Search results

Ana D. Caperta is an Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa, since 2019. She completed the PhD in Biology at ISA by ULisboa, Master in Plant Production – Plant Breeding in 1996 by ISA/ULisboa, and Graduation in Agronomic engineering – Plant Breeding in 1993 by ISA/ULisboa. She has received various awards including three Postdoctoral fellowships by FCT on plant reproduction. She was an Assistant Professor at Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisboa (2001-2013). As a Researcher of Program Ciência 2008, she implemented a research line in Plant Reproduction and Conservation at ISA. Ana D. Caperta collaborated on curricular units from the 3 cycles at ISA and in the MSc on Biotechnology in the University Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique). She is affiliated in the Society of Experimental Biology, Sociedade Portuguesa de Botânica, and is a consultant for Flora On (flora-on.pt) and eHaloph databases (sussex.ac.uk). She is the Associate Editor on Botany for Revista de Ciências Agrárias (scap.pt). She led several national and international research projects. Ana D. Caperta curates a Limonium (sea lavenders) collection at ISA. In her professional activities she interacted with 34 collaborator(s) with co-authorship of scientific papers. In her curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: sexual reproduction and apomixis in Limonium; halophytes; chromatin; chromosomes; conservation; ecology; epigenetics; Flora of Portugal; flow cytometry; geographical distribution; grazing; habitat management; halophyte; heat stress; heterostyly; karyological polymorphisms; Limonium; meiotic abnormalities; micro and mega-sporogenesis and gametogenesis; microtubules; morphometry; nature protection; Orchidaceae; Plumbaginaceae; pollen-stigma dimorphism; population genetics; polyploidy; reproduction; reproductive biology; reproductive success; salt-marsh; systematics; taxonomy. Ana D. Caperta has translated basic research findings into conservation practice and as such she gave expert advice on Limonium to Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas (ICNF), is a Specialist for Limonium for the Red Data Book for vascular plants in Portugal, and has collaborated with Municipalities and ICNF on Limonium and halophytes conservation. She gave scientific support to artistic work (catarinaleitao.net/project-tag/systema-naturae). Caperta’s studies received press coverage in newspaper Público and in SIC Notícias TV channel.

Ana Filipa Filipe is a Auxiliar Researcher at Instituto Superior de Agronomia (Universidade de Lisboa). Completed her PhD in Ecology in 2010 by Universidade de Lisboa and graduated in Biology in 1998 by the same faculty. Published 48 articles indexed in Web of Science, 4 book chapters and 4 books. Ana Filipa is principal investigator of the project ‘AQUADAPT – Promoting riverine ecosystems resilient to climate change for a sustainable management ‘ (funded by Fundacion La Caixa; Promove PD20-00008), and was principal investigator of the project ‘FRESHING: Next-generation biomonitoring: freshwater bioassessment and species conservation improved with metagenomics’ (funded by FCT; PTDC/AAG-MAA/2261/2014), and participated as a researcher in 18 projects. Revised articles from more than 20 research ISI indexed journals. Ana Filipa is associate editor of Diversity and Distributions (DDI) and Frontiers Ecology and Evolution journals, and subject editor of Metabarcoding and Metagenomics (MbMg) journal. Gave 51 oral presentations in congresses, seminars and workshops. Organized 11 scientific events. Co-supervised 2 PhD thesis and 2 Master thesis, and supervises 1 Master thesis. Works in Natural Sciences with emphasis on Freshwater Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation and Evolutionary Biology. Also works as a scientific illustrator since 2000 and produces ilustrations and maps for science communication. She received 6 awards and honors. In Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific outputs are: Biodiversity, Ecology, Genetics, Freshwater Biodiversity, Monitoring, Conservation, Fish, Macroinvertebrates, Mussels, Streams and Rivers (updated 19-2-2024).

Ana Ligia Primo completed her PhD in Biology (Speciality in Ecology) in 2012 by the University of Coimbra, Faculty of Science and Technology. She is currently a Junior researcher in the Centre for Functional Ecology of the University of Coimbra. She is currently Researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra, She published 29 articles in peer reviewer journals and has 1 book section. Participated in the organisation of 11 events and participated in other 15 . She Co-supervised 1 PhD thesis, supervised 1 MSc dissertation and co-supervised 4. She participate as a researcher in several projects. Works in the area of Natural sciences with emphasis on Marine ecology. In their professional activities interacted with 143 collaborators with co-authorship in scientific papers. In her curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Ichthyoplankton; Zooplankton; climate change; fish recruitment; otolith microchemistry.

Ana Paula Ferreira Ramos. She completed her PhD in Agronomic Engineering in 2010/12 at the University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior de Agronomia. She is Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Researcher at the University of Lisbon, Research Center LINKING LANDSCAPE, ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD – LEAF, Coordinator of the Laboratory of Plant Pathology “Veríssimo de Almeida” at the University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior of Agronomy. Her main research topics are mycology, host-pathogen-environment interaction, genetic characterization of pathogen populations, wood rot basidiomycete fungi and urban trees. She supervised/co-supervised 20 Master’s theses. She participated in 12 national and international projects. She has published 41 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including 18 SCOPUS articles. It has 2 book chapters. She received the SYNGENTA AWARD INNOVATION IN AGRICULTURE in 2008. In her Science Vitae curriculum, the most frequent terms in the context of scientific and technological production are: 2,4,6-trichloroanisole; allerginicity; allergy; Alternaria spp.; anthracnose; ARBOTOM; Arecaceae; Biocrusts ; Brassica spp.; Canna; Celtis australis; citogenómica; Citrus; Cladosporium; Colletotrichum boninense; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; Colletotrichum spp.; cork; cork oak yellow spot; cork-taint; cytogenomics; decay; disease incidence; environmental polution; Espectrofotometria NIR e FTIR; ferruginol; flow cytometry; Fomitiporia mediterranea; FTIR; fungi; Ganoderma spp.; genetic diversity; genome size; green roofs; heritage trees; Inonotus rickii; isolates; ITS; monumental trees; morphological characterization; Nalanthamala vermoesenii; native plants; nuclear cycle; Olea europaea; palm tree; pathogenic fungi; pathogenicity; pest; phytosanitary status; plant diseases; polen; Ptychogaster cubensis; Puccinia thaliae; Pucciniomycotina; resistograph IML PD-50; risk of failure; rot; rust; seasonal variation; ß-tubulina 2; temperature; Thielaviopsis paradoxa; Trichoderma sp.; urban forests; urban trees; Visual Tree Assessment; wood rot fungi.

Ana Isabel Faria Ribeiro-Barros (ARB), PhD Plant Molecular Biology, MSc Biotechnology – Plant and Microbial Production (Wageningen University). Current Positions and Appointments: (i) Member of the General Council and Director of the Tropical College, University of Lisbon (ULisboa); (ii) Member of the Scientific Council, Senior Researcher with Habilitation/Head of Lab, Professor of Microbiology and Plant Biotechnology, School of Agriculture, ULisboa; (iii) National Expert, High Level Policy Dialogue EU/Africa – Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture. Previous positions: (i) Deputy NCP of Portugal at the European Initiative for Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD), the ARD European Coordination Group (ECG) and the CGIAR Consortium (2006/2012); Biosafety Working Group, in the former European Consortium for Agricultural Research in the Tropics (ECART), now Agrinatura (2007/2009); (iii) Deputy Director of Department (2006/2009) and Research Center (2006/2015). Main area of scientific activity: Agrobiotechnology applied to the management and characterization of agro-forestry resources: Biodiversity; Conservation Genetics; Ethnobotany; Landscape genomics; Molecular Ecology; Plant-Environment Interactions (symbioses, pathogenesis and abiotic stresses); Soil diversity. Higher Education and Advanced Training: (i) Teaching: Universidade da Madeira (since 2023); Universidade de Lisboa, School of Agriculture (since 2015); Gorongosa National Park, Consortium BioEd, Mozambique (since 2018); Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique (since 2009), Mozambique; Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2016/2019); (ii) Development of courses and education tools and methodologies (since 1998); (iii) Students supervision: 11 post-docs; 12 PhDs; 18 masters; 13 bachelors; 30+ capacity building or short term courses. Scientific indicators: (i) Projects with competitive funding: 15 Coordination, 16 Institutional team coordination, 30 collaboration; (ii) > 150 international peer-reviewed publications, mostly in co-authorship with researchers from Europe France, Sweden, Netherlands), Brazil, and Mozambique: 1 book, 20 book chapters, 101 journal articles, 46 articles in conference proceedings; (iii) Reviewer ca. 40 international indexed journal (e.g. African J Biotech, Agronomy, BMC Plant Biol, Env Exp Biol, Food Res Int, Forests, Genes, Int J Mol Sci, Microorganisms, Plant Cell Env, Plant Physiol Biochem, Plant Soil, Plants, Sciencia Hort, Sci Rep, Trop Plant Biol); (iv) Member of the editorial boards of Agronomy, Frontiers in Plant Science; PeerJ; (v) H index: 27 (Scopus) / 25 (WoS).

António Portugal has a degree in Biology, a Master’s in Ecology and a PhD in Biology (Molecular Biology) from the University of Coimbra. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Life Sciences at UC, where he teaches various courses such as Genetics, Genetic Resources, Plant Pathology and Bioremediation. He is a researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology and TERRA Associate Laboratory. His main area of research, linked to Microbiology and Mycology, is Biodeterioration, in particular Biodeterioration of Cultural Heritage. He has been working on Biodeterioration since 2005, on various types of support and items of cultural heritage, from paper and parchment documents, paintings, sculptures, stone monuments, among others, research based on various projects that he has led as PI. He has published dozens of scientific articles in international journals in the field. In parallel, he is Director of the FitoLab – Laboratory for Phytopathology of the Pedro Nunes Institute (IPN), where Plant Pathology, and in particular fungal plant diseases, is another of his research areas. This R&D laboratory is dedicated to the detection and investigation of plant pests and diseases. It provides services by carrying out tests for the screening and detection of quarantine organisms, regulated organisms and others, consultancy and research, integrating several consortium projects. He is the scientific coordinator of the Mycology and Virology areas at FitoLab. António Portugal é licenciado em Biologia, Mestre em Ecologia e Doutorado em Biologia (Biologia Molecular) pela Universidade de Coimbra. É Professor Associado no Departamento de Ciências da Vida da UC, onde leciona várias unidades curriculares como Genética, Recursos Genéticos, Fitopatologia e Biorremediação. É investigador do Centro de Ecologia Funcional e do Laboratório Associado TERRA. A sua principal área de investigação, ligada à Microbiologia e à Micologia, é a Biodeterioração, em particular a Biodeterioração de Património Cultural. Trabalha em Biodeterioração desde 2005, em vários tipos de suporte e itens de património cultural, desde documentos em papel e pergaminho, pinturas, esculturas, monumentos em pedra, entre outros, investigação essa alicerçada em vários projetos que tem liderado enquanto PI. Tem dezenas de artigos científicos publicados em revistas internacionais da área. Paralelamente, é Diretor do FitoLab – Laboratório de Fitossanidade do Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), sendo a Fitopatologia, e em particular as doenças fúngicas das plantas, outra das suas áreas de investigação. Este laboratório de I&D dedica-se à deteção e investigação de pragas e doenças das plantas atuando nas vertentes da prestação de serviços através da realização de ensaios para o despiste e deteção de organismos de quarentena, regulados e outros, consultoria e investigação, integrando projetos em consórcio. É coordenador científico das áreas da Micologia e Virologia no FitoLab.

AMonteiro is a geo-agroecologist focused on remote sensing modelling frameworks for conservation of mountain agro-forested landscapes under anthropogenic and climate change. Currently, he is Auxiliary Researcher (equiv. Assistant Professor) at IGOT-CEG, University of Lisbon. His approach is technological and oriented to innovative remote sensing approaches (i.e. artificial intelligence machine learning) and indicators (i.e. spectral biodiversity) to evaluate progresses towards policy objectives in mountain socio-ecological systems. The Biodiversity Strategy 2030 over grasslands, the deforestation in tropical mountain biodiversity hotspots and the reforestation in European forests are currently the target. This knowledge is supporting advanced studies (i.e. MSc), lecturing (i.e. Geocomputation) at IGOT-CEG, and active contribution in successful grant applications (i.e. ECOPOTENTIAL, EU-H2020; MARGISTAR CA21125, EU-Horizon Europe). His commitment is being gradually recognized by: co-leadership in European projects (Working Group 3 – MARGISTAR CA21125); leadership in advanced training (PEN-CAFoRR CA19128); key publishing; expansion of activities in new mountain regions together with international recognized teams (i.e. Artic (CNR), Angola & Madagascar (CIBIO-InBIO)); and by increasing media coverage of the research (i.e. Copernicus – ESA). Working since the 13th years old, the current position represents hard working and a compromise between academic duties and familiar care. He has a PhD in Agroecology from University of Milan (Italy) since 2011: PhD School ‘Earth, Environment and Biodiversity’, Faculty of Agriculture Sciences. During his PhD, he learned in mountain ecology and satellite remote sensing at Univ. of Basel (Inst. of Botany, Prof. Christian Korner), Univ. California-Berkeley (ESPM, Prof. Peng Gong) and University Technology Sydney (Prof. Alfredo Huete). In 2012, he returned to Europe for a junior researcher position at Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC, Italy). In 2013, he returned to Portugal and was postdoc researcher at CIBIO-InBIO until 2018. In 2019, he joined IGOT-CEG as junior research and in January 2024 became an auxiliary researcher. AMonteiro authored 31 publications in international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journals in the areas of Remote Sensing, Land Cover/Use Change, Ecological Modelling, Geospatial Programming, Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change. He has a h-index of 18 with over 1050 citations (source: google scholar), mean impact factor of 4.84 and cumulative impact factor of 126.4. He has other 28 contributes on chapters, technical reports and communications. He co-authored Q-PhenoMetrics and PI2GIS softwares. In 2017, he was member of the Copernicus Global Land Products Technical User Group (TUG) from European Space Agency (ESA). In 2018 and 2019, his research in Portuguese mountains was presented in the exhibition ‘SPACED – protecting natural landscapes from above’ in the European Parliament and covered by the ESA Copernicus magazine. In 2020, he was nominated by FCT as Portuguese delegate for the European COST action PEN-CAFoRR (CA19128). In 2021, he received the invitation from the Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (CNR)-Institute of Geoscience and Georesources (IGG, Pisa) to become Invited Associate Researcher. In 2022, he was nominated by FCT as delegate for the COST action MARGISTAR (CA 21125). At University of Lisbon, he is member of the College on Polar and Extreme Environments (Polar2E, since 2021) and of the PhD External Advisory Committee of the Agrinatura/ERAIFT of Tropical College (since 2023). He is member of the scientific commission of Branda Cientifica de São Bento do Cando- Peneda-Gerês, the new mountain research facility of Portugal. AMonteiro is 42 years old, married and father of three children.

