Biodiversity Foundation Bioclima Network Project: Biodiversity and climate change monitoring network

The "Biodiversity and Climate Change Monitoring Network" project has focused on creating a network of plots for repeated biodiversity sampling over time, i.e., permanent plots. Each plot has been monitored to detect long-term changes in vegetation and soil biological composition. These networks provide fundamental information on trends in biodiversity loss, habitat alteration, and changes in interactions between organisms, as they are very scarce in Spain and there is currently no common methodology across regions. In coordination with the Valencian Regional Administration, the project, developed by CSIC, has established a pioneering initiative called the "Bioclima Network," based on repeated sampling of 70 plots in different typical habitats of the region, distributed across 15 protected areas in the Valencian Community, including: the "Aitana, Serrella i Puigcampana" SCI/SAC, which shares territory with the "Muntanyes de la Marina" SPA, both Natura 2000 sites located in the province of Alicante. Sampling has yielded data for soil characterization, associated microbial diversity, vegetation, and soil temperature using meteorological microsensors.

Collaboration with natural parks and the entities that manage other protected areas allows for greater protection of sampling areas and a focus on the effects of climate fluctuations. The initiative has also made it possible to characterize 17 habitats of community interest, such as sub-steppe areas of grasses and annual Thero-Brachypodietea, Mediterranean pine forests with endemic mesogean pines (9,540), and Quercus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia forests. Fourteen main tree species or subspecies detected have also been identified, such as Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa, Juniperus thurifera, Pinus nigra, Pinus pinaster, Quercus ilex subsp. ballota, and Quercus suber. Within the framework of the project, a map was drawn up showing the location of the monitoring network plots. the drafting of the “Sampling Protocol for the Bioclima Network Plots” and a citizen science sampling protocol for collecting data on phenological stages.

Finally, the Bioclima Network section has been launched on the website of the Valencian Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency, and Ecological Transition. This network has provided a validated methodology that can be exported to other territories, while also providing data on different trophic levels (plants and microbial diversity, fungi, and bacteria) and climate data at the soil surface level (currently very rare in the region). The data provided is in high demand by global biodiversity monitoring networks, enabling the Administration to comply with several international agreements on biodiversity and climate change.