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Reviving the biodiversity around an ancient palace

Juan Ramón Fernández Cardenete tends the Alhambra’s many water features and gardens.
By
  1. Ugo Mellone

    1. Ugo Mellone is a photojournalist based in Spain.

Juan Ramon Fernandez Cardenete, holding a net in one hand, kneels by the edge of a pond surrounded by fallen leaves, with the walls of the Alhambra palace lit up in the background

Juan Ramón Fernández Cardenete is a biologist at the Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain. Credit: Ugo Mellone for Nature

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“The Alhambra palace, overlooking Granada in southern Spain, is one of the finest preserved examples of Moorish architecture, dating back to the thirteenth century. I’m employed by the palace’s management body to study the biodiversity in this vast complex — which has more than 2.5 million visitors per year. We manage the water features and gardens, not only to enhance their aesthetic appeal but also to protect their wildlife, with a focus on amphibians.

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Nature 639, 1110 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00921-7

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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