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon and Head of the Research Group on Climate Change and Environmental Systems (ZEPHYRUS) of the Centre for Geographical Studies of the University of Lisbon. Carla Mora has a PhD in Physical Geography from the University of Lisbon (2005) on mountain climatology. Her research interests focus on mountain climates, remote sensing of snow and vegetation, and on the effects of climate change on permafrost environments. She has participated in various research projects in the Antarctic Peninsula, the Arctic (Svalbard and Canada), Morocco and Cape Verde, as well as in Portugal. Carla Mora is principal investigator of the project THAWPOND on remote sensing of permafrost thaw lakes in northern Quebec. Co-PI of the PROMOVE project ReMonStar – Rede de monitorização climática e biológica no Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela. She is member of the Scientific Committee of the Estrela UNESCO Global Geopark, where coordinates group on research and education on climate change.

César Capinha is Professor of Physical Geography at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT), University of Lisbon (UL). His research primarily focuses on understanding biogeographical changes driven by human activities, with an emphasis on biological invasions. He also very interested in the spatial and temporal predictive modelling of ecological and biological phenomena, often through the application of state-of-the-art machine learning approaches and small-to-big data sources. He earned a Geography degree from UL in 2007, a MSc in GIS from UL in 2009, and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Évora in 2012. His postdoctoral work included positions at the UL’s Centre for Environmental Biology, the Centre for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Porto, the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the New University of Lisbon, and the Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum in Bonn, Germany. He also served as an invited Assistant Professor and later as an Assistant Researcher [‘CEEC’ funded – equiv. to Assist. Professor] at IGOT. Currently, Capinha is an integrated researcher at the Centre of Geographical Studies (CEG-IGOT) and a member of the Risk Assessment and Management of Environmental Risks (RISKam) research group and the Associate Laboratory TERRA, where he coordinates Thematic Line 1 ‘Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services’. His publication record includes over 80 scientific papers in Web of Science journals, with contributions to high profile ones like Science, PNAS, Nature Communications, Nature Ecology and Evolution and Science Advances. He was involved in 15 national and international research projects, including four as principal investigator and two as co-principal investigator. He has supervised 9 doctoral and 12 master’s students (3 and 10 concluded, respectively). He was also contributing author to the recent 2023 UN’s IPBES assessment on biological invasions. He acted as project reviewer for Swiss, Czech, and Polish R&D institutions. Currently, he also serves as Senior Editor at the editorial board of the journal Diversity and Distributions and Distributions (Wiley, WoS Q1).

Completed his PhD in Agronomy on 2003/06/23 at the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon Higher Institute of Agronomy. Published 36 articles in specialized journals. It has 3 book chapter(s) and 3 book(s). In his professional activities he interacted with 202 collaborators in co-authorship of scientific works.

Cristina Canhoto. Completed the Doutoramento in Biologia in 2001/04/03 by Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Mestrado in Ecologia in 1995/02/23 by Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia and Licenciatura in Biologia in 1986 by Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia. Is Associate Professor in Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, PI of the Investigation group “Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology” of the CFE-UC in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Member of the Scientific Board of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciências da Vida and Coordinator of the Degree in Biology – Department of Life Sciences in Universidade de Coimbra. Published 80 articles in journals. Has 12 section(s) of books and 1 book(s). Organized 6 event(s). Participated in 15 event(s). Supervised 7 PhD thesis(es). Supervised 33 MSc dissertation(s). Has received 1 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as Principal investigator in 3 project(s), Researcher in 19 project(s) and Supervisor in 2 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Ecology and Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Freshwater Biology. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Aquatic hyphomycetes and invertebrates ecophysiology; Global Changes; Aquatic hyphomycetes; Aquatic macroinvertebrates; Fungal and shredders ecology; Alterações climáticas; Litter decomposition; Ecologia e Sociedade; Biodiversidade e Evolução; Ambiente e recursos naturais; Funcionamento dos ecossistemas; Sustentabilidade na produção e serviços da Terra; Economia circular e processamento; Sistemas socioecológicos e territórios; Saúde ambiental; Traços ecológicos como indicadores funcionais; Relações tróficas “above-below ground”; Utilização eficiente e nutrientes e água; Áreas costeiras; Estuários; Bacias hidrográficas; Avaliação de qualidade ambiental e gestão; reciclagems de nutrientes; decomposição; ecologia de ambientes lóticos; funcionamento de ecosistemas; Plant-litter decomposition; Ecologia; Eucalyptus globulus; Decomposição foliar; Hifomicetes aquáticos; Detritívoros aquáticos; Correntes; Streams natural and anthropogenic stressors.

Assistant Professor with Aggregation at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra, she graduated in Biology in 1992, completed a Master’s degree in Ecology in 1995 and a PhD in Biology, specializing in Ecology in 2000. In 2003, she began her line of research in the area of ​​dendrochronology, supervising, together with Professor Emília Gutierrez of the University of Barcelona, ​​the first PhD in the area at a national level, with the presentation of the thesis in 2008. As part of her research activity, she has regularly obtained funding for research projects, with 5 projects as principal investigator, having initially focused research on the dendrochronology of Mediterranean tree species. At the moment, the dendrochronology laboratory has three main research areas: i) dendrochronology of Mediterranean species; ii) xylogenesis, that is, understanding the growth dynamics of growth rings; iii) dendroarchaeology, with the main objective of dating historical and archaeological wood and with a strong interdisciplinary nature. She has 62 articles published in international journals, supervised 3 doctoral theses, 2 ongoing doctoral theses, and was the supervisor of 17 master’s degrees.

Diogo Guedes Vidal is a Portuguese environmental and health sociologist (1993) combining ecology and environmental health in sociological knowledge. Holds a degree in Sociology (2014), Master’s in Sociology from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, Portugal (2016) and PhD in Ecology and Environmental Health (2022). He has been a research fellow in several projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P.), the main Portuguese public funding agency, in the area of public and environmental health, environmental sociology, and sustainability. He started his scientific activity during his master’s degree in sociology (2014-2016), working on a funded project in the application of surveys and interview reviews. Between 2016 and 2017, he was a sociologist at a market research company, and between 2017 and 2019, he was a research fellow in several projects funded by FP-ENAS, an interdisciplinary research unit in environmental energy and health at the University Fernando Pessoa. Between 2017 and 2022 he was a Ph.D. research fellow with a project funded by FCT, I.P. to be developed at the FP-ENAS in the University Fernando Pessoa, Porto, Portugal, focused on understanding the socioecology of public urban green spaces where he combined innovative and transdisciplinary techniques, applying checklists, questionnaire surveys, cluster analysis, and behavioral mapping of these spaces users. Currently, he is Invited Assistant Researcher at the EU project “PHOENIX: The rise of citizens voices for a greener Europe¿ at the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, University of Coimbra, Portugal. His research outputs are diverse and characterized by a transdisciplinary profile, namely in the field of sustainability, urban and human ecology, and social and environmental inequalities. All these studies topics came from his main study area which is the Society and Nature relations and dynamics, namely the social representation of Nature, its understandings, meanings, and symbols. He was editor of an international Springer book on cross-cutting themes in energy, environment, and health, guest editor of the international journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Frontiers), Urban Science (MDPI), and at Frontiers in Environmental Science (Frontiers).

Eduardo Brito-Henriques is Associate Professor with Habilitation at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon (IGOT-ULisboa), and a researcher at its R&D Unit, the Centre of Geographical Studies (CEG), which is now part of the Associate Laboratory TERRA. At the IGOT-ULisboa, he is the Coordinator of the Doctoral program in Tourism and Master’s degree in Tourism and Communication. He is also the PI of the CEG’s research group on Tourism, Heritage and Space (TERRITUR). His research covers and partly intersects sustainable tourism, cultural and creative geographies, and urban studies.

I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra and a researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology, where I co-lead, with Hélia Marchante, the Biological Invasions research line (INVASORAS.PT Lab), focused on invasive plants. My work combines fundamental and applied science, from biological control — including the first release of a biological control agent against invasive plants in continental Europe — to citizen science, ecological networks, and remote sensing. Beyond research and teaching, I co-coordinate the INVASORAS.PT platform and organize outreach and public engagement initiatives that promote participatory management of biological invasions.

Elsa Teresa Rodrigues received her PhD degree in biosciences from the University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal, on June 1, 2016. With her PhD thesis, she was awarded an honourable mention, ranked third, of the Doctorate Award in Ecology 2017- Amadeu Dias Foundation by the Portuguese Ecological Society. Currently, she holds a Junior Researcher position at UC (CEECIND/03543/2017), and has her research affiliation to the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet (CFE-UC). In this centre, she integrates the Marine Resources, Conservation and Technology research group. Elsa is also a researcher at the Portuguese Associate Laboratory TERRA, and a member of ACOI, the Coimbra Collection of Algae. At international level, she is linked to the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC) and is a collaborator of the Experimental and Applied Aquatic Ecology research group of the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO, Brazil). Since December 2020, Elsa is a member of the Topical Advisory Panel of the peer-reviewed journal Water (MDPI) and was Guest Editor of its Special Issue: Pathogens of Zoonotic Importance in the Aquatic Environment: Implications for Environmental and Human Health. To date (January 4, 2024), Elsa has a total of 26 Web of Science Core Collection publications (492 times cited) in the quartiles Q1 (73%), Q2 (23%) and Q3 (4%). In 69% of these articles, she is first or last author, and in one third foreign teams were involved. Elsa is also co-author of a United Nations SDG-14 Springer Encyclopaedia chapter. She annually participates in the teaching activities of the Department of Life Sciences of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of UC, having 38 hours allocated to the current academic year (2023/2024). From 2016, Elsa has been successful in mentoring young researchers as she already supervised two MSc and seven undergraduate students. Currently, she co-supervises one PhD student, and supervises one MSc and one undergraduate students.

Erika Santos is Assistant Professor in Universidade de Lisboa – Instituto Superior de Agronomia (Portugal). With a background in Biology and Scientific Master in Nature Conservation and Management, she has a European PhD in Environmental Engineering (Universidade de Lisboa and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela from Spain) followed by post-doctoral grant on Agricultural and Food Biotechnology at CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials and Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. She has more than 15 years of academic experience as lecturer, in which she taught in several curricular units of Degree, Master and professional courses from Portugal, Spain, Perú and Bolivia, and developed other academic functions. She had completed the supervision of 12 MSc students and 25 BSc students and participated, as coordinator (PI) and researcher, in several R&D projects (co)-financed by European and Portuguese funds, and companies. Nowadays, she has published 4 international chapters’ books, 37 articles in international indexes journals, 15 articles in national journals, 35 proceedings, and 2 technical books. She participated in several national/international technical and scientific congresses/seminars for presentations in the form of oral communication (by invitation: 15, speaker: 63) or poster (81) as well as Editor or Editorial Coordinator of 3 books (3) and committee organizer. She has an h-index of 19. Her main interests and experience covers the environmental recovery of degraded or contaminated areas with Green Technologies, with special emphasis on the use of Technosols and phytostabilization with autochthones plants; soil-plant interaction; plant ecophysiology and valorisation of endogenous resources (e.g. plants used in the recovered systems by their natural value-added compounds).

PhD in Physical Geography (University of Lisbon). Assistant Professor of Physical Geography at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT), University of Lisbon ULisboa). Scientific activity in Physical Geography, Territorial Planning and GIS, focused on Fluvial Hydrology, Fluvial Geomorphology, Slope Dynamics, Soil Erosion and Gully Processes, Natural Susceptibility and Hazard, Territorial Planning, Spatial Modeling in GIS. Researcher at the Centre of Geographical Studies (CEG-IGOT-ULisboa), a R&D Unit funded by the Portuguese Agency for the Science and Technology (FCT), and member of the Associate Laboratory TERRA. Head of the Environmental Hazard and Risk Assessment and Management (RISKam) Research Group, included in the CEG-IGOT-ULisboa. Participation in more than 20 research projects, 7 of which are international, specially focused on natural hazards and hydrogeomorphological processes and dynamics. Participation in more than 30 consultancy projects, at national, regional and municipal levels, 3 of which as team coordinator, on the fields of natural hazard analysis, climate change adaptation and territorial planning. Author/co-author of more than 160 publications, including more than 40 articles and book chapters published in international journals and books indexed in Web of Science. Supervisor of 10 PhD theses and 27 master’s dissertations.

Fátima Alves has a PhD in Sociology and is Associate Professor at Universidade Aberta, where she has been teaching since 2000, at the Department of Social Sciences and Management, Section of Social Sciences and Sociology Disciplinary Group and where she teaches curricular units of the Scientific Area of Sociology and Social Sciences, mainly linked to the areas and themes of the research she develops. She has coordinated for several years the Degree in Social Sciences, the Master in Intercultural Relations and the PhD in Intercultural Relations. She is currently Coordinator of the PhD in Intercultural Relations. During her 30 years of experience as a teacher in higher education she has collaborated with 18 national and international universities and polytechnics. She is currently a senior researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology, Science for People & the Planet, at the University of Coimbra (CFE-UC), where she created and coordinates the Research Group Societies and Environmental Sustainability, linked to the Open University through its Extension, which she also coordinates. It is a multidisciplinary group which includes more than 40 researchers and collaborators, including post-graduate students (masters and doctoral) and visiting researchers, from different areas of social sciences, ecology and environmental sciences. Its scientific production reflects the concern to articulate the different disciplinary perspectives that emphasize the complementary and interdependent dimensions of the socio-ecological phenomena, sustainability and health, as well as to deepen the contribution of social studies. In addition to the central thematic areas in which she has developed her research between health and the environment, there are dimensions that cross these areas, such as, for example, the socio-ecological relationships, the knowledge-power relationships, where lay rationalities are situated, governamentality, interdisciplinarity, interculturalities and the challenges to e-learning. She has more than 114 publications in articles, books and book chapters, 56 publications in proceedings and 63 technical studies and other publications. She participates in the coordination of 18 research projects (international and national) funded, 4 of them being H2020 EU, and integrates the research team in more than 10 funded projects. She has given more than 80 papers at conferences and seminars by invitation, has been part of more than 60 scientific committees of national and international events and is part of the editorial board of 5 journals, 3 of them being relevant internationally. She has supervised dozens of MSc and PhD theses, more than 40 MSc theses completed and 6 PhDs completed. Supervises/ed 8 post-doctoral. Finally, it is worth mentioning the work developed throughout the whole path of cooperation for development and the performance of coordination positions and other relevant activities for the mission of the University. She is a member of several national and international research networks and belongs to the Scientific Council of the UNESCO Chair in Biodiversity and Conservation for Sustainable Development, University of Coimbra.

Mathematical and statistical modeling in forest hydrology and micrometeorology: – measurement and modeling of rainfall interception and transpiration in tree canopies; – aerodynamic resources and energy flows in forest stands. Statistical analysis of data in the area of ​​agronomic research.

Fernando Leite Pereira holds a degree in Forestry with a specialization in Forest Production (1987) from the School of Agriculture (ISA), University of Lisbon (ULisboa). He further pursued his education with a master’s degree in Plant Production (1994) and obtained a Ph.D. in Forest Engineering (2010), both from ISA-ULisboa as well. Since 1987, he has been a faculty member at School of Agriculture of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (ESA-IPCB), attaining the position of Adjunct Professor in 1998. He is also a research member at the Forest Research Centre (CEF), ISA-ULisboa, specifically involved in the research group ForEco: Forest Ecology. Throughout his career, he has participated in several national and international research projects, resulting in various publications and presentations. In his teaching role, he has primarily focused on teaching subjects related to silviculture, hydrology, meteorology, climatology, environmental monitoring, and geographic information systems (GIS). He has been responsible for designing course curricula, developing instructional materials, and overseeing the effective delivery of 66 different courses in these areas. Additionally, he has supervised 85 academic projects across various educational levels. F. L. Pereira has also actively participated in advisory and management bodies within ESA-IPCB and IPCB, assuming several leadership positions. Furthermore, he has been extensively involved in organizational activities, serving on committees, workgroups, and juries, and overseeing technical sectors at ESA-IPCB.

Filipa Cunha-Saraiva has a PhD in Behavioural Neuro-endocrinology by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, and post-graduated in Environment, Sustainability, and Education from the University of Évora, Portugal. She has more than 8 years of experience in scientific consulting, project management, and technical-scientific writing in English and Portuguese. Since 2020, she collaborates with GAF (Grupo Aprender em Festa) in community intervention projects in the area of Environment, Sustainability, and Educational Action. In parallel, she provides scientific and technical consultancy, since 2022, at GestPub – Public Management and Municipal Consulting as an expert in sustainable development and environmental psychology. She is a researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CEF) at the University of Coimbra, focusing on the area “Societies and Environmental Sustainability”. Moreover, she is an external Expert in the area of Environment and Behavioural Ecology at the European Commission (Registration – EX2021D407534) and in the ERASMUS+ evaluators’ exchange. Opinion maker at the Notícias de Gouveia newspaper, with a monthly chronicle, where she writes about the environment and sustainable development.

Felipe Costa e Silva. Published 20 articles in specialized journals. Works in the area of ​​Forestry with emphasis on Forest Genetic Improvement and Ecophysiology. Main research topics include: genetic and environmental variability, plant water relations, hydraulic properties, water stress, cold tolerance, ecosystem carbon fluxes, phenology, acclimation, plant quality.

Filipe Martinho obtained his PhD in Biology (Specialization in Ecology) in 2009 at the University of Coimbra. He is an Assistant Researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), Department of Life Sciences – University of Coimbra, co-PI of the Marine and Coastal Ecosystems research line of the CFE, member of the CFE Executive Council and of the Scientific Council of the Department of Life Sciences. His core research focuses on the effects of climate change and anthropogenic pressures on marine and estuarine organisms (fish, plankton), on the use of estuaries as nursery areas by marine fish, and on the use of otoliths as timekeepers to study fish migrations, habitat use patterns, stock structure and growth. He published 66 SCI papers and 4 book chapters (Scopus h-index 25; 1701 citations / Google Scholar h-index 30; 2561 citations). He has reviewed papers for 29 journals, including prestigious ones like Global Change Biology, Scientific Reports and Journal of Applied Ecology, and is Associate Editor in Marine Biology, Frontiers in Marine Science, Editor in Fishes, and Section Editor at the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He has participated in 3 projects with national/international funding as Principal Investigator, and as team member of 14 other projects with both national, EEA Grants and LIFE funding (global funding >8M Eur). He has 55 oral presentations and more than 20 posters presented at 29 scientific conferences, to which he has also contributed as part of the organising committee and as session chair. He has taught undergraduate and graduate students on the topics of marine ecology and fisheries in several Portuguese universities. Filipe Martinho currently supervises 5 PhD students, and has been involved in the supervision of 2 Postdocs, 10 MSc students and 6 research grants and internships. Filipe Martinho participated in several science dissemination activities, such as lectures, hands-on activities, photo exhibitions (also as photographer), review of science diffusion books and production of social media content. He was on the board of the Iberian Society for Ichthyology between 2014 and 2018, and is a member of the COST Action Sea-Unicorn, EMBRC, and of the ICES Working Group on the Value of Coastal Habitats for Exploited Species (WGHVES).

Filipe S. Dias is a Researcher at the Forest Research Centre (CEF) of the Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon. He holds a BSc in Biology (2007), an MSc in Conservation Biology (2008), and a PhD in Forestry and Natural Resources Engineering (2015). His research examines how management practices and climate change influence forest ecosystems (e.g., cork oak and holm oak woodlands) and has resulted in peer-reviewed scientific publications that support conservation strategies at regional and national levels. In parallel, he collaborates with environmental non-governmental organizations and contributes to the development of data-driven solutions for nature conservation and land-use planning.

Francisca Constança Frutuoso de Aguiar. Completed the Ph.D. in Forestry Engineering (2005), MSc in Integrated Pest Management (1996), and Pre-Bolonha graduation in Agronomic Engineering (1992) by Universidade de Lisboa-Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ULisboa-ISA). Is an Assistant Professor at ULisboa-ISA of Botany, Vegetation, Ecology, Weed Science and a Researcher at the Forest Research Centre (CEF) and LAboratory Associated TERRA on riparian and aquatic ecology. Published 58 articles in WoS journals (more than 80% in Q1 journals), has a h=29 (SCOPUS) and h=32 (Google citations). Has 6 magazine articles, 16 section(s) of books and 4 manuals/book(s). Supervised 4 Ph.D. theses (2 in course), 16 MSc dissertations/ 5 in course. She was a member of Ph.D. juries for 13 Ph.D. thesis, of which she acted as a rapporteur/external arguer of 11 (international thesis), and of 12 MSc. thesis. Has received 2 awards and/or honors. Has reviewed approx. 220 papers (validated by WoS) and she was editor of more than 150 papers, handled 6 Special Issues on the topics of conservation and ecology of forests and freshwaters. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Aquatic Botany (Elsevier) and acts as Associate Editor of Frontiers in Environmental Science (Frontiers). She participated as invited speaker and moderator of around 40 events (Seminars, Webinars and Conferences), and has more than 50 oral and poster communications as the first author. She was the principal investigator of FCT projects, national protocols with the Portuguese Environmental Agency, and participated in research teams of numerous projects.

Francisco António Dos Santos da Silva holds a PhD in Geography with a specialization in Urban and Regional Planning (IGOT-University of Lisbon), a Specialist in Tourism and Leisure (ESHTE), a Master’s Degree in Geographic Information Sciences and Systems (ISEGI-UNL) and a Degree in Geography (FL-University of Lisbon). He is an adjunct professor at the Estoril School of Hospitality and Tourism (ESHTE), an integrated researcher at the Center for Geographical Studies, IGOT, University of Lisbon and the Terra Associated Laboratory and a collaborating researcher at the Center for Research, Development and Innovation in Tourism – CiTUR Estoril). His professional activity has been quite varied, including photojournalist and trainer and monitor in various adventure activities. His main research areas are Tourism Planning and Development, Economic and Social Geography and Earth and Environmental Sciences.

EDUCATION & AFFILIATION: graduated in Biology (2005; Fac. of Sciences of the Univ. of Lisbon–FCUL), post-graduated in GIS (2007; School of Agriculture–ISA-UL), MSc in Conservation Biology (2013; FCUL) & PhD in River Restoration & Management (scholarship won in an int. competitive call) with the European Doctorate label (2019; ISA-UL; Int. FLUVIO PhD Programme) approved with unanimous summa cum laude. Worked for 7years in environmental consultancy (2007-2014), and perfected my technical, professional & academic skills via multiple courses (30+courses). After the PhD, I secured my scientific career & funding by winning 3 competitive int. calls for Post-Doc positions. —-PROJECTS: collaborated on 6 projects before MSc (2013). MSc achieved by co-organising a project (Bats in the City) linking researchers from 2 universities (UL & UPorto) & a municipality (Cascais). Part of the core team proposing the creation of the 1st-ever Portuguese (PT) Bat Atlas, becoming a participant & co-organiser (involving researchers, technicians, governmental institutions & companies). During the PhD, participated in 3 projects, 2 involving int. partners (EU & Africa). After the PhD, was a post-doc researcher for the Optimus Prime project (PTDC/ASP-AGR/29771/2017) & member of the CERES project (Interreg IV-B SUDOE-SOE2/P5/F0551). In both, I led fieldwork planning, organisation & team management along with interaction with stakeholders, outreach events organisation & an invited lecturer to an int. workshop. Currently, team member of 2 other projects: Dammed Fish (PTDC/CTA-AMB/4086/2021) & H2020 MERLIN (grant No 101036337), leading outputs & assuming key roles in both. Helped the GIS component development of the project to update the PT freshwater fish data for the Red List of Vertebrates (POSEUR-03-2215-FC-000092). —-OUTPUTS: since 2018, published 12 articles in ISI journals (4 as 1st author; 5 as corresponding; 3 as 2nd author; 1 as last author), 10 in Q1 & 2 in Q2 journals. After the PhD (4 years), have an annual publication growth rate of 86% & an average IF of 6.7, leading to an overall H-index of 5 with 85+citations. Also, I have 11 articles in peer-reviewed conference proceedings, 9 scientific reports, 10 DB published, 1 scientific note in a non-ISI peer-reviewed journal, co-authored a book (PT Bat Atlas), 1 dissemination article in a stakeholder-led journal, 25 posters (2 best poster awards, int. conferences) & 1 Software(RivTool) with respective Manual & Website. —-DISSEMINATION: took part in scientific dissemination events on all 5 continents (47 events) having belonged to the scientific committee of 1 event. Authored 46 oral presentations (25 as lecturer, 12invited), co-organised 15 technical/scientific events, including 2special sessions at int. conferences & made 30+revisions for 22 int. scientific journals. —-OUTREACH: involved in project BioBlitz da Tapada, aiming to display urban biodiversity to the public; Silent Cities (ongoing), citizen science project to acoustically assess urban soundscapes across the world (38 nations; 300+participants) during the pandemic. Co-organised 2events about native & invasive freshwater species for non-university students. —-SCIENTIFIC NETWORK: member of the Research Laboratory TERRA (consortium with 400+ post-docs, 2 univ., 5 R&D centres) & H2020 Merlin (44institutions). Active collaboration with 90+personalities of distinct backgrounds (academic, administration, private entrepreneurs and stakeholders) from 38 distinct institutions (Univ., R&D institutions, governmental agencies, companies, NGOs, stakeholder associations) & 11 countries (EU & North America. —-TEACHING & SUPERVISION: since 2019, co-supervised 9 BSc (1 ongoing), 2 MSc student (1 ongoing) & 3 PhD (ongoing) students (part of 10 academic juris). Overall, maintain active collaboration with 25+students from all academic degrees. Since 2015 I collaborated in teaching activities at ISA UL for all academic degrees & multiple subjects.

Gonçalo Vieira is Associate Professor at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon, Senior researcher at the Centre for Geographical Studies. Coordinator of the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR) and Director of the College on Polar and Extreme Environments of the University of Lisbon. At the CEG he is member of the research group on Climate Change and Environmental Systems (ZEPHYRUS), where he coordinates the Polar and Mountain Environments team. He is external collaborator at the Centre for Nordic Studies (University Laval, Canada), at the Antarctic, Arctic and Alpine Research Group of the University of Barcelona (Spain) and member of ArcticNet (Canada). He is co-President of the International Permafrost Association and Polar Science Advisor at the Foundation for Science and Technology. Gonçalo Vieira’s research interests focus on the effects of changing climate on permafrost environments, especially on permafrost degradation and dynamics, as well as on using high resolution remote sensing techniques for studying the dynamics of polar and mountain environments. He has authored/co-authored over 90 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, 10 book chapters and edited 1 book. He has published in journals such as Geomorphology, The Cryosphere, Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, Nature Communications, Catena, Science of the Total Environment, Remote Sensing of Environment, Remote Sensing and Earth Science Reviews, among others. He was reviewer of the IPCC IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, WG1, IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, WG2 and UNEP – Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost. G. Vieira has lead and participated in projects in the Antarctic Peninsula (14 campaigns), Svalbard (2), Eastern Hudson Bay (4), Beaufort Sea Coast (3), the Patagonian Andes, the High and Middle Atlas (2) and the Portuguese mountains. He is Portuguese representative at the International Association of Cryosphere Sciences and Cryosphere Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee, SCAR Standing Committee on Geosciences, national delegate at the European Polar Board and was member of the EPB Executive Committee from 2012 to 2014. He is member of the Executive Committee of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost. He was member of the Transnational Board of Evaluators of INTERACT from 2016 to 2020. He was Scientific Coordinator of the Estrela UNESCO Global Geopark from 2016 to 2023. He was Co-Chair of the SCAR Expert Group on Antarctic Permafrost, Soils and Periglacial Environments from 2011 to 2018. A list of conference presentations may be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/7a3om61auh9sanf/GVieira_conference_abstracts.pdf?dl=0 Website: http://goncalovieira.weebly.com

Helena Castro. Completed the PhD in Biology, specialty in Ecology in 2008 by University of Coimbra, Master in Ecology in 2003 by University of Coimbra and graduated in Biology in 1999 by University of Coimbra. H. Castro works as Junior researcher at University of Coimbra Department of Life Sciences, linked to FLOWer Lab – Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plants, Agri-Environment and Pollination Services at Centre for Functional Ecology. Published 18 articles in journals. Has 1 book chapter. Participated in 4 science communication events. Participates and/or participated as collaborator in 2 projects, Post-doc Fellow in 3 projects, Research Fellow in 4 projects and Researcher in 5 projects. Works in the areas of Natural sciences emphasis on Ecology and Agrarian Sciences with emphasis on Agroecology. In her professional activities interacted with 230 collaborators co-authorship of scientific papers. In her curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Plant species; Functional traits; Ecosystem services; Agroecosystems; Climate change; Drought; Plant traits; Litter traits; Pollination services; Land use change; Plant functional traits; Litter decomposition; Plant physiology; Land management; Biodiversity; Land use; Pollination deficits; Vegetation; Crops. From 2018 on, while still maintaining research in plant diversity and traits, through collaborations, H. Castro has focused on plant-pollinator interactions and pollination services to crops.

Helena Freitas received her PhD in Ecology from the University of Coimbra, in collaboration with the University of Bielefeld, Germany, in 1993, and did postdoctoral studies at Stanford University, USA, between 1994 and 1996. She is Full Professor of Biodiversity and Ecology at the Department of Life Sciences of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra since 2003, and holds the UNESCO Chair in Biodiversity and Conservation for Sustainable Development since 2014 (http://unescobiodiversitychair.uc.pt). She was Vice-Dean of the University of Coimbra between 2011 and 2015, with Institutional Relations, Museums and Sports. In 2015 she was independent candidate to the Assembly of the Republic, leading the list of the Socialist Party by the constituency of Coimbra. Between 23 October 2015 and 10 March 2016, she was deputy and vice-president of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party. Between 10 March 2016 and 18 July 2017, she was Coordinator of the Mission Unit of the Interior, coordinating the National Program for Territorial Cohesion (http://www.pnct.gov.pt, Diário da República No. 226/2016, Series I, 2016-11-24). Helena Freitas joined the General Council of the University of Coimbra (2009-2011), was Director of the Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra from 2004 to 2012, having prepared and coordinated her requalification program, President of the League for the Protection of Nature (1999 (2002-2005), founder and President of the Portuguese Society of Ecology (2004-2013) and Vice- President of the European Society of Ecology (2009-2012). She is currently Coordinator of the Center for Functional Ecology – science for people and the planet (cfe.uc.pt), Scientific Coordinator of FitoLab – Phytosanitary Laboratory of the Pedro Nunes Institute (https://www.ipn.pt/ laboratory / FITOLAB), and is part of the Scientific Council of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra. The scientific areas of specialty are related to: Ecology; Mediterranean Ecosystems; Forest and Agriculture; Ecology and Management of exotic and invasive species; Conservation of Nature, Biodiversity; Physiology of the tree; Diversity of Plants and Fungi; Tolerance to Stress and Bioremediation; Environmental policy; Bioenergy; Conservation of Nature; Microbial ecology; Ecology and Society. She coordinated or participated in several national and international projects and consortia, including the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Supervised or co-supervised 33 doctoral dissertations and 19 master’s theses. She is the author of more than 200 indexed international scientific publications and several publications promoting and disseminating science. She publishes regularly in the national and regional press, in particular on environment, territories and society, planning and development policies based on knowledge (https://www.publico.pt/autor/helena-freitas; http: //www.industriaeambiente .pt / authors / helena-freitas /). In March 2000 he was awarded the Commendation of the Order of Prince Henry the Infant by the President of the Portuguese Republic Jorge Sampaio.

Hugo Costa Osorio. Completed his PhD in Biology on 2013/10/11 at the University of Évora Institute of Research and Advanced Training. He is a Senior Technician at the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge IP Center for Studies of Vectors and Infectious Diseases Doctor Francisco Cambournac. Published 12 articles in specialized journals.

Isabel Maria Oliveira Abrantes, in 2002, got the “Agregação” in Zoology and, in 1989, the PhD in Animal Ecology from the “Universidade de Coimbra”. Presently, is an invited professor at University of Coimbra and a research integrated member of the NEMATO-lab, Centre of Functional Ecology-Science for People & the Planet (CFE) of this University. At University of Coimbra has lectured at undergraduate level (first, second and third years) and at post-graduate level: MSc (Animal Ecology, Animal Biology, Biology, Ecology, Cellular Biology, Teaching of Biology and Geology in the 3rd cycle of Basic and Secondary Education, European Master in Applied Ecology-EMAE, ERASMUS MUNDUS) and PhD (Biosciences, Teaching Sciences) and several advanced courses. It has supervised/co-supervised MSc/PhD theses, Post-Doctoral students, Short-term trainees of national/international researchers and participated in national and international juries (master/doctorate/access to the category of principal investigator, associate professor, professor). MSc/PhD students supervised (36 in Science Education) received their degrees. Her recent research activities include: 1) Morphoanatomy of plant parasitic nematodes asociated with several plants; 2) Biochemical and molecular characterisation of phytoparasitic nematodes; 3) Plant-nematode interactions; 4) Detection, identification and quantification of the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.5) Sustainable strategies for the root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp.; 6) Root-lesion nematodes, Pratylenchus spp., management: development of alternative and innovative methodologies to obtain resistant plants; 7) Selection of genes related with the pathogenicity of the pinewood nematode, B. xylophilus, with potential to be used in the control of this nematode; 8) Identification of proteins, secreted by the pinewood nematode, involved in the migration of the nematodes in the plant tissues and in the interaction with the host plants with different susceptibility to the infection; 9) New ecological strategies for the biocontrol of the insect vector of the B. xylophilus: development of formulations based on phytochemicals. Has coordinated/participated in national/international research projects, organized national/international scientific events and training and dissemination actions. Participated in several national/international scientific events, presenting over 400 oral/poster communications and is author/co-author of more than 250 publications mainly in international/national scientific journals, international/national conference proceedings, books (co-author, co-editor) and book chapters. Has been acting as reviewer of manuscripts, submitted for publication in more than 15 scientific journals, as member of the editorial board and as senior editor. Has received 11 scientific awards, a Special Award of appreciation for supporting the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America (ONTA) activities and organizing the 43rd annual meeting held, in 2011, in Coimbra, Portugal, and in 2018 received the award “Fellow of the European Society of Nematologists (ESN)” for outstanding contributions to the Science of Nematology, at the 33rd ESN Symposium, Ghent, Belgium.

Isabel Henriques is an Associate Professor at the Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra. Graduated in Biology in 1997, earned a MSc in Molecular Microbiology in 2001 and a PhD in Biology in 2006 from the University of Aveiro. After a post-doc period, was an Assistant Researcher from 2013 to 2018 at CESAM, University of Aveiro. From 2013 to 2016 acted as Special Visiting Researcher at Federal University of Pará (Brazil). Participated in 19 research projects, 6 of which as PI. Published 128 papers in WoS journals, cited more than 4000 times, H factor of 34. Published 5 book chapters; a Public Database (intellectual property n.º 5627/2013); and presented several invited oral presentations. Was member of the scientific committee of 4 conferences and is a member of the Editorial Board of BMC Genomics, Frontiers in Microbiology and Genes. Contributes as reviewer to 22 WoS journals. Acted as peer reviewer of grants for national and international funding agencies (e.g. FCT, Natural Environment Research Council of the UK and ESCMID). Supervises/co-supervises 6 PhD students (plus 10 concluded).

Isabel Luci Pisa Mata da Conceição. Completed a PhD in Biology in 2003 from the University of Coimbra, Faculty of Science and Technology (FCTUC), Pedagogical Aptitude and Scientific Capacity Tests in Biology in 1996 from the University of Coimbra, FCTUC and a Degree in Biology in 1988 from the University of Coimbra, FCTUC. She is an assistant professor at DCV, FCTUC, effective member of the Pedagogical Council of FCTUC from 2018-2022, effective member of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research of the University of Coimbra (FCTUC) from 2017-2020, Coordinator of the master’s in biology at the Department of Science in Life (FCTUC) since 2007 till 2020 and coordinator of the Master for Biology/Geology teachers since 2023. After having acquired skills in the area of Phytopathology, during her PhD in Ecology (University of Coimbra), her current interests are focused on the biochemical and molecular characterization of root-knot nematodes (NGR-Meloidogyne spp.) and cyst nematodes potato (NQB-Globodera spp.); Interactions plants-nematodes; Detection and identification of NGR and NQB; Control of nematodes, including root lesion nematodes (NLR-Pratylenchus spp.) using more environmentally friendly methods, such as biofumigation, last generation nematicides, phytochemicals and trap crops, among others. Detection, identification and quantification of the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Since 2015 she has been a researcher at NEMATO-LAB at the Center for Functional Ecology, DCV, FCTUC and since 2015 she has been scientific coordinator of Fitolab (IPN). FitoLab works to detect and research pests and plant diseases that affect horticulture, fruit production and forestry. It is an independent Phytopathology laboratory, supervised and managed by researchers and teachers from the University of Coimbra and one of its R & D units, the Centre for Functional Ecology, has the skills and knowledge to provide an immediate quality service, employing and monitoring the international market. Uses standard procedures from the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (OEPP). FitoLab is licensed by the Portuguese national authority DGAV – General Food and Veterinary Agency, for the detection of several organisms on the EPPO A2 quarantine list, such as: Fusarium circinatum, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (pine wilt nematode), Globodera pallida and G. rostochiensis (potato cyst nematodes) and citrus sadness. She is the author and co-author of several publications in international journals and communications at national and international meetings in the field of nematology. She was responsible for Coordination, as Principal Investigator, and for participating as a team member in several projects funded by the national funding agency and several International Projects. She has supervised 19 completed master’s theses (many of them on plant pathology topics) in different master’s programs (Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology and Agriculture) and is supervising three doctoral theses in nematology. Two of them will finish this year. She was also part of the organizing and scientific committees of several national and international scientific congresses. She is a reviewer of articles submitted to several international journals in the areas of phytopathology and nematology. Received 2 prize(s) and/or honors. She works in the area(s) of Natural Sciences with an emphasis on Biological Sciences. In its Ciência Vitae curriculum, the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural production are: Nematodes; Globodera and Meloidogyne.

Ivânia Esteves (IE) holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering, from the University of Évora, Portugal (2001) and a PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Cranfield, England (2007). She is currently developing research activities in the NEMATO-lab, Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), at the Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal. The majority of the research since her PhD has been centered in: 1) finding alternative strategies to manage plant-parasitic nematodes in agro-ecosystems through the use of fungal biocontrol agents and nematicidal phytocompounds, 2) development of diagnostic tools to detect and characterise important plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN), 3) assessment of PPN diversity and pathogenicity . At present, she is involved in national and international projects and is co-supervising 2 PhD students and 1 Msc student. She has authored/co-authored more than 25 articles in international journals, 5 book chapters and abstracts in ISI journals and / or ISSN / ISBN journals . She has been involved in the organization of 3 international scientific meetings in the field of phytopathology, 1 national colloquium, 2 workshops, supervision of students and regularly participates in various scientific outreach activities organized by her host institution.

Joana Cardoso da Costa (JC) holds an MSc in Cell Biology and a PhD in Biology (Microbiology) from the University of Coimbra (2008), completed within the framework of the Doctoral Program in Biomedicine and Experimental Biology. She is currently a Research Assistant at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE) in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Coimbra. Her research interests focus on the detection and study of plant diseases, with particular emphasis on diagnostics, microbial ecology, and epidemiology. In parallel, she studies soil and plant microbiota as providers of essential ecosystem services for the sustainability, restoration, and conservation of agroecosystems. These lines of research have been developed within several projects that she coordinates, including the Integrated R&D Program CULTIVAR (CEO, €2.3M – CENTRO2020), the i9kiwi Operational Group (PI, €470k – FEADER), and the XylOut project (PI, €290k – FCT), among others. She coordinated the Strategic Research Committee of the Ibero-American Network IBERXYFAS (CYTED) and was Work Group 1 leader of the COST Action CA16107 EuroXanth. She has served as evaluator for the FCT–La Caixa Mobilizing R&D Projects (2024–2025), for the final scientific reports of IC&DT projects 2019–2024 in the area of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (FCT, 2020–2023), and was an expert and rapporteur for the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for Agri-Food, Forestry, and Biodiversity (FCT, 2019–2021). She was also an evaluator for the European Commission within the Marie Curie Actions (IxF–PEOPLE, 2017–2019). She is the author of several peer-reviewed scientific papers, four book chapters, and two editorials. She has supervised 12 MSc students (completed), 1 PhD student (completed), 4 ongoing PhD students, and 2 completed postdoctoral fellows. She has served on the scientific committee of three international conferences and has organised three international conferences and two international workshops. Since 2016, JC has been Director and Technical Manager of FitoLab – Phytopathology Laboratory of the Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN), officially designated by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV) as an “Official Laboratory” for the detection of quarantine pests. In this capacity, she participates in transversal projects at IPN aimed at strengthening laboratory infrastructure. In recent years, she has coordinated several contracts related to the detection of regulated organisms, particularly Xylella fastidiosa, and to the characterisation of plant and soil microbiomes. In 2022, FitoLab was accredited by the Portuguese Accreditation Institute (NP EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018) and received authorisation from INFARMED to supply, for specific purposes, narcotic and psychotropic substances and their preparations, including cannabis plant derivatives, for research use. Currently, JC leads a team of 11 researchers and technicians in the areas of R&D, service provision, and scientific consultancy. In parallel, she is an elected member of several scientific and institutional bodies at the University of Coimbra, including the Scientific Committee of the Department of Life Sciences, the Scientific Council of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, the Interdisciplinary Research Institute (III), and the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education.

Joana Moura e Sá Cardoso, graduated in Biochemistry from University of Coimbra (UC), Portugal (2002) and received a PhD in Biology from University of Évora, Portugal (2010). Is Contracted Researcher in UC, Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Functional Ecology- Science for People & the Planet with research lines in the scientific area of Agricultural Sciences, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries: genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics approaches for understanding the pathogenicity of the pinewood nematode, the causal agent of the pine wilt disease and recognised worldwide as a major forest pest, and other plant pathogens with high impact on important horticultural crops. Understanding the plant host defenses and contributing for the development of new plant pathogen detection methods and environmentally friendly management strategies.

Joana Alves is a biologist and researcher at the Center for Functional Ecology of the University of Coimbra, where she coordinates the BEWild Lab, a research group focused on the ecology and behaviour of wildlife and their role in ecosystem services. With over 15 years of experience, her research interests include mammal ecology and behaviour, sexual behaviour, biodiversity assessment and conservation, vertebrates monitoring and management, landscape ecology and ecosystem services, especially those mediated by animals. In 2017, she began to work as a Post-Doc Fellow, funded by FCT, at CFE-UC in collaboration with the University of Calgary, focused on behavioural ecology of ungulates. Her expertise in terms of vertebrates monitoring, management and conservation of natural resources, landscape ecology, ecosystem services, data analysis, and GIS has been recognized by peers, resulting in her participation several international and national research projects, one of them as Co-PI and scientific coordinator (MultiForest) and another as PI of a pilot-project (PP6: MyFORESt – F4F), and 4 services rendering. Joana Alves is also a collaborator of the Mountain Mammal Research group from the University of Calgary. Currently, she is an Assistant Researcher at the University of Coimbra, developing her work in close collaboration with the UNESCO CHAIR in Biodiversity Safeguard for Sustainable Development of the University of Coimbra, including the scientific and/or technical coordination of research projects on mammal ecology and behaviour, biodiversity assessment and conservation, and ecosystem services. Published 30 papers in ISI journals in the last 5 years and is (co)author of 23 technical reports, 26 oral communications and 25 posters in scientific events. Participated in 19 scientific outreach events, and 17 academic juris. Supervises 3 PhD thesis and 24 MSc dissertations.

João Nunes de Matos Farminhão is a naturalist. He is currently Researcher at the Botanic Garden of the University of Coimbra and at the Centre of Functional Ecology of the same university. He completed his Degree in Biology in 2013 at the University of Lisbon and the Erasmus Mundus MSc in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (now Sorbonne Université), ULB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2016. João is a Docteur en Sciences by ULB, where he defended his thesis on the evolutionary history of Afromalagasy angrecoid orchids in 2021. He completed a 1-year-postdoc at ULB and was a lecturer in Botany at the same university from 2021-2022. He has published 17 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 3 book chapters. João is an associate editor of 3 botanical journals and was the editorial coordinator of the second volume of a book about the areas of botanical interest in mainland Portugal. He participates and/or has participated as a Master/Doctoral/Post-Doctoral researcher in 4 projects on the biology of angrecoid orchids. He took part in scientific expeditions in Gabon, São Tomé & Príncipe and Rwanda. He has co-authored 30 plant names, having described 7 new species to science. João conducts research in integrative taxonomy, biogeography and pollination biology in Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. He is the President of the Botanical Society of Portugal (SPBotânica).

João Carlos Mano Castro Loureiro. Completed the Doutoramento in Biologia in 2007 by Universidade de Aveiro and Licenciatura in Biologia in 2002 by Universidade de Aveiro. Is Assistant Professor in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciencias da Vida, co-PI – FLOWer Lab – Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plants, Agri-Environment and Pollination Services in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciencias da Vida, PI – Research Group “Biodiversity, Conservation and Ecosystem Services” in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciencias da Vida and Associate Professor in Universidade de Coimbra. Published 108 articles in journals. Has 9 section(s) of books. Organized 12 event(s). Supervised 4 PhD thesis(es) e co-supervised 9. Supervised 3 MSc dissertation(s) e co-supervised 13. Supervised 8 work(s) of course completion of LSc/BSc e co-supervised 6. Has received 3 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as Other in 7 project(s) and Researcher in 21 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Evolutionary Biology, Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Biodiversity Conservation, Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Ecology and Agrarian Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with emphasis on Agriculture. In their professional activities interacted with 402 collaborator(s) co-authorship of scientific papers. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Sympatric speciation; Polyploids; Contact zones; Cryptic diversity; Diploid-Polyploid complexes; Biological Invasions; Threatened Plants; Red Lists; Pollinators; Plant-Pollinator Interactions; Plant Diversity; Water Stress; Climate Change; Species Distribution; Environmental Niche; Mating systems; Floral Polymorphisms; Heterostyly; Green Infrastructures; Pollination Ecosystem Services; Crop Yield; Agroecosystems; Eutrophication; Pollinator-friendly solutions; Kiwifruit; Sunflower; Apple; Pear; Prunus.

João Neves Silva is an Assistant Professor at the School of Agriculture and a researcher at both the Forest Research Centre and the Tropical College of the University of Lisbon. He holds a degree and a PhD in Forestry, as well as a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics. He teaches undergraduate courses such as Mathematical Analysis, Statistics, and Introduction to Forest Fires, and master’s courses including Ecology and Fire Management, and Vegetation Monitoring with UAVs and LiDAR. His research focuses on forest fires and vegetation monitoring, primarily using remote sensing data. His work includes the analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of burnt areas, modeling of pyrogenic emissions, land use/land cover mapping, and the study of long-term trends in forest productivity. He has conducted fieldwork in Angola, Australia, Brazil, Mozambique, Suriname, and Zambia. João is the coordinator of the undergraduate Forestry program, the ISA representative on the coordinating council of the Tropical College at the University of Lisbon, a member of the coordination committee for the master’s in Forestry program, and a member of the executive committee of the Forest Research Centre. He is also an Invited Professor for the Master’s program in Conservation Biology at Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique.

Jorge Canhoto. Completed the Aggregate Degree in Botany on 2004/11/30 from the University of Coimbra Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Doctorate in Biology on 1995/02/07 from the University of Coimbra Faculty of Sciences and Technology and Degree in Biology on 1985/07/31 from the University of Coimbra Faculty of Sciences and Technology. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Coimbra Faculty of Science and Technology. Published 59 articles in specialized journals. It has 5 book chapter(s). Supervised 1 doctoral thesis(es). He has supervised 71 master’s dissertations and co-supervised 10. He works in the area(s) of Agricultural Sciences with an emphasis on Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, Natural Sciences with an emphasis on Biological Sciences with an emphasis on Developmental Biology and Agricultural Sciences with an emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with an emphasis on Plant Production and Protection. In your Ciência Vitae curriculum, the most frequent terms in the contextualization of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural production are: In vitro culture; Organogenesis; Embryonic development; Conservation; Cloning; Improvement; Somatic embryogenesis; Pollen embryogenesis; Genetic transformation; Genomics; Micropropagation.

He completed his PhD in Agricultural Engineering in 1999 from the University of Lisbon – Instituto Superior de Agronomia, a Master’s Degree in Plant Production – academic part in 1988 from the University of Lisbon – Instituto Superior de Agronomia and a Degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1985 from the University of Lisbon – Instituto Superior de Agronomia. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon Higher Institute of Agronomy. Published 43 articles in specialized journals. Has 1 book(s). Received 1 award(s) and/or honors. In his professional activities he interacted with 98 collaborators in co-authorship of scientific works.

José Maria Santos is an Assistant Professor from the School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon. He has been developing research mainly in Ecohydraulics, Water Resources, and River Restoration and Modelling for the last twenty years. He has 75 articles in SCOPUS (H-index = 30), and more than 2400 citations. He has 30 articles in international conference proceedings and is author of 4 articles in national journals and of 21 articles in national conference proceedings. He is also author of 164 oral communications (9 by invitation) and posters, at international (136) and national (28) meetings. He has reviewed 330+ manuscripts, edited 110+ manuscrits from 60+ ISI Web of Science journals. He is Associate Editor from Water (ISSN 2073-4441), the Journal of Ecohydraulics (ISSN: 2470-5365) and Frontiers in Environmental Science (2296-665X). He is also the Guest Editor of a Special Issue in Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). He recently coordinated an FCT exploratory project (IF/00020/2015) targeting the development of holistic fishways to restore fish passage, which followed the FishMove (PTDC/AGR-CFL/117761/2010), that he also coordinated. He is presently the Co-PI of the EcoPeak4Fish project funded by FCT, aiming to develop an integrated approach to support self-sustaining fish populations downstream hydropower plants. He participated in 4 European projects (the most recent the ongoing MERLIN project; https://project-merlin.eu/) and 10 national projects with research and development typology. He also participated in 13 knowledge transfer projects, of which 5 as Responsible, most of them financed by EDP (Energias de Portugal, S.A.), and focused on the area of rehabilitation and restoration of ecosystems, ecohydraulics and ecohydrology, particularly fishways and environmental flows. He supervised 5 PhD theses (2 ongoing) and 7 MSc dissertations (3 ongoing). He organized 8 scientific events (4 international), is member of 2 specialized committees (1 as President) of the Portuguese Association of Water Resources and coordinated 1 international workshop on Fish Passage and Barriers. He was member of the scientific committee of 5 international conferences. He is member of the Executive Board of the Forest Research Centre (a research unit funded by FCT, and classified as “Excellent”). He has received 9 distinctions, being the last one (2020), the ULisbon/CGD Scientific Award.

Maria Leonor Mota Morais Ceclílio Degree in Biology (1982), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon. Master in Plant Production (1991), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. PhD in Biology (1998), Aberystwyth, University of Wales, United Kingdom. Teacher of Basic and Secondary Education (1982-84); Technician at Portucel, Aveiro (1984-85); Trainee Assistant at the University of Aveiro (1985-87) in the Department of Biology; Admitted at Instituto Superior de Agronomia as Trainee Assistant (1987) in the Department of Botany; Assistant (1990) and Assistant Professor (1998), currently in the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Territory – DRAT Scientific Performance: 37 publications in scientific journals indexed in Web of Science (WoS) plus 2 in journals with scientific refereeing; 5 publications as first author and 15 as senior author or corresponding author; 18 with international collaborations; 14 open access publications. Most articles have been published in the Biochemistry, Genetics & Molecular Biology category of Scopus and Genetics and Heredity of WoS in quartile 1 and 2. 6 publications in international conference proceedings; 1 book chapter. More than 600 citations including self-citations Participation in 18 national and international FCT-funded projects: – Coordination as Principal Investigator – 4 – Principal Co-Investigator – 1 – Member of the research team – 13 Organization of 2 scientific meetings and dissemination of scientific knowledge to society. Reviewer of articles in 14 international scientific journals Supervising and mentoring activity 1 Post-doc; 4 PhD (plus one in progress); 6 master’s degrees; 26 final undergraduate and curricular internships; 9 research fellows; several internships of young students initiating their scientific research career.

Graduated in Biology at the University of the Azores (2005), with an MSc in Shellfish Biology, Culture and Fisheries from Bangor University (2006) and a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of the Azores (2012). He is an Assistant Researcher at the Center for Functional Ecology (University of Coimbra, Portugal; currently funded by a CEECIND/01986/2017 – FCT Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus. His research focuses on soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, with a particular interest in historical human-modified landscapes (e.g. Amazonian Dark Earth). He has been actively involved in several NGS-based genomic and transcriptomic projects on evolutionary ecology, phylogenetics and population genetics (and genomics) of metazoan organisms. Lately, he is interested in using animals closely associated with human activity, to infer ancient human movement (please see the “HookaWorm” research project). Luis Cunha is a molecular ecologist. During his PhD, he found that studying the particular and unique features of the reducing environments of geothermal biotopes was most interesting because the ephemeral nature of the geothermal field is expected to favour the colonization by species with remarkable colonization abilities. The volcanically active soil in Azores offered an ideal ‘natural laboratory’ to address such questions during his PhD project. A brief interruption due to parenthood and some extenuating circumstances impacted his publication record (during 2012-2013). Since his PhD completion, he has published >2.5 papers per year, and he has been actively communicating scientific achievements in international conferences & meetings. Currently, he is the joint-Director of the ‘Terra Preta de Indio’ international network. He has published in a range of different speciality journals in areas of ecotoxicology, invertebrate biology and soil biology with an impact factor, typically ranging between 4-10 (e.g., Scientific Reports, Heredity, GEB, STOTEN, GCB). He has one seminal chapter on soil fauna biology and currently shows an H-index of 15. Moreover, he has shown an extensive track record in taking personal initiative to forge collaborations, which have facilitated his personal development and delivered innovative and exciting science allowing him to secure more than ¿1.6M in research income (80% as co-I and 20% as PI), over the last 7 years. His research projects included 1 post-doctoral researcher and 2 PhD students, and he has supervised 9 MSc students and several undergraduate final-year projects. He has spent long periods dwelling in the Amazonia rainforest and in South African grasslands, preparing/ organising fieldwork and leading teams of both students and researchers (~20 members and 6 expeditions). He has been invited to give some seminal talks in subjects such ‘The use of transcriptomics in Ecotoxicology’ or for instance ‘Interculturality and knowledge in Life Sciences research’, which show how easy is for him to circulate around different research themes and public alike. The lack of funding for specific activities allowed him to engage with entrepreneurship and a case of crowdsourcing funding, which ended up featured in several media channels like Newsweek. He has also been an active reviewer (https://publons.com/a/149210), and he is a member of several societies such as SETAC, British Ecological Society, Systematic Biology Society, Society for the Study of Evolution and the International Society of Computational Biology.

Luís Fonseca (LF) has degrees in Biology, Pedagogical and Scientific Area, from the University of Coimbra (UC), in 1999 and 2003, respectively. He completed his PhD in Biology/Ecology at UC in 2009. He is currently a PhD Researcher at the Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), Department of Life Sciences (DCV), Faculty of Sciences and Technology (FCTUC). LF has published 32 articles in international scientific journals, in collaboration with researchers from several national and international research teams, co-editor of a field/laboratory guide and author of 2 book chapters. LF participated in several national and international scientific congresses (47 oral communications and 38 poster communications) and received 6 scientific awards. LF has been involved in 2 international projects and 10 national projects. He was coordinator of a multidisciplinary project funded by POCI-FEDER-FCT “POINTERS – Host tree-pinewood nematode interactions: Searching for sustainable approaches for pine wilt disease management” (PTDC/ASP-SIL / 31999/2017) and nowadays is co-coordinator of a project financed by FCT PineWALL – Linking pine cell wall composition and structure to pinewood nematode resistance under climate change (FCT- PTDC/ASP-SIL/3142/2020). In addition, LF has participated in the teaching of several curricular units of Biology Degree and Masters, at DCV-FCTUC. Currently, LF is lecturing theoretical and practical lectures of the Phytopathology course of the Biotechnology and Plant Biology Master, Ecology Master and Biological Resources, Territory Valorisation and Sustainability Master and is co-coordinator of a non-degree course (Practical Phytonematology) at DCV-FCTUC. During his research he has guided several students at various levels of education including MSc and PhD students. Additionally, he acts as coordinator of nematological analysis services at the Institute of Environmental Technology and Life (IATV) and is technical and scientific coordinator of the Nematology area of the Plant Health Laboratory of the Pedro Nunes Institute (FITOLAB). Based on these coordinations, LF has been actively collaborating with Portuguese wood and bark heat treatment industries and with the General Directorate of Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV). Furthermore, LF has also actively collaborated with the National Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) performing nematological analyses to detect pine wood nematodes in Portuguese forestry areas.

Luísa Cristina dos Mártires Ferreira de Carvalho. She published 50 papers in international journals with peer review , 7 book chapters and 51 communications in congresses. She has an h-index of 16, with 639 citations. Luísa Carvalho has participated in 16 research projects and 5 COST actions. She co-supervised 13 master theses, co-supervised one finished PhD thesis, specific tasks in two international PhDs and currently supervises two PhD students. She supervised one post-doc for 6 years. She is a researcher at Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), in ‘Group II: Plant Science and Crop Production’ and the Thematic Line ‘Grapevine and Wine’. Luísa Carvalho has a background in Agronomy, in the area of Plant Production, that, together with knowledge and practical experience acquired during her master and PhD research, are the basis for a specialization in Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology which cover her current areas of research: – Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; – Functional genomics; – Functioning of the anti-oxidative stress response system; – Study of gene expression and identification of genes of interest; – Physiological characterization of grapevine genotypes with high tolerance to abiotic stress, namely chronic water scarcity and heat waves. The most representative keywords present in her work are the following: ABA; aquaporins; berry quality; glutathione; deficit irrigation; yield; cluster analysis; transcription factors; transcriptome; Vitis vinifera; gene expression ; quantitative real-time PCR; light stress; heat shock proteins; oxidative and photo-oxidative stress; acclimation and recovery; chlorophyll fluorescence; photosynthesis; redox state; transcript expression; breeding strategies; climate change; clonal selection; genetic diversity; germplasm; stress tolerance; somatic variation; sustainable viticulture; ascorbate-glutathione cycle; hydrogen peroxide; Varietal diversity; micropropagation; plant biotechnology; ROS; peroxiredoxins; hormone stress signals; acclimation; sulfate transporter; sulfate uptake.

