Programme of activities

The next step in REDOTE implementation plan is to start the coordination of the first monitoring stations to establish a pilot network. This effort will be valuable to identify logistic difficulties arising from the integration of different initiatives before the establishment of the definitive Spanish LTER network.

Due to the complex diversity of agents involved (universities, scientific community, ministries, etc.), the most convenient is to start with a limited number of monitoring stations. REDOTE progress must be a gradual integration of stations after the appropriate working of the pilot network. For this reason, REDOTE Pilot Network is starting with only a few stations that are representative of the main Spanish ecosystems (terrestrial, fluvial, coastal and ocean ecosystems).

At the same time, REDOTE will pay attention especially to strengthen international relationships, collaborations and discussion with other countries with experience and interest in long-term ecological research. Currently, REDOTE is collaborating actively within the Network of Excellence ALTER-net (6th UE Framework Programme, coordinator Terry Parr, coordinator of the Spanish participants, Fernando Valladares) which has within their objectives the establishment of a European LTER Network. REDOTE has also contact with the International Long Term Ecological Research Network ILTER, where the activities of REDOTE were presented in the meeting in Seattle in 2003.