The Terrestrial Ecology research group of the University of Granada, led by Dr. José A. Hódar, has been studying since 1995 different aspects of plant-animal interactions involved in the demographic dynamics of several herbaceous and woody plant species, such as reproductive biology and pollination ecology, seed predation, the incidence of herbivory (by ungulates and insects). It also deals with energy transfer, primary production and respiration at different spatial levels (individual to ecosystem). The group is consolidated and has international visibility in different thematic areas (ecology and evolution of ecological interactions, restoration ecology, etc.). The results obtained are published in prestigious international ecology journals, both in basic ecology and applied ecology, with some 500 publications to date, more than half of them in SCI journals. This group is part of the inventory of research and technological development groups of the Junta de Andalucía, in the Natural Resources and Environment programme. 
The main objectives of the group are:
To deepen the knowledge of key ecological processes in Mediterranean ecosystems.To develop conceptual and methodological tools to improve the conservation and management of natural resources.To promote the transfer of research results to the management of protected areas, disseminating this knowledge through training and advisory activities.The projects, contracts and agreements that are closely linked to the transfer of knowledge from the scientific field to the management field have also been dealt with since 2006 in the Inter-University Institute for Research on the Earth System in Andalusia (IISTA), in which the Terrestrial Ecology group participates as a permanent member.
The Terrestrial Ecology Laboratory (iEcolab) is a multidisciplinary team (http://www.iecolab.es/lista_personal) that has been created very recently at CEAMA precisely to enhance scientific-technological knowledge and facilitate its transfer in the field of conservation and environmental management. It is made up of doctors and graduates in biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, computer science and forestry engineers, with experience in research and different professional fields related to the management and conservation of the natural environment. iEcolab was created with a clearly defined vocation in its motto "Knowing to Manage", each of whose terms refers to the different areas of laboratory work. "Knowing" includes the monitoring, analysis, evaluation and simulation of the effects of Global Change on natural systems. "To" represents the more instrumental branch, and refers to the design and development of monitoring tools, information systems, dissemination tools, analytical laboratory techniques, etc. "Management" refers to the transfer of biological and ecological knowledge, monitoring and management tools to environmental managers, with the aim of facilitating decision-making to preserve habitats and biodiversity in a proactive way. As a result of the multidisciplinary and wide range of competences, the group manages several lines of research: Global Change, Ecoinformatics, Conservation Biology, Biogeography, Landscape Ecology, Applied Ecology, Economic Ecology and Human Ecology. 
The main lines of work addressed in this joint UGR-Junta de Andalucía centre are related to the design of systems for monitoring the effects of global change in Mediterranean ecosystems.

The main lines of research are as follows:

- Analysis of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur.

- Analysis of landscape connectivity.    

- Characterisation of ecosystem services.

- Design of computer applications based on free software and applied to the management of environmental information.

- Design of environmental decision support systems.

- Design of environmental information systems.

- Design and implementation of web 2.0 tools applied to ecology and natural resource management.   

       
- Photo-interpretation of land use changes.   

 
- Modelling the distribution area of species and plant formations in a scenario of global change.

- Modelling and spatialisation of climatic variables.

- Natural and assisted forest restoration in Mediterranean forests.   

     
- Supercomputing applied to environmental problem solving.     

       
- Remote sensing applied to the management of natural resources.

- Incidence of abiotic and biotic stressors on vegetation.

- Quantification of exchanges of energy and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) between the vegetation and the environment.