Manuela Branco has a PhD in Applied Biology, a Master degree in Probability and Statistics, and Graduation in Forestry. She has a broad background in insect ecology and forest protection. Her research focuses mainly on the ecology of insect populations and forest pest management. She is mostly interested in ecologically friendly and sustainable strategies, with an emphasis on biological control and management strategies based on the use of semiochemicals. She participated in more than 25 research projects, including national and EU-funded projects, being coordinator at ISA of 12. Research activities include collaborations with enterprises and Associations of the forest sector. She has directed the elaboration of technical and scientific publications, with more than 110 peer-reviewed publications (Scopus h=28). She published 5 books and 28 book chapters. She has received 3 awards. In her professional activities interacted with about 400 national and international collaborators and co-authors of scientific papers. She participated in consultant boards for organization and government policies. She has participated as panel member on the evaluation of Research Projects and Scholarships. She is deputy of an IUFRO working unit. She participated in the organization and scientific committees of national and international congresses. She is Associate Editor or Editorial member of international journals: Forest Ecology and Management, Phytoparasitica, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change.

Manuela Gomes da Silva (MGS) has been an assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, and Territory (DRAT) at the Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA) of the University of Lisbon (ULisboa) since 2021. She has a degree in Agricultural Engineering, a master’s degree in Plant Production with a specialization in Plant Breeding, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering, all from ISA. She has previously held several postdoctoral fellowships and two contracts as a principal researcher (IF, FCT) and an auxiliary researcher (ICiencia, FCT) at the Centro de Botânica Aplicada à Agricultura (CBAA) and the Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF) research units. There, she studied Plant Biology and several cereal and legume crops with a focus on how plants adjust to a changing environment. Recently, her research career at the LEAF Research Unit and the TERRA Associated Laboratory has focused on contributing to the knowledge of plant genome plasticity by integrating functional genomics and biodiversity assessments of cereal species. She has used wheat’s response to abiotic stresses, such as heat and drought, as a model system. MGS has coordinated three research projects funded by FCT and participated in thirteen others. She has published 41 peer-reviewed articles in international scientific journals, 22 of which were published under her name as the first or last author. Ten of these articles were published in WoS Top 10 journals, and she has a Scopus h-index of 16. Most of her articles have been published in WoS Q1 journals in the fields of Agronomy, Plant Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Heredity. She is a reviewer for 20 international WoS journals, a review editor for two Frontiers journals, and a member of the evaluation panel for final reports of FCT research projects in the area of Agronomy since 2014. MGS has supervised one postdoctoral fellow, two Ph.D. students, five master’s students, two students with research grants, and seventeen undergraduates. She participates in the TutorISA program and has always included students in her research activities, listing several undergraduates as co-authors of her published scientific articles. Currently, she teaches nine UCs in Molecular, Cellular, and Plant Biology, as well as Genetics and Plant Breeding, for the first and second cycles at ISA-ULisboa. MGS has been actively involved in scientific dissemination activities and has coordinated the Webinar Series for the FCT research units CBAA and LEAF since 2008. MGS is a member of the ISA Commission for Equality, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination (CIGI-ISA) and the ISA Ethics Committee.

Completed her PhD in Landscape Architecture in 1997 at the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia. She was a Professor at the ISA and IST of the University of Lisbon in the area of Spatial Planning. Supervised several projects or components of research projects. Authored or co-authored 12 articles in specialised journals. Published 10 book chapters, 7 books and edited 2 books. Supervised 7 PhD theses and has 3 theses in progress. Supervised 4 pre-Bologna and 6 post-Bologna Master’s theses. Supervised 42 theses and co-supervised 16 pre-Bologna final course (5 Years of studies) theses. Presented more than 140 public communications. Received 1 prize.

I serve as an Assistant Professor at the School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, where I also lead the Forest Ecology Research Group and the Tree Ecophysiology and Breeding Lab within the Forest Research Centre. My educational background is in Forestry and Forest Production. Despite this, my PhD research focused on grasslands, enriching my understanding of species interactions and their critical role in ecosystem resilience and functioning, especially in response to disturbances like extreme droughts. My research takes an integrated approach to ecosystem functioning, emphasizing the synergy between trees, shrubs, and grasslands and their resilience to climate and land-use changes. I am particularly interested in how trees adapt to recurrent droughts, especially when influenced by other biotic and abiotic factors. Through my work, including a significant study on cork oak resilience within shrub-invaded oak woodlands, I’ve gained profound insights into ecosystem dynamics and the potential for trees to thrive under multiple stressors. This understanding is critical for the sustainable management of ecosystems. To date, I have authored over 70 scientific papers in ISI journals, achieving an h-index of 30 and with 4409 citations according to Scopus. My work has been published in high impact factor journals, including Science, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Global Change Biology, and Nature Communications. I have led over seven scientific projects and contributed to more than 20 international projects. In addition to my research, I play an active role in the academic community as an invited Editor of Forests and an Associate Review Editor for Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Agroecology and Ecosystem Services, and Frontiers in Plant Science-Functional Plant Ecology. I have supervised 4 PhD and 15 MSc students, with ongoing supervision of 3 PhD and 4 MSc students. I reviewed papers for over 30 scientific journals, including Nature Plants and Global Change Biology. I have also contributed to the Portuguese National Science Foundation and the European Union as a reviewer and coordinated the Evaluation Panel for PhD grants in Agriculture, Silviculture, and Fisheries for the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT), underlying my engagement in the scientific community’s development and funding processes.

Maria João Costa joined the Forest Research Centre as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the end of 2024. She completed her PhD in River Restoration and Management in 2019 from Instituto Superior de Agronomia, focusing on the impacts of hydropower production on fish communities and the subsequent development of morphological mitigation measures in experimental flumes. Her academic background and experience are deeply interdisciplinary, combining Freshwater Ecology and Ecohydraulics, with a particular focus on fish–flow interactions. Her research bridges the laboratory and the riverine ecosystem, enabling the practical application of flume-based knowledge to natural river conditions. During her PhD, she co-led the rehabilitation and certification of the experimental facilities at Instituto Superior Técnico for live-fish experiments and integrated the IST Animal Welfare Body. Her postdoctoral work further explored the impacts of hydropower production on freshwater fish communities through participation in competitive European and national projects, contributing to the planning, execution, and dissemination of Ecohydraulics research. This work resulted in numerous collaborations, the application of innovative monitoring technologies for fish communities, and even the proposal of a patent. Her experience also extends to WWF Portugal, where she coordinated the Freshwater team, and to the private sector, through her work at AQUALOGUS as a consultant and project coordinator in freshwater projects. She is the author of 22 papers indexed in the ISI Web of Science (h-index = 10) and has published and presented her research, including as an invited speaker, at numerous renowned national and international conferences and meetings. She has participated in several competitive national and international projects, highlighting the FCT-EcoPeak4Fish project, which developed solutions to ensure the sustainability of fish populations downstream of hydropower plants, where she coordinated two of the project’s main tasks. She has supervised undergraduate, MSc, and PhD students, fostering interest in this research field and contributing to capacity building in Ecohydraulics and Freshwater Ecology. Maria João Costa has been actively involved in co-organizing scientific meetings and conferences and in science communication. She maintains a well-established scientific network with whom she regularly collaborates on publications, student supervision, and competitive research proposals. She is an active reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals, a founding member of the HyPeak network, and an active participant in the Movimento Rio Douro, a civil society initiative dedicated to the protection of the Douro River.

Maria J Vasconcelos is a forester and a senior researcher at the College of Agriculture of the University of Lisbon. Her main area of activity is in LULUCF and climate change, mainly in tropical regions. Her most recent work focuses on nature-based solutions for mitigation and adaptation to climate change in semi-arid tropical areas. She is a member of the Scientific Board of the National Adaptation Strategy of Portugal since 2017 and an Expert of the European Commission since 2010.

Maria Margaret Chagas Ataide Ribeiro. Degree in Silviculture – Forest Production on 1984/01/16 from the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Master in Vegetal Production (Forest Tree Improvement), 1994/11/24, University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia, and PhD in Forest Genetics, 2001/04/20, Sveriges landbruksuniversitet, Umeå, Sweden. Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Higher School of Agriculture. Works in the area of ​​Agricultural Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Maria Romeiras completed her PhD in Molecular Biology in 2005 by University of Lisbon (ULisboa), her Master in Integrated Pest Management in 1996 by Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA – School of Agriculture), and her Bachelor in Biology in 1990 by Faculty of Science, University of Lisbon. Since, February 2017, Maria is a Professor at Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), the largest and most qualified School of graduate and post-graduate degrees in the Agricultural Sciences, in Portugal. Currently, she is member of two Research Centres: full member of LEAF Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food Research Center (ISA/ULisboa), Associate Laboratory TERRA¿, and a collaborator in ¿Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c/FCUL), Associate Laboratory CHANGE”. She is also member of “Tropical College (CTROP)”, which aims to foster tropical research among ten faculties of University of Lisbon. Maria has received some honors and/or awards, namely in March 2018, she joined the list of prestigious corresponding members of Academy of Sciences of Lisbon; and in March 2019 she was distinguished by Ciência Viva (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT) in the book “Women in Science”, which pays a tribute to women scientists in Portugal. Recently, she was invited to join the Vice-Chair of International network of “IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Macaronesian Islands Plant SG (MIPSG)” to lead the Cabo Verde group. Also, she has received a prestigious International award from the “Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund” for leadership in conservation initiatives, for her contribution to the study of Cabo Verde’s flora (in 2012). Moreover, Maria won several FCT grants, namely: Master fellowship at ISA; PhD fellow at FCUL, and Post-Doc at IICT. During five years (2009 -2014), she was Researcher at the Tropical Research Institute (IICT/ULisboa), within the framework of the Ciência2008 Programme/FCT. Maria has published over 3 books, 30 book chapters and more than 80 peer-reviewed papers in reputed international journals (e.g. Conservation Letters; Global Ecology and Biogeography; Journal of Biogeography; Biological Conservation; Scientific Reports; Frontiers in Plant Science; Plant Science; Biodiversity and Conservation; Taxon; Journal of Ethnopharmacology; or in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society). In their professional activities interacted with several international collaborator(s) in co-authorship of scientific papers. Maria also acted as reviewer for several ISI journals. Since 2008, she has actively disseminated her scientific research with more than 200 conference presentations, including 10 talks, several of which as invited speaker in international meetings. Maria has participated in several research projects, being in the last years Principal Investigator in 2 projects focused on the study of Macaronesia’s flora (i.e. 2018-2023 the project “CVAgrobiodiversity” funded (298kEUR) by Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and FCT; and PTDC/BIA-BIC/4113/2012: 110kEUR). Currently, she is supervising several graduate students (e.g. 14 PhD students, 5 already completed, and 20 MS-students. Over the last years, she organized several field-expeditions, particularly in Cabo Verde and Angola, and was member of the Organizing Committees of over 15 International Congresses. She has been also committed to dissemination and outreaching activities such as the “Open Day, the Plants Fascination Day”, and “European Researcher’s Night”. From 2010 to 2015, Maria was Deputy-Director of the Tropical Botanical Garden (IICT/UL) and from 2011 to 2015 was Vice-President of the Scientific Council of the IICT/ULisboa. Recently, she was nominated curator of the “Tapada da Ajuda Botanical Park and Nature Botanical Reserve D. António Xavier Pereira Coutinho”, which represents a unique natural space of local vegetation of great floral significance in Tapada da Ajuda (ISA).

Currently, Maria Teresa Cruz Mera Vitoriano Cabrita is mostly involved in management of science, technology and innovation programs in the field of polar sciences, namely the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR), at the Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, Universidade de Lisboa. She holds a DL57 contract, which started in 1 May 2019. Within the PROPOLAR, she is responsible for the observation and monitoring of the scientific and technological system, administrative and financial aspects of the program, management and organization of calls for funding of polar projects, representation in national and international scientific organizations, and setting up a polar metadatabase, among other activities. She also teaches “Landscape Ecology” and “Science Communication” at IGOT. Her scientific research interests are focused on Marine Biology, with emphasis on Marine Pollution in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. In her curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural outputs are: Phytoplankton Ecotoxicology, Phytoplankton Fatty Acid Metabolism, Trace Metal Biogeochemistry, Photobiology, Eutrophication, Biomonitoring Tools, Contaminant Stress Indicators, Metal Early Stress Detection, and Environmental Impact Assessment.

Patricia María Rodríguez González. Finished PhD in Forest Engineering in 2009 by Technical University of Lisbon (Portugal) , Master in Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (Biodiversidade e Conservación do Medio natural) in 2002, by Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Master in Applied Statistics in 2012 by Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Spain) and Bachelor Degree in Forestry Engineering in 2000 by Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Published 43 articles in especialized journals.

Paula Cristina de Oliveira Castro completed her doctorate in Biology, speciality in Ecology, in 2006. She is an Invited Auxiliary Researcher at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra (UC). She began her teaching activity in 1997, having taught several courses in the fields of Biology, Ecology, Environmental Management, Soil Ecology and Pollution, Environmental Impact Assessment, Integrated Management Systems, and Environmental Education. She is an Integrated Researcher at CFE-Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet (UC) and Co-PI of the Research Group ¿Societies and Environmental Sustainability. Her current area of research aims to contribute to the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems and the services they provide (ecological and sociocultural) to climate change and human activities, integrating the development of societies and economies with effective conservation of ecosystem services. Her main research interests include evaluating and modelling ecosystem services; climate-resilient agriculture, agroforestry, and urban systems; and the application of Geographic Information Systems as a tool for analysing and predicting future scenarios and supporting decision-making in ecology and ecosystem management. She develops interdisciplinary studies on ecology, ecosystem services, societies, and sustainability, promoting stakeholder engagement, participatory methodologies, and co-creation processes focusing on the benefits ecosystems provide to people, animal welfare and the implications for sustainable and intelligent territories resilient to climate change. She has experience supervising postdoctoral, doctoral, and master’s students and research fellows. She has also participated in several projects (either as a team member or as a responsible researcher), including national and H2020 I&D projects, science communication, entrepreneurship, and projects promoting cooperation between the university and the private/business sector.

I have a master in Ecology and a PhD in Ecology and Biology of Global Change. I co-authored a total of 31 ISI papers that sum 890 citations and an H-index of 14 (all papers with citation data, scopus), plus 5 book chapters. My main interest is to understand global change effects on terrestrial ecosystems, with an emphasis on climate change effects in Antarctic ecosystems. This research includes the biological, physical environment and human dimensions, using this information to build indicators. For that, I look at vegetation patterns based on taxonomic and functional trait metrics using classic ecological methodologies complemented with ultra-high-resolution image analysis. This scientific data is complemented with citizen science data collect by Antarctic tourists. Our focus is to validate the citizen science tool as a data complement to science in Antarctica, while simultaneously evaluating citizen science actions as a tool to promote environmental awareness, diplomacy and behaviours. My main international recognition was an invitation to present and propose the global ecological indicator of global change impacts based on lichen diversity in the 12th United Nations Forest Forum held in the UN headquarters, NY.

He completed his PhD in Forestry Engineering in 2000 at the University of Lisbon – Instituto Superior de Agronomia. He has published 44 articles in national and international specialized and peer-reviewed journals. He has supervised 20 master’s dissertations and 1 doctoral dissertation. He is currently supervising three master’s theses and two doctoral theses. His area of ​​expertise is in the area of ​​Agricultural Sciences with an emphasis on Forestry. In his Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the contextualization of scientific production are: forestry; forest modeling; forest management; forest inventory; forest models; non-timber forest products; environmental changes; forest management and planning; adaptive forest management; decision support system; risk; aerial laser scanning; carbon balance; forest management scenarios; carbon sequestration; wood production; Maritime pine and eucalyptus; forestry; good practices.

Paulo Branco is a biologist (FCUL, 2005), with a Doctorate in Forest Eng & Nat Res (ISA ULisboa, 2013). He leads an innovative and very active research line on river network connectivity at Forest Research Centre, with several collaborating researchers and students. Paulo has developed work in fish ecology, river connectivity, ecohydraulics, fishways, habitat suitability modelling, fish historical records, animal behaviour, fish physiology and animal experimentation. Paulo is the CEO of the Associate Laboratory TERRA (FCT, 1.1MEUR) that aggregates 400+ PhDs from different research centres in Portugal. OUTPUTS & DISSEMINATION: 51 articles (37 in the last 5 years), 47 (92%) in Q1 or Q2 Journals, 27 (52%) in top 10%, 19 (37%) in top 3% and 3 (6%) in top 1% journals (Scimago), 1 highly cited article (WoS), and 3 in the top 5% of Almetric outreach score, with a cumulative IF of 255, average IF 5/article, 21% as first, 19% as last and 21% as corresponding author (Wos); and 30 conf. proceedings. Paulo has co-developed a free database for historical diadromous fish records, spanning one millennium of data, and a free software to deal with river network summarizations (RivTool – downloaded in 70+ countries). 106 oral presentations, of which 11 by invitation, and 30 posters. TEACHING: Invited teacher at ISA-ULisboa for the last 8 years on 6 different BSc, 1 MSc and 1 PhD, teaching Ecology, Animal Biology, Zoology, Population Dynamics, River and Blue-green connectivity. Invited teacher at the International Master in Applied Ecology, since 2020, at the University of Coimbra. COLLABORATIONS: Participation in several national and international projects establishing a research network, collaborating with over 300 researchers in all continents. ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC EVENTS: Paulo was involved in organizing scientific conferences (2 international conferences), specialized sessions (2 in international conferences), taking part in scientific boards (3 of international conferences), workshops and laboratory open days for the general public. REVIEWER/EDITOR: Active reviewer of scientific publications, contributing as a reviewer for 40 international journals. He co-edited a special issue for Water journal on the effects of multiple stressor on aquatic systems, and is co-editor of 2 special issues, 1 on river connectivity for IJERPH, where he is Topic Editor, and 1 on nature-based solutions for Hydrobiology, where he is part of the editorial board. FUNDING: Applied, and was successfully awarded, for project funding, national and international, both as PI and as partner. Currently PI of Dammed Fish (FCT, 244KEUR), funded under a very competitive call (6% success rate), and leading tasks in MERLIN (H2020, 22MEUR) and AQUADAPT (LaCaixa-FCT, 300KEUR). And led an 11 partners (9 countries) consortium on and Biodiversa proposal. SUPERVISION: 10 BSc, 4 MSc and 4 PhD. Took part at juries and thesis committees from different degree levels in Portugal and abroad (14 BSc, 9 MSc and 3 PhD). Hosted two scientific stays. FACILITIES: Planning and installation of an experimental mesocosm system, at the campus of ISA, and has been involved in the recovery and operation of a large scale ecohydraulic flume (50 m3 water) at the National Laboratory for Civil Engineering. RECOGNITION: Member of the Scientific council of the Forest Research Centre. Part of the CEF-Outreach strategy group. Publicly nominated, member, as a freshwater specialist, of the Observatory Board for the management of the oldest national planted forest in Portugal – XIII century (Observatório Local do Pinhal do Rei). Member of the Ecosystems and Water Quality Committee of the Portuguese Association of Water Resources. Recently invited to lead a regional group of Early Careers on Ecohydraulics Network supported by IAHR. Awarded in 2020 and 2021, with Honourable Mentions at the University of Lisbon Scientific Prizes due to his outstanding publication record.

Assistant Professor at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT-ULisboa). Effective researcher at the Centre for Geographical Studies of the University of Lisbon since 2017, integrating the RISKam research group. He is also a collaborating researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES-UC), where he worked as a research fellow between 2011 and 2016. PhD in Territory, Risk and Public Policies (University of Lisbon, Coimbra and Aveiro, 2015), MSc in Earth Sciences (University of Coimbra, 2009) and graduation in Physical Geography (University of Lisbon, 1999). In his academic activities he has interacted with +110 collaborator(s) in authorship and co-authorship of scientific papers. He has participated and participates in research projects in the fields of risk assessment and management, of which he highlights the DISASTER, MOLINES, FORLAND, Risk Management Plan of the Intermunicipal Community of Coimbra, MOLINES, MOSAIC, RISKCOAST, BeSafeSlide, MIT-RSC, PLAAC-Arrábida, RASTOOLS, HighWaters and CLIMAAX. One of his academic and scientific motivations is to establish bridges between Physical Geography and other scientific domains also devoted to risk research, namely the Social Sciences and Engineering. He supervises several master and doctoral candidates and published in journals such as the Journal of Environmental Management, Science of the Total Environment, Natural Hazards, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction and Environmental Science & Policy.

Peter TALHINHAS. Completed his PhD in Agricultural Engineering in 2002 from the University of Lisbon, PhD in Agricultural Engineering in 2002 from the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia and Degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1994 from the University of Lisbon. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon Higher Institute of Agronomy. Published 53 articles in specialized journals. It has 4 book chapter(s). Organized 6 event(s). Participated in 1 event(s). Co-supervised 2 doctoral theses. Co-supervised 6 master’s dissertation(s). Co-supervised 4 undergraduate/bachelor’s degree completion projects. Received 1 award(s) and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as a Doctoral Fellow in 1 project(s), Researcher in 8 project(s) and Responsible Researcher in 3 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Agricultural Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with emphasis on Plant Production and Protection. In his professional activities he interacted with 186 collaborators in co-authorship of scientific works. In his Ciência Vitae curriculum, the most frequent terms in the contextualization of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural production are: Biotrophy; Colletotrichum acutatum; RAPD; PR genes; Lupinus angustifolius; population structure; Hemileia vastatrix; genetic diversity; Lupinus spp.; hypersensitive reaction; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides; Portugal; histopathology; hypersensitive response; biogeography; Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation; basal immunity; ISSR; Asymptomatic Colonization; Germplasm Collection; Angola; AFLP; Coffee Berry Disease; Resistance to Hygromycin B; molecular markers; Pathogenicity mutants; coffee leaf rust; rRNA-ITS; aetiology; Real-time quantitative PCR; Colletotrichum kahawae; Insertional mutagenesis; Coffea arabica; genetic diversity; fungal plant pathogen; epidemiology; Epidemiology; olive domestication; Green fluorescent protein expression; PCR-RFLP; defense gene expression; olive anthracnose; Coffea canephora; colletotrichum acutatum; evolution; fungal lifestyle; pathogenicity; anthracnose; coffee berry disease; Colletotrichum taxonomy; Colletotrichum gloesporioides species complex; Colletotrichum kahawae subsp. kahawae; Colletotrichum kahawae subsp. cigarette; lupin; Lupine; Colletotrichum lupini; anthracnose; Andean lupin, tarwi, protein and oil; crop adaptability; Andean lupine; tarwi; protein and oil; Lupinus mutabilis; cytogenomics; flow cytometry; rust; Fungi; genome size; fungi; Karyotype; Pulsed field gel electrophoresis; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Germ tube burst method; Coffee plants; Leaf rust; Master’s Theses, 2011; colletotrichum gloeosporioides; agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation; hygromycin B resistance; green fluorescent protein expression; insertional mutagenesis; pathogenicity mutants; germplasm collection.

Raquel Lobo-do-Vale completed a PhD in 2012, entitled “Carbon assimilation by Amazonian rain forest trees: seasonality, inter-annual variation, and drought”. Is Assistant Researcher in Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior de Agronomia. She published 33 articles in journals, of which two were highly cited, with total citations of 1.485. Her h-index is 17. Organized 7 events. Co-supervised 3 MSc dissertations. Has received 3 awards and/or honours. Participates and/or participated in 10 projects and Principal investigator in 4 projects. In their professional activities interacted with 510 collaborators co-authorship of scientific papers. She is very experienced in field work, including experimental set-up and maintenance and data analysis. During the last years, the focus of her research has been on tree ecophysiology of the Mediterranean ecosystems in the context of climate change (drought, warming), both in adult trees, in the field, and in seedlings, in the greenhouse. She is currently studying the foliar water uptake of cork oak leaves and the impact of drought and shrub encroachment on Mediterranean cork oak growth and resilience. She is particularly interested in the drought effects on the water, carbon, and nutrient dynamics of Mediterranean ecosystems. She is looking forward to contributing to the improvement of sustainable management practices that promote the efficient use of water.

I am a coordinating researcher at INIAV I. P. Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, The Portuguese National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research, PhD in Plant Biotechnology from Science Faculty, University of Lisbon, Head of Plant Biotechnology Laboratory of Forest Research Unit. My research interests are focused on Forest Genetics, Molecular Biology and Genomics of Woody Species, including Castanea sativa Mill, Quercus suber L, Pinus pinea L and P. pinaster Ait. The work developed in recent years has focused on the use of molecular markers to assess the genetic structure of populations of chestnut, maritime and stone pines and the use of genomic tools to understanding the genetics underlying various aspects of the Trees¿ Biology that condition, namely: the quality of wood in pine, yield and quality of cork in cork oak and disease resistance in chestnut and maritime pine, namely chestnut root rot, caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi and pine wilt disease caused by the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Currently I am the coordinator of the research program: “Understanding disease resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi in Castanea spp”. I was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Clemson University, University of Kentucky and Southern Institute of Forest Genetics – USA in the academic year of 2015-2016. Currently I am the scientific coordinator of The Chestnut Breeding Program at INIAV and of the reserach program “Understanding resistance of Castanea spp to Phtytophthora cinnamomi Rands”.

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Environmental Health, School of Medicine, University of Lisbon, and at TERRA – Associate Laboratory for Sustainable Land Use and Ecosystem Services. She is a Landscape Architect (University of Évora, 1994) with over 30 years of scientific and professional experience. The first decade of her career was devoted to professional practice and consultancy, primarily in land-use planning, sustainable development, nature conservation, protected areas, and cultural landscape management. Between 2000 and 2008, she participated in national and international research projects as a Research Assistant at the University of Évora, where she completed an European PhD in Arts and Techniques of Landscape (2008). Her doctoral thesis, “Integrative Landscape Management: New Parameters for the Implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. A Case Study in Southern Portugal”, was developed across five European universities (Nottingham, Paris, Arlon, Wageningen, and Copenhagen), fostering a transdisciplinary approach integrating natural and social sciences. From 2010 to 2015, she served as a Guest Professor at the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. In 2015, she initiated a research collaboration with the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa). Throughout her postdoctoral trajectory, she has combined research and teaching across six universities, having taught 18 courses, supervised 16 postgraduate students, and currently supervising six PhD theses. She has authored approximately 100 scientific and technical publications. Since 2020, she has contributed to the design and implementation of four Horizon projects in the fields of nature-based solutions, water-smart management, sustainability transitions, and food systems planning. Her research is grounded in action research and solution-oriented approaches, aiming to contribute to innovative knowledge production in the field of planetary health. Her work integrates natural and social sciences at the environment–health interface and is underpinned by participatory and collaborative research processes. Her current research focuses on two main lines: food systems transitions and nature-based prescribing, framed within the context of the climate emergency and biodiversity loss. These research lines promote transformative processes that integrate scientific knowledge, public policy, and active governance, with positive impacts on human health and well-being, the economy, and landscapes as living systems. She has participated in several public policy design and implementation processes as a consultant to public administrations, including the National Architecture and Landscape Policy (2015) and the National Programme for Spatial Planning Policy (2019). She is co-founder and co-coordinator of FoodLink – the Food Transition Network of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (2019–present) and coordinator of the Food Transition Strategy for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (2025). As both a researcher and a citizen, she considers creativity an essential driver of scientific innovation and knowledge production, supporting healthier and more equitable societal transformations. Her research has been recognised with awards from Universidade Nova de Lisboa (2014) and ICS-ULisboa (2022).

Rossana Estanqueiro is a Geographer. Graduated in Geography and Regional Planning (2002), Master in Territorial Management (2007) and PhD in Geography and Territorial Planning, specialization area in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (2012). Researcher integrated in History, Territories and Communities NOVA FCSH Hub of CFE – CENTRE FOR FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY – Science for People & the Planet of Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra (since March 2022) & Laboratory TERRA. Between 2015 and 2022 was researcher integrated in CICS.NOVA (Interdisciplinary Centre for Social Sciences of Universidade NOVA de Lisboa). Between 2016 and 2020 was Coordinator of the Research Team (RT): Geographic Modelling, Remote Sensing and Data Infrastructures, integrated in Research Group(RG4): Socio-Spatial Modelling and Planning of the CICS.NOVA, and also representative member of the RG4 in the dynamic committee of the CICS.NOVA Ideas Laboratory. Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Regional Planning (DGPR) of NOVA FCSH, where since 2012 she teaches aggregate subjects in the area of geographic analysis, Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems for territorial and urban planning, and between 2017 and 2023 was the Departmental Mobility Coordinator (ERASMUS +) of the DGPR (NOVA FCSH). In 2023 and 2024 was the Coordinator of Geography and Regional Planning Undergraduate (DGPR, NOVA FCSH) and member of the Department’s executive committee.

My main research interest is in using complex species-interactions networks to frame important conservation problems at the community level. Such trophic or mutualistic networks offer an holistic view-point to evaluate the causes and consequences of disturbances, such as the impact of biological invasions or biodiversity-loss, on important ecosystem functions, particularly seed-dispersal and pollination. A second passion is uncovering the rules guiding island colonisation and community assembling. I’m an Associated Professor at the University of Coimbra and PI of the Community Ecology Lab (CFE-UC) since 2016. I have supervised 6 postdocs, 10 PhD students and 12 MSc students, and authored 88 SCI papers (35 as leading or senior author, including contributions in Nature, Nature Communic., PNAS, TREE, and Ecol. Lett.. I’ve participated in 17 funded projects (2 as PI, 1 as co-PI) in Galapagos, Mozambique, São Tomé, Spain, Seychelles, and Portugal, which attracted >2.6MEuros in national, Spanish, German and European funding. I’ve been invited as keynote speaker in 8 large international meetings (BES, EEF, SPEA/SEO, BOU, AEET/SPECO, EMAPI), acted as evaluator for French, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian and European funding agencies, integrated 18 PhD juries, 20 MSc juries, reviewed for 42 ISI journals and became Associate Editor of Functional Ecology (British Ecological Society). I’m an elected member of the Scientific Councils of my department, member of the coordination team of the Associate Laboratory TERRA – Laboratório para a Sustentabilidade do Uso da Terra e dos Serviços dos Ecossistemas , and member of the IUCN Red List Authority for Birds and Species Survival Commission. I’m deeply committed with science outreach, having participated in 5 TV and 3 radio shows, 6 online communication videos, several popular media articles, and demonstrating in dozens of science engaging activities with school groups. I have participated in the organization of 5 large international congresses, with a particular emphasis for the 1st International Symposium on Ecological Networks organized by me in Coimbra in 2013. I’ve been regularly teaching on several 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycle courses since 2012, by imparting lectures on Community ecology, Island biogeography, Ecological network analysis, and Functional ecology. I’m currently the coordinator of the Masters in Ecology of the University of Coimbra.

Sandra Isabel Santos de Oliveira. Completed her Ph.D. in Forest and Natural Resources Engineering in 2013, by the School of Agriculture of the University of Lisbon. She has a Master in Environmental Sciences by the University of Wollongong, Australia, since 2004, and a graduate degree in Geography by the University of Coimbra, in 2002. She is currently a researcher at the Centre for Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon, in environmental risks assessment and spatial modelling, related to wildfires, climatic risks and vector-borne diseases. She also works as an expert evaluator for the European Commission since 2018. Before, she was a post-doc fellow for the European project PREFER-Copernicus at the University of Coimbra, working in wildfires vulnerability and risk in Southern Europe. She was a consultant for Bioversity International in Ghana, working in biodiversity in cocoa agroforests, and a scientific officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, in Italy, working in wildfires and forest protection in Europe. Her scientific path started in 2006 in the Climatology group of the Centre for Geographical Studies, as a grantholder for the UrbKlim project. She has published 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 27 book chapters and has edited 4 books. In 2019, 2 of her articles received the distinction of “Highly Cited Paper” (top 1%) by Web of Science (WoS). She has participated in 11 projects, 2 of them ongoing, and she is the Principal Investigator of another ongoing project regarding wildfire risk and climate change. She is a reviewer for several top journals and an invited editor for Forests (MDPI) and Scientific Data (Nature). Her scientific results have been presented in over 50 conferences and she has co-organised 9 events. She is the supervisor/co-supervisor of both Master and PhD thesis, related to environmental risks and spatial modelling.

Sara Isabel Falcão Navarro Leston Ferreira is a contracted researcher at the Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra (Portugal), where she also obtained her Degree in Biology, Masters in Ecology and PhD in Biology (area of Ecology). Currently, she develops her work activity at the CFE-Center for Functional Ecology, focusing on environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals in animal production systems, especially aquaculture. Moreover, she also focuses her research on the development of new analytical methodologies for the detection and quantification of contaminants in environmental and food related matrices such as fish, algae, water, sediment and soil. In the course of her PhD and thereafter she has gained expertise in environmental monitoring and risk assessment, while developing in-house research on exposure effects of non-target organisms to pharmaceuticals commonly used in aquaculture. Moreover, due to the lack of appropriate tools for quantification of such contaminants in environmental matrices such as algae, she has gathered expertise on method development and analytical analyses, with special focus on liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Furthermore, her research also focuses on food security and safety, an area interconnected with environmental health. In addition to developing active research, she provides consultancy in terms of ecological risk assessment of plant protection products. Her scientific career includes over 40 published articles in indexed journals and 6 book chapters on her area of expertise and she also participated as a team member in several research projects. She has several participations in international conferences and has been actively involved in the supervision of PhD, MSc and graduate students.

Sean Cronin (Reggio di Calabria, 1994) é licenciado em Comunicação e Sociedade, tendo desenvolvido uma dissertação que analisa a série televisiva Black Mirror e a sua relação com o nosso uso da tecnologia. É também mestre em Comunicação Empresarial (ensinado em inglês) pela Universidade de Milão, onde a sua investigação se centrou na teoria e práticas do capitalismo de vigilância. Participou no programa Erasmus+ na De Montfort University (Leicester, Reino Unido) e no ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Portugal). É cofundador do ateliê de design Quattro Mura e da revista online de música Recovery Magazine. Desde 2010, tem trabalhado como compositor para vários artistas, incluindo Ainé e Hesanobody. É autor do livro bilingue de poesia italiano-português “22 poemas e meio que nunca escrevi”.

Completed his PhD in Landscape Architecture in 2016/12/16 by the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Master in Spatial Planning and Environmental Planning in 2008/10 by the Universidade Nova de Lisboa Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia and Degree in Landscape Architecture (pre-bologna) in 2005/01/02 by the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia. He is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Lisbon LINKING LANDSCAPE, ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD (LEAF) and Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon Instituto Superior de Agronomia. She has published 7 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Has 9 book chapter(s). Organized 4 events. Supervised 1 doctoral thesis(s). Supervised 14 master’s thesis(s). Received 1 award(s) and/or honors. Participate and/or participated as Research Grant Holder in 2 project(s), Technical Development in 1 project(s), Researcher in 11 project(s) and Principal Investigator in 2 project(s). She works in the area(s) of Humanities with emphasis on Other Humanities. In her professional activities he has interacted with 11 collaborator(s) in co-authorship of scientific papers. In his curriculum Vitae Science the most frequent terms in the contextualization of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural production are: Spatial Planning; Nature Based Solutions; Ecological Based Planning; Geographic Information Systems.

I am an ecologist with a keen interest in community ecology to unveil the functioning of ecological processes that rule the world around us, and how this can be used in the context of conservation. I graduated in Biology from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in 2016 and got a Master in Ecology from the same university in 2009. In 2014 I obtained my PhD in Ecology from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Over the last years my research has focused on the application of network theory to understand the consequences of species interaction patterns on the functioning of ecological processes. I am interested in understanding how different disturbances, whether human induced or of natural origin, can affect natural systems and how these systems can recover from such disturbances. I have a deep interest in exploring different aspects of ecological networks, such as to identify the drivers that lead, or constrains, the establishment of interactions, or how networks will perform, which can bring important insights into the routes of community assembling and disassembling. Most recently I have been interested in the potential of a multilayer approach to study ecological networks in their multiple dimensions: space, time and also considering several types of interactions simultaneously. For this, I have been taking advantage of recent developments in the field of multilayer network analysis gathering knowledge from a range of of seemingly unrelated research areas (e.g. physics, transportation, neuroscience, social sciences).

Sílvia Castro. Completed the PhD in Biology in 2007/12/17 by University of Aveiro, Graduation in Biology in 2002 by University of Aveiro, Postgraduate Certificate in Workshop in Flow Citometry by INTECMAR – Xunta de Galicia, Postgraduate Certificate Sattistical analyses: diseño experimental y análisis de efectos abordados con modelos GLM in 2005/10 by Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), Postgraduate Certificate in Introduction to Ecological Niche Modelling in 2020/08/07 by Tranzmitting Science, Postgraduate Certificate in COST Academy: Leadership course in 2019/09 by COST Association and Postgraduate Certificate in Herbivory: the plant perspective in 2008/02 by Charles University in Prague. Is Invited Auxiliary Researcher in Universidade de Coimbra Departamento de Ciências da Vida and Group Leader – FLOWer Lab – Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution of Plants, Agri-Environment and Pollination Services in Centro de Ecologia Funcional. Published 93 articles in journals. Has 5 section(s) of books. Organized 25 event(s). Supervised 5 PhD thesis(es) e co-supervised 8. Supervised 7 MSc dissertation(s) e co-supervised 9. Supervised 8 work(s) of course completion of LSc/BSc e co-supervised 8. Has received 6 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as Other in 4 project(s), Principal investigator in 5 project(s) and Researcher in 26 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Evolutionary Biology, Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Biodiversity Conservation, Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Reproductive Biology, Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Ecology and Agrarian Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with emphasis on Agriculture. In their professional activities interacted with 411 collaborator(s) co-authorship of scientific papers. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Plant-pollinator interactions; diploid-polyploid complexes; Sympatric speciation; Polyploids; Contact zones; Cryptic diversity; Biological invasions; Threatened plants; Endemic plants; Red Lists; Conservation actions; Pollinators; Bees; Mating systems; Self-incompatibility; Heterostyly; Floral polymorphisms; Species distribution; Plant diversity; Environmental niche; water stress; Green infrastructures; Pollination ecosystem services; crop yield; Agroecosystems; Eutrophication; Pollinator-friendly solutions.

Sofia Cerasoli Salvatori. Completed the Doutoramento in Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Naturais in 2002 by Universidade de Lisboa and Licenciatura in Ciências Agrarias in 1991 by Università degli Studi di Perugia. Is Assistant Professor in Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Published 25 articles in journals. Has 3 section(s) of books. Organized 6 event(s). Participated in 2 event(s). Supervised 1 PhD thesis(es) e co-supervised 1. Supervised 2 MSc dissertation(s) e co-supervised 1. Participates and/or participated as Principal investigator in 4 project(s) and Researcher in 5 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Agrarian Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with emphasis on Forestry and Natural sciences with emphasis on Earth and Environmental Sciences. In their professional activities interacted with 195 collaborator(s) co-authorship of scientific papers. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: biodiverse pastures; fertilization; remote sensing; precision agriculture; climate change; greemhouse gases; carbon balance; eddy covariance; cork oak woodland; plant physiology; elevated CO2; Mediterranean forest; proximal sensing; stable isotopes; UAV; Net Ecosystem Exchange; Carbon balance; respiration; tree rings chronology; within tree variability; microclimate; leaf acclimation; Gross Primary Productivity; soluble sugars; fotossintése; hyperspectral optical measurements; spectral vegetation indices; ESFRI; spectroradiometry; NDVI; automated optical sensors; carbon biogeochemical cycle; carbon sinks/sources; carbon flux models; Upscaling of proximal measurements; silvopastoril ecosystems; optical sensors; montado; ground spectroscopy; phenology; pinheiro bravo; pinus pinaster; stress hidrico; resposta da planta.

Susana C. Gonçalves, PhD (Biology, Ecology) has founded and now coordinates the MyCoLAB at the Centre for Functional Ecology, after joining the University of Coimbra in 2019 as a junior researcher. Her laboratory generates knowledge about fungi: their biodiversity, ecology and conservation (including extinction risk), and their use in applied contexts for sustainability. Since the start of her contract, Susana has published three times in top journals: Science, Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, and Nature Communications. Of the papers published since 2019, 78 % are in the top 25 % of the most cited papers worldwide, with a total of 459 citations. The number of co-authors has increased to 129, of which 73 % are international. She has co-authored an international report and edited a book. She has also organized and participated in several scientific meetings as a member of the respective committees, session organizer or guest speaker. Since 2019, she has coordinated or been part of the team of different kinds of research projects (African Union, Erasmus+), including citizen science-based. Susana is currently supervising two PhD students, and has supervised several undergraduate internships and three master thesis. She has taken part in several juries for master’s and doctoral theses. She teaches a second cycle course offered at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra for various master degrees and also as a non-degree course. She is a member of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (www.iucn.org), the current chair of the European Council for the Conservation of Fungi (www.eccf.eu) and an associate researcher of SPUN (www.spun.earth) and the Pringle Lab (https://pringlelab.botany.wisc.edu).

Susana Rodríguez Echeverría. Completed the Doctor in Doctorado en Biología in 2002/06/23 by Universidad de Salamanca and Graduado in Licenciatura en Ciencias Biológicas in 1996/06/30 by Universidad de Extremadura – Campus Badajoz. Published 79 articles in journals. Has 1 book(s). Co-supervised 2 PhD thesis(es). Co-supervised 6 MSc dissertation(s). Has received 6 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as Pos-doctoral Fellow in 2 project(s), Principal investigator in 7 project(s), Research Fellow in 1 project(s) and Researcher in 6 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Natural sciences with emphasis on Biological Sciences with emphasis on Ecology. In their professional activities interacted with 149 collaborator(s) co-authorship of scientific papers. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: mutualism; legumes; mycorrhiza; plant community; rhizobia; biological invasion.

Completed the Doutoramento in Evapotranspiration Modelling in Discontinuous Canopied Crops. Irrigation scheduling in peach orchard in 2004/01/23 by Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior de Agronomia and Licenciatura in Agronomy/Engenharia Agronómica in 1991/11 by Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Is Assistant Professor in Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Published 52 articles in journals. Has 12 section(s) of books. Supervised 2 PhD thesis(es) e co-supervised 1. Supervised 15 MSc dissertation(s) e co-supervised 3. Has received 6 awards and/or honors. Participates and/or participated as Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) in 2 project(s), Post-doc Fellow in 1 project(s), Principal investigator in 8 project(s) and Researcher in 14 project(s). Works in the area(s) of Agrarian Sciences with emphasis on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with emphasis on Agronomy. In his curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Olival super intensivo e intensivo; Parâmetros fisiológicos; crop coefficient; Relações hídricas; Metric; Deteção remota; Alentejo; produção; Regime hídrico; evapotranspiration; Clima Mediterrânico; crop transpiration coefficient; Arbequina; qualidade; Rega; Modelação; olival super intensivo; mapping transpiration; Pegada hídrica; transpiration; Olea europaea; Regadio; Satellite images; irrigation; green infrastructures; green roof; olive; Gestão de Recursos Hídricos; Envolvimento de Stakeholders; Reutilização de águas residuais tratadas; Culturas mediterrâneas; estratégias de gestão da água; monitorização do continuum solo-planta-atmosfera; criterios de rega deficitaria; tecnicas de monitorização minimimamente invasivas; evapotranspiração; alterações climáticas; rega; Cobrançosa; water relations; vegetation indexes; sap flow; eddy covariance; NDVI; olivais; temperatura do solo; Temperatura do ar; sombreamento; irrigação; Gestão da água; Recursos agrícolas; Tecnologias em horto-fruticultura; Engenharia dos alimentos; Agricultura Sustentável; Biodiversidade; Recursos Naturais; Cadeia Agro-Alimentar; Sustentabilidade na produção e serviços da Terra; Economia circular e processamento; Sistemas socioecológicos e territórios; Saúde ambiental; necessidades de rega; previsão metereológica; processo decisório; previsão e monitorização de secas; Uso da água; detecção remota; rega deficitária; sistema radicular; nature-based solutions; biodiversity; climate change; Wheat; Climate Change; Irrigation Requirement; ISAREG Model; Olive grove; Precision irrigation; Remote sensing; Vegetation indices; Soil water balance; green roofs; mosses; native species.

I am a Biologist at the Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Portugal. My research interest is to use Microbial Biotechnology in both sustainable agriculture and environmental decontamination under global climate-change scenarios, with a focus on the mechanisms underlying plant-microbe-soil interactions, which comprises the combination of fundamental biological principles with applied technologies. I work in an interdisciplinary manner to effectively address complex problems and emerging threats that challenge agricultural production and bioremediation efficiency.