PASTUS

The PASTUS database compiles a collection of ecological samples on grasslands and other ecosystems related to the agro-pastoral cycle, the latter including cut meadows and legume-based sown swards, as well as shrublands and forests developed on abandoned pastures. It contains a large amount of contemporary and historical environmental information collected through monitoring surveys.

The database covers a wide range of geographical locations including mostly high-altitude grasslands in the Pyrenees (Catalonia mainly, Aragon and Navarra in Spain; Languedoc-Roussillon and Aquitaine in France); but also Mediterranean and semi-arid grasslands and rangelands in the North-Eastern (Catalonia, Aragon and Valencia) and Western (Salamanca) regions in the Iberian Peninsula.

The Laboratory of Functional Ecology and Global Change (ECOFUN) has integrated a wealth of data including location, positioning, climate, physiography, management, soil, plant diversity, productivity and vegetation variables.

The main sponsors and projects involved in the development of the database are: EU program INTERREG III-A (FP6/2002-2006) I3A-4-147-E Project; Spanish Science Foundation through the projects CARBOPAS(REN2002-04300-C02-02), CARBOAGROPAS (CGL2006-13555-C03-03) and CAPAS (CGL2010-22378-C03-01); INIA with the project CARBOCLUS (SUM2006-0002-C02-01); several agencies of the Catalan Government, Generalitat de Catalunya, including the project CARBOCAT; the EU projects CARBOMONT (EVK2-CT2001-00125, FP6/2002-2006) and CarboEurope (GOCE-CT-2003-505572, FP7/2007-2013); and the EU Programme POCTEFA EFA 34/08 (INTERREG IV-A, FLUXPYR project).

The skills in environmental information management and data analysis of the ECOFUN Lab enable this database to be used for many lines of research: grassland, rangeland and forest ecology and management; productivity, quality and management of legume-based swards and cut meadows; biodiversity assessment and conservation; climate and land use changes; biogeochemical cycling; soil-plant interactions; soil-microorganisms-plant-invertebrates-livestock system.

Selected publications