Deliverable 8: Monitoring protocol of action C1 (Pasture recovery through scrubland clearing)

This deliverable explains the monitoring protocol that will be carried out during the entire LIFE MIDMACC project related to action C1: scrubland clearing carried out in La Rioja and Aragón. The main objective of this protocol is to evaluate the effects of scrubland clearing and livestock management in different environmental variables. We have described in detailed all the environmental variables that are going to be measured, with different methodologies, timings, and protocols: (i) soil properties (soil analysis and soil moisture), (ii) pasture variables (biodiversity, production and quality), (iii) hydrogeomorphological response (runoff, infiltration rates, sediments, times to response), and (iv) site meteorological conditions (air moisture and temperature, rainfall).

The first section is a short introduction to the deliverable, with a briefly description of the pilot experiments and the main objectives of this deliverable. The second section presents the design of the monitoring network including a description of the monitoring program/design carried out in La Rioja and Aragón. The third section presents the monitoring variables and all the protocols established to realize the environmental monitoring of the C1 action (scrubland clearing), including a table with a summary of all the measured variables, methods and timing.