Research interests

Agroecology

I am currently involved in comprehensive studies of Mediterranean agricultural landscapes. Agroecosystems have suffered in the last decades a strong diversity decline in relation to land use changes and in relation to the intensity management practices. The Agroecosystems Research Group activities have focused on the contrast between conventional and organic agricultural management, which provides a natural framework to test the effects of management intensity.

However, we're not only involved in the study of biodiversity patterns for conservation issues. Our activity also tries to disentangle how the changes in management affect weed and associated insect communities and in turn other components of the agricultural systems, such as weed-crop competition, weed sensitivity to herbicides, pollination, biological control of pests... 

As a group we have a strong involvement in the development of sustainable agricultural practices, especially in organic farming systems. Our work aims to provide clues for the sustainable management of agricultural systems. I am mostly involved in the analysis of the implications of these patterns for diversity management and conservation, as well as for the environmentally friendly management of agricultural systems.

Arable weeds

In relation to the management of agricultural systems and their role in preserving biodiversity, Roser Rotchés (PhD co-supervised with F. X. Sans) tracked the problem of conservation of plant species that are more or less habitat specialists of arable land. Some people consider that these species do not deserve protection since they depend on artificial habitats. However, many arable weeds are declining across Europe, some species have even disappeared, and in some countries they have conservation plans. 

Arable weeds are more than a bunch of beautiful flowers that have suffered from the various effects of agricultural intensification. Besides their aesthetic value, they are part of the natural values of agricultural systems and they are indicators of the maintenance of less intensive, environmentally friendlier management. With Roser we developed some nice work on the conservation status of these species in NE of Spain and the causes behind their decline.

Plants and insects in agroecosystems

More recently, I have co-supervised some PhD students concerned with the effects of management and structure of agricultural systems on the interplay between plants and insects, in relation to two key aspects of these interactions. 

Agnès Salat-Moltó undertook a complex work on the spatio-temporal dynamics of cereal aphid-parasitoid systems in small scale farming landscapes, in which she explored the roles of field margins on these three-party relationships. This work was co-supervised with Berta Caballero-López, from the Natural Sciences Museum of Barcelona, with whom I have a long-lasting collaboration. 

With Marian Mendoza-García we explored the effects of the interactions between agricultural intensification and floral resource availability on (bee and non-bee) flower visitor communities and the effects on the pollination/fruit set of target species. More recently, we have been working on the relationships between management of agricultural landscape and pollinators, and the consequences on insect pollinated crops with Pablo Neira.

Spatial analysis

Though my PhD was very agronomic, its connection to precision agriculture led me to explore the field of spatial statistics. Space is the last frontier? I wouldn't say so, but most of the ecological processes in which we are interested happen in space, and the analysis of spatial patterns, tough unable to provide clear-cut responses, may provide some clues. 

I have developed some work on the spatial analysis of data, and though it is not my main area of research, I am open to collaborations. Furthermore, I initiated some work on the dynamic modelling of agricultural systems, which I am interested to pursue if I ever find time (sigh) or a student interested to follow up.

Invasion ecology

Invasive species are listed among the major threats to diversity worldwide, and may pose some extra trouble to agricultural systems. I have developed some work, always in collaboration with other members of the group, in the field of invasive species. 

As part of the PhD thesis of Lidia Caño, we focused on the invasive potential and fitness in Senecio pterophorus, a South African species introduced in (at least) Spain, Italy and Australia some decades ago. Later, in collaboration with Eva Castells, we tracked the enemy release hypothesis with this species, by comparing native South African populations to the populations introduced elsewhere. More recently, I have been working, together with master and bachelor students, in the management of Ambrosia psilostachya in coastal environments in the delta of river Llobregat, under the auspices of the managing consortium.