Research
Our goal is to understand patterns and processes regulating vegetation diversity and related ecosystems.
Major questions we try to address are related to the variation of plant communities across ecological gradients, and the drivers influencing regeneration, persistence or extinction of individual species. Central topics refer to the taxonomic, functional or phylogenetic diversity of vegetation types subjected to glacial history and refugia, like alpine grasslands (see the ALPVEG network), mires (with the Peatland Research Group) or mountain forests. We are also interested in the general response of ecosystems to climate change and plant invasions. Research is mostly empirical but with a sound background on ecological theory and statistical modeling, using biodiversity databases, botanical collections, field work and laboratory experiments.
Major questions we try to address are related to the variation of plant communities across ecological gradients, and the drivers influencing regeneration, persistence or extinction of individual species. Central topics refer to the taxonomic, functional or phylogenetic diversity of vegetation types subjected to glacial history and refugia, like alpine grasslands (see the ALPVEG network), mires (with the Peatland Research Group) or mountain forests. We are also interested in the general response of ecosystems to climate change and plant invasions. Research is mostly empirical but with a sound background on ecological theory and statistical modeling, using biodiversity databases, botanical collections, field work and laboratory experiments.
Biogeography of plant communities
Spatial properties of communities and vegetation types
Picos de Europa National Park, Spain
When we observe natural and semi-natural habitats all around the world, the first impression we make is about vegetation. The diversity of vegetation is linked to the distribution and abundance of plant species and their co-occurrence in plant communities as a response to biotic and abiotic factors. These communities may change drastically at the landscape scale, but they also may look similar in different regions under similar environmental constraints. These patterns are governed by historical and environmental factors across multiple ecological processes.
Using observation data from vegetation databases at national (SIVIM), continental (EVA) and global (sPlot) scales, we root on the community assembly theory to address the following questions: How plant community diversity varies across time and space? What is the role of historical and environmental factors on these patterns?
Seed trait ecology
Functional responses of seeds across species and habitats
Seed of Centaurium somedanum (Credit: Jardín Botánico Atlántico)
The evolutionary success of vascular plants on terrestrial habitats is strongly linked to the "invention" of seeds and fruits. Globally, these propagules are a key stage for plant regeneration through processes such as dispersal, germination and establishment. The success of a plant to regenerate will depend on internal and external factors, which ultimately define the ecological response of seeds to environmental drivers. Seed traits are key tools in basic and applied research for understanding community assembly and delineating habitat restoration.
By using both observational and experimental studies on seed traits across different habitats, we aim to understand: How the seed spectrum of ecological functions differs across habitats? What are the trade-offs of seed traits across species and communities? How seed ecology helps us to underline ecosystem restoration?
Ecosystem mapping and monitoring
Tracking vegetation dynamics with remote sensing
Alvarez-Martínez et al. 2018, Methods in Ecology & Evolution 9, 580-593
The Anthropocene is reducing the diversity of global ecosystems at an unprecendent rate. Habitat deterioration and climate warming are both influencing the diversity and distribution of plants, reducing the occupancy of native species at the expense of invasive aliens. Despite this being a general trend, identifying the response of plant diversity to global change is regionally idiosyncratic, and different trends may came out between regions with different historical or environmenal settings.
We use field data, spatial analysis and modeling tools to ask: How vegetation data can provide ground observation data for mapping and monitoring ecosystems under global change? How conservation actions and passive rewilding may enhance ecosystem services?
The Cantabrian Mixed Forests ecoregion
Regional-based solutions for plant conservation
The Anthropocene is reducing the diversity of global ecosystems at an unprecendent rate. Habitat deterioration and climate warming are both influencing the diversity and distribution of plants, reducing the occupancy of native species at the expense of invasive aliens. Despite this being a general trend, identifying the response of plant diversity to global change is regionally idiosyncratic, and different trends may came out between regions with different historical or environmenal settings.
We study regional patterns of plant diversity at the ecoregion level at the research program of the Atlantic Botanic Garden, Gijón, Spain, pointing at the following questions: How climate change and human impact is influencing plant diversity in natural and anthropogenic habitats? How botanic gardens may contribute to global conservation strategies with regional data?
