• Skip to main content

Laboratorio de Ecología de Zonas Áridas y Cambio Global

Dryland Ecology & Global Change Lab

  • Research
    • Research lines
    • Publications of the Maestre Lab
    • Research projects
    • Special issues
  • Lab philosophy
  • People
    • Fernando Maestre
    • People
    • Former members of the Maestre Lab
    • Visitors
  • Resources
    • Data
    • Proposals
    • Media
    • Women in dryland science list
  • Outreaching
  • Press
    • Press room
    • Opinion pieces
  • Contact
  • Español

Research projects

Since 2005, I have participated in the following research projects (you can find a complete list of the projects in which I participated in my curriculum)

Agro-ecosystem diversification: digging deeper
BIODESERT
BIOCOM
Effects of multiple global change drivers on biological soil crust structure and functioning
INTERCAMBIO
EPES
EXTREM
EXPERTAL
SPABIOCRUST
CEFEMED
REMEDINAL
INDEX
Agro-ecosystem diversification: digging deeper

Title: Agro-ecosystem diversification: digging deeper.

Funding Agency: Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Horizon 2020 ERA-NET COFUND scheme (BIODIVERSA 3 call).

Duration: 01/12/2016 – 31/11/2018

Principal investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives:

  1. Quantify the impact of agricultural practices on soil communities and ecosystem services.
  2. Determine the role of soil diversity and biological interactions for multifunctionality of European agroecosystems.
  3. Assess the impacts of climate change on the provision of ecosystem services by agroecosystems from different climatic zones, management practices and soil biodiversity levels.
  4. Identify innovative land management practices that maximize the delivery of multiple ecosystem services delivered by soil biota.
BIODESERT

Title: Biological feedbacks and ecosystem resilience under global change: a new perspective on dryland desertification (BIODESERT).

Funding Agency: European Research Council-Consolidator Grants

Duration: 01/01/2016 – 31/12/2020

Principal investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives:

  1. To test how changes in climate and grazing pressure determine spatiotemporal patterns in multifunctionality in global drylands.
  2. To assess how biotic attributes modulate ecosystem resilience to climate change and grazing pressure at multiple spatial scales (from local to global).
  3. To test and develop early warning indicators for the onset of desertification.
  4. To forecast the onset of desertification and its ecological consequences under different climate and grazing scenarios.
BIOCOM

Title: Biotic community attributes and ecosystem functioning: implications for predicting and mitigating global change impacts (BIOCOM).

Funding Agency: European Research Council-Starting Grants

Duration: 15/01/2010 – 31/12/2014

Principal investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the relative importance of community attributes as drivers of ecosystem functioning using multiple communities and a combination of manipulative field, natural and common garden experiments.
  2. Assess how multiple global change drivers will affect key ecosystem processes.
  3. Test whether global change drivers modify observed community attributes-ecosystem functioning relationships.
  4. Develop models to forecast global change effects on ecosystem functioning in drylands.
  5. Set up protocols for the establishment of effective mitigation actions.
Effects of multiple global change drivers on biological soil crust structure and functioning

Title: Effects of multiple global change drivers on biological soil crust structure and functioning.

Funding Agency: British Ecological Society

Duration: April 2008 – April 2011

Principal investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives:

  1. Assess how multiple global change drivers (temperature, nutrient availability and precipitation) will affect above- and belowground biotic communities and key ecosystem processes depending on them.
  2. Evaluate the importance of community attributes as modulators of ecosystem responses to global change.
  3. Test whether global change drivers modify observed community attributes-ecosystem functioning relationships.
INTERCAMBIO

Title: Plant-plant interactions and ecosystem functioning under globla change (INTERCAMBIO).

Funding Agency: BBVA Foundation

Duration: September 2007- September 2010

Principal Investigator: Fernando T. Maestre.

Objectives:

  1. Advance in our knowledge of the relationships between ecosystem structure and functioning in semi-arid and high mountain Mediterranean ecosystems.
  2. Test the role of facilitation among vascular plants as a driver of ecosystem structure and functioning.
  3. Using facilitation among vascular plants to improve ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation in semi-arid and high mountain Mediterranean ecosystems.
EPES

Title: Assessment of ecosystem processes in semiarid environments as a tool to mitigate global change impacts (EPES).

Funding Agency: CYTED

Duration: January 2007- January 2010

Principal investigator: Dr. Adrián Escudero.

Objective: Test the relationships between ecosystem structure and functioning in key semiarid ecosystems of Spain and Latin America.

EXTREM

Title: Effects of abiotic stress in Mediterranean environments at different organization levels: a tool to predict climate change impacts (EXTREM).

Funding Agency: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia

Duration: January 2007- January 2010

Principal Investigator: Dr. Adrián Escudero.

Other researchers (URJC): Ana Sánchez, Txema Iriondo, Cristina Fernández, Luis Jiménez, Arantzazu López de Luzuriaga.

Objectives:

  1. Test the role of local adaptation as an adaptative response to climate change.
  2. Evaluate the role of abiotic stress on the demography of plants in semi-arid and high mountain Mediterranean ecosystems.
  3. Test the effect of abiotic stress on plant-plant and plant-animal interactions.
EXPERTAL

Title: Experimental basis for the ecological sustainability of highway road slopes (EXPERTAL).

Funding Agency: Ferrovial, Fundación Biodiversidad, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos y CSIC

Duration: January 2007- January 2010

Principal Investigator: Dr. Fernando Valladares y Dr. Adrián Escudero.

Other researchers: Santiago Soliveres y Pablo García

Objectives:

  1. Advance in our knowledge of the relationships between ecosystem structure and functioning in highway road slopes.
  2. Establish ecologically sound measures to restore highway road slopes.
SPABIOCRUST

Title: Testing the effects of biodiversity and spatial pattern on ecosystem functioning: An experimental approach using biological soil crusts (SPABIOCRUST).

Funding Agency: British Ecological Society

Duration: May 2006- August 2008

Principal Investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives:

  1. Test, using a combination of manipulative common garden experiments and field observations, if the diversity and spatial pattern of biological soil crust communities determine ecosystem functioning in semi-arid gypsum environments.
  2. Evaluate the relative importance of different biodiversity components (species richness, species composition and species evenness) and spatial pattern as drivers of ecosystem responses.
CEFEMED

Title: Ecosystem processes in Mediterranean steppes: relationships between composition, structure and function (CEFEMED).

Funding Agency: Comunidad de Madrid (Spain).

Duration: January 2006- January 2007

Principal Investigator: Dr. Fernando T. Maestre

Objectives: Test the relative importance of vegetation, biological soil crusts and soil microorganisms as drivers of ecosystem functioning in semiarid Mediterranean steppes.

REMEDINAL

Title: Research Network on Ecological Restoration in Madrid (REMEDINAL).

Funding Agency: Comunidad de Madrid (Spain).

Duration: January 2006- January 2010

Principal Investigator: Dr. Adrián Escudero.

Objectives: Network of research groups on ecological restoration in the Community of Madrid.

INDEX

Title: Indicators of success in the restoration of Mediterranean ecosystems (INDEX).

Funding Agency: Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología (Spain).

Duration: December 2005- December 2008

Principal Investigator: Dr. Susana Bautista.

Objectives: Test the factors driving the success of restoration projects in semiarid areas of Spain.

© 2023 Laboratorio de Ecología de Zonas Áridas y Cambio Global - Todos los derechos reservados

Este sitio web utiliza cookies para mejorar su experiencia de usuario. Vamos a asumir que las aceptas, pero puedes optar por no aceptarlas si así deseas.Aceptar Leer más
Política de Privacidad y de Cookies

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT