The GuMNet (Guadarrama Monitoring Network) has been established as a laboratory for environmental monitoring in the Sierra de Guadarrama. This network of stations has been installed with the objective of supporting research and dissemination of data and scientific knowledge related to the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Through a wide network of atmospheric and subsoil monitoring stations located in different parts of the Sierra de Guadarrama, this scientific network aims to contribute to the research, education and management of a mountain environment that provides an enormous amount of ecosystem and cultural services to the populations of Madrid and Segovia, provinces adjacent to this National Park. The orography of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park is complex and the high density of installed stations allows the validation and improvement of high resolution meteorological models.

This Tuesday, Ana M. Tarquis participated in an educational field trip to El Escorial by a group of students from the Master’s Degree in Meteorology and Geophysics at the Complutense University of Madrid, who visited the EG010-Herrería Station, located in the Herrería Forest, which is also an area comprised in the Natura 2000 Network and a Site of Common Interest as well as a Special Protection Area for Birds, so ensuring proper monitoring and management of this site is essential for the conservation of natural assets.

In her presentation, Ana M. Tarquis highlighted the work of CEIGRAM regarding its participation in this scientific network, inviting students to learn about and collaborate in the tasks that CEIGRAM performs in the monitoring and analysis of agrometeorological and climatic data collected at the stations together with satellite data.

Climate change has a great impact on high mountain ecosystems such as the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park. The decrease in precipitation, the irregularity in the frequency of rainfall or the increase in temperature are phenomena that are already affecting the flora and fauna of the Park, and that must be taken into consideration for its correct management.

In short, the GuMNet network is creating a hydrometeorological database in an environment as valuable as the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, which can be a very useful tool for researchers and visitors to the mountains, enabling better management of natural resources through a detailed evaluation of current environmental conditions and forecasting future ones.