment of managed versus unmanaged scenarios. Water Resour. Res. 52 (7), 5132–5148.</p><p>Castillo, A. 2008. Manantiales de Andalucía. Agencia Andaluza del agua, Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, 410 pp.</p><p>Herrero, J., Polo, M.J., Moñino, A., Losada, M.A., 2009. An energy balance snowmelt model in a Mediterranean site. J. Hydrol. 371 (1-4), 98–107.</p><p>Herrero, J., Millares, A., Aguilar, C., Egüen, M., Losada, M.A., 2014. Coupling spatial and time scales in the hydrological modelling of mediterranean regions: WiMMed, in: CUNY Academic Works. In: Presented at the International Conference on Hydroinformatics, p. 8. ITGE-Junta de Andalucía: Atlas Hidrogeológico de Andalucía. Madrid, 216 pp., ISBN: 84-7840-351-5, available at: http: //aguas.igme.es/igme/publica/libros1 HR/libro110/lib110.htm, last access: 18 March 2012, 1998</p><p>Millares, A., 2008. Integración del caudal base en un modelo distribuido de cuenca. Estudio de las aportaciones subterráneas en ríos de montaña. University of Granada.</p><p>Millares, A., Polo, M.J., Losada, M.A., 2009. The hydrological response of baseflow in fractured mountain areas. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 13 (1261–1271), 2009.</p><p>Millares, A., Díez-Minguito, M., Moñino, A., 2019. Evaluating gullying effects on modeling erosive responses at basin scale. Environ. Modell. Software 111, 61–71. Millares, A., Herrero, J., Bermúdez, M., Leiva, J.F., Cantalejo, M., 2020. Long-term modelling of soil loss and fluvial transport processes in a mountainous semi-arid basin, southern Spain, in: River Flow 2020 - Twentieth International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulic. Delf, Netherlands.</p><p>Moreno-Llorca, R., Vaz, A. S., Herrero, J., Millares, A., Bonet-García, F. J., & Alcaraz-Segura, D. 2020. Multi-scale evolution of ecosystem services' supply in Sierra Nevada (Spain): An assessment over the last half-century. <i>Ecosystem Services</i>, <i>46</i>, 101204.</p><p>Muñoz Carpena, R., Ritter Rodriguez, A., 2005. Hidrología Agroforestal. Mundiprensa.</p><p>Pérez-Palazón, M. J., Pimentel, R., Herrero, J., & Polo-Gómez, M. J. 2014. Analysis of snow spatial and temporary variability through the study of terrestrial photography in the Trevelez river valley. In <i>Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology XVI</i> (Vol. 9239, pp. 358-368). SPIE.</p><p>Rodríguez, J. A. 2008. Sistema de Inferencia Espacial de Propiedades Físico-Químicas e Hidráulicas de los Suelos de Andalucía. Herramienta de Apoyo a la Simulación de Procesos Agro-Hidrológicos a Escala Regional. Informe Final. Empresa Pública Desarrollo Agrario y Pesquero, Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca, Sevilla.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This work is part of the project "Thematic Center on Mountain Ecosystem & Remote sensing, Deep learning-AI e-Services University of Granada-Sierra Nevada" (LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01), which has been co-funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the FEDER funds from the Spanish Pluriregional Operational Program 2014-2020 (POPE), LifeWatch-ERIC action line, within the Workpackages LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01_WP-8, LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01_WP-7 and LifeWatch-2019-10-UGR-01_WP-4.</p&gt