About me

My name is Blas Mola. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Engineering (1999) and a Master’s degree in Forest Engineering (2004), both from the University of Lleida (Spain). In 2002 I spent a traineeship at Skogsstyrelsen (Jönköping, Sweden) and thereafter completed the Master of Science in European Forestry (MSc, 2005) at the University of Eastern Finland (Joensuu, Finland). I obtained my doctorate degree (DSc, 2009) focusing on energy-crop development in Northern Europe. In 2012, I obtained the degree of Adjunct Professor (docent), and completed a master of social sciences in Human Geography (MSSc, 2013).

After my doctorate, I worked for one year as a researcher at the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA/LUKE). In 2011 I joined the Department of Crop Production Ecology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Uppsala, Sweden) and in 2014 I was awarded the title of Associate Professor in Biology with emphasis Ecology. From 2013 to 2016 I served as Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research (Ås, Norway). Since 2016, I have been based at the School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, where I lead the Research Group on Biomass Production.

At Biomass Production, research centers on developing sustainable strategies for biomass production to support the expanding bioeconomy. I explore how intensive forestry and plantations can deliver substantial biomass yields while also enhancing ecosystem services such as soil health, water quality, and biodiversity. However, I also examine the growing challenges associated with intensive biomass use, including biotic, abiotic, and social risks that can disrupt production. To address these threats, my work integrates biomass valorisation, policy, and governance as key elements in risk management and sustainable resource use.

I have been visiting scholar at the Forest Science & Tech. Centre of Catalonia (Solsona, Spain), the United States Department of Agriculture (Corwallis OR, USA), the University of Chile (Santiago de Chile, Chile), the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Florence, Italy), the North-West Agriculture & Forest University (Yangling, China), and the Federal University of Paraná (Curitiba, Brazil). I have been visiting lecturer at the Kazakh National Agrarian University (Almaty, Kazakhztan), the Saint Petersburg State University (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), and the Bauman Moscow State Technical University (Moscow, Russian Federation).

Why I use "Blas Mola" or "Blas Mola-Yudego"? In Spain we carry two independent family names: the first is our father’s first surname and the second is our mother’s first surname. These surnames are passed unchanged upon marriage, and children inherit the first surname of each parent. The system goes back to the 16th century. The hyphon is used to avoid confusion with the mid-name traditions.

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