I worked as a Scientific Researcher at Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificacion (CIDE) (Spanish Research Council -CSIC-, University of Valencia -UV- and Autonomous Government of Valencia -GV-) from 1996 to 2023, where I was too Vice-director (2004-2005) and Director (2006-2013 and 2018-2023).
I'm interested in the ecology of plant colonization (reproduction, seed dispersal, soil seed bank, seed predation, seed germination, seedling dynamics and plant-plant interactions), with a special emphasis on semiarid environments. This research involves field work, laboratory and greenhouse observations and experiments using different techniques. Some of the plant species I use as model in these studies are Pistacia lentiscus, Stipa tenacissima, Juniperus sabina, Rosmarinus officinalis, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and Quercus ilex.
The erosion-vegetation relationships in semiarid and degraded ecosystems are another point of my interest. The research on this subject focuses in the mechanisms explaining the very low plant colonization rates in those areas and the effect of soil erosion on soil properties and plant species assembly. Together with my collaborators, we developed methodologies to assess seed removal by water erosion from hillslopes and the ways in which plants cope with it. From this collaborative work have emerged predictive models on the influence of seed properties, such as seed size, the presence of appendix and the ability for seed mucilage secretion, in the resistance of seeds against soil erosion. These and other results have been used to improve vegetation restoration plans, including those for road infrastructures.
I'm also interested in the evolutionary origin and implications of the studied mechanisms, such as the phylogenetic origin and function of the mucilage secretion by seeds.
Since 2019 I am participating in the implementation of the [BIOCLIMA network]. BIOCLIMA aims to become a reference network in the Valencian Community for monitoring changes in biodiversity because climate change. The network is hosted in both public and private protected natural areas and consists of repeated sampling of vegetation, soils and soil surface temperature in more than 90 plots comprising many priority habitats for the EU.
My research activity has been developed in collaboration with scientist of CIDE and also from other Spanish Universities and Research Centers (Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua and Universidades de Alcalá de Henares, Alicante, Valencia, Zaragoza) and from international networking: University of Leuven (Belgium), UNAM (México), State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau of the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources (China), US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station (Corvallis, USA).
I participate in several undergraduate and postgraduate teaching programs at the University of Valencia (Degree in Biology, Master in Técnicas de Gestión del Medio Ambiente y el Territorio, Master in Evolutive and Integrative Biology), and also in technician training of the “Módulo de Formación en la Empresa” from the studies of Técnicos Superiores en la Gestión y Organización de los Recursos Naturales y Paisajísticos and of Técnicos Superiores en Gestión Forestal y del Medio Natural (Escuela de Capataces Agrícolas (Catarroja), Centro Público Integrado de Formación Profesional San Blas (Teruel) and IES Alto Palancia (Segorbe).
