Biologist, PhD in Ecology | Specialty: Palynology & Paleoecology.

Researcher at Paleoecological Research (PaleoRes), Barcelona, Spain.

Formerly Senior Researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Included in the Stanford Ranking of the World’s Top 2% Scientists (Top 0.5% in Paleontology; Top 10 in Palynology).

Research Focus: Cenozoic plant ecology, evolution, and biogeography.

Key Study Areas: Europe, Neotropics, the Azores, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island). 

Contact: valrull(at)gmail.com, ORCID

• Origin, evolution and decline of mangroves in Europe and the Middle East

• The Anthropocene: current status and future perspectives

• Rapa Nui (Easter Island): The Little Ice Age drought and sociecological responses

• Middle Miocene vegetation of the Vallès-Penedès basin (NE Iberia)

• The iconic Neotropical palm Mauritia: responses to glacial-interglacial cycles

• Spatiotemporal gradients, disequilibrium dynamics and Neotropical biodiversity

• Scientometric performance in Paleontology

Books

• Rull, V. 2024. Origin and Evolution of Caribbean Mangroves. A Time-Continuum Approach. Springer Nature, Cham. Link

• Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2024. Vegetation and Landscape Dynamics on the Iberian Pyrenees During the Last 3000 Years. The Montcortès Palynological Record. Springer Nature, Cham. Link

• Rull, V., Stevenson, C.M. (eds.). 2022. The Prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island): Towards an Interdisciplinary Integrative Framework. Springer Nature, Cham. Link

• Rull, V. 2020. Paleoecological Research on Easter Island. Insights on Settlement, Climate Change, Deforestation and Cultural Shifts. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Link

• Rull, V. 2020. Quaternary Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography. Academic Press, London. Link

• Rull, V., Carnaval, A. (eds.). 2020. Neotropical Diversification: Patterns and Processes. Springer Nature, Cham. Link

• Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Huber, O., Señaris, C. (eds.). 2019. Biodiversity of Pantepui, the Pristine ‘Lost World’ of the Neotropical Guiana Highlands. Academic Press, London. Link

Selected papers

• Rull, V. 2026. The Anthropocene: proposal, rejection, consequences, alternatives, and a lesson. Journal of Quaternary Science, doi 10.1002/jqs.70077. Link

• Rull, V. 2026. Rethinking glacial retreat and postglacial expansion of the Neotropical palm Mauritia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 41: 545-551. Link

• Rull, V. 2026. Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record. Earth-Science Reviews, 278: 105506. Link

• Rull, V. 2026. Does solo publication still make sense? EMBO Reports, 27: 566-569. Link

• Rull, V. 2026. Author position ratio (APR): a simple complementary bibliometric descriptor of authorship patterns. Journal of Informetrics, 20: 101776. Link

• Rull, V. 2026. Goodbye h-index, welcome c-score. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 57: 1-11. Link

• Rull, V. 2025. Challenges in using modern pollen analogs for Cenozoic paleoecology: examples from the European Neogene. Lethaia, 59: 1-9. Link

• Stein