Contribution from Long-Term Ecological Monitoring to research and management of Doñana LTSER Platform

Abstract

Doñana, as a whole, has definitely helped to consolidate ecological monitoring and long-term research in Spain. An integrated approach, combining the efforts of managers and researchers has led to scientific contributions improving the understanding of Doñana's biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This paper reviews the scientific contributions and management improvements provided by the implementation of a long-term ecological monitoring program and the LTER networking activities. Especially, the paper reviews the contribution of landscape-scale monitoring by remote sensing s.l., with its retrospective and multi-scale analysis capacity; the different monitoring protocols of local populations of primary consumers and their role in the Doñana ecosystems; the great effort made to incorporate automatic monitoring by deploying sensors and developments adapted to harsh field conditions; the contributions of the socio-ecological approach to assess the state of conservation and environmental services of the Doñana LTSER platform; and finally, the perspective from the management of the program's usefulness when it comes to decision making and the incorporation in international networks LTER. In summary, this review aims to show the different benefits achieved by the implementation of a long-term (socio)ecological monitoring and research program in Doñana.