Ongoing and finished projects

Summary: Life on Earth, as we have known it for millennia, is at stake. Human activities are putting all kinds of ecosystems under increased stress because of land-use change and the alteration of the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C), thus inducing climate warming.

Summary: The elemental composition of matter determines its physical and chemical properties. Living matter is not an exception to this rule as evidenced by the widely known leaf economic spectrum, indicating that higher concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) relate to higher photosynthetic capacity in plants.

Summary: The concept of ecological succession, both primary and secondary, remains a fundamental ecological process. However, many of the mechanisms behind the process of succession remain elusive, such as the role of organism competition and facilitation due to changing biophysical properties of the environment like, like nutrient availability.

Objectives: Mediterranean spring ecosystems are under threat due to the consequences of global change. Severe and prolonged droughts, water abstraction and pollution, increasing evapotranspiration rates, abandonment of rural activities and encroachment jeopardize the biodiversity inhabiting these ecosystems.

Objectives: The aim of the Projecte Fonts (Springs project) is to find out the state of Catalonia’s springs, by performing physicochemical analysis of their water and the identification of the bryophyte communities that are established in those springs.

Objectives: The general objective of this project (Natural-History Chemistry) is to investigate how different habitats and the proximity to polluted areas determine the elemental composition of bryophytes. We expect to see differences in elemental composition due to habitat type (epiphytic, terrestrial, saxicolous and hygrophytic) and species phylogeny.

Objectives: The aim of the Projecte Gat Fer (Wild Cat project) is to find wild cats in Montnegre Mountains. Given that the wild cat has already been found in Montseny mountains, we expect the species to colonise also this nearby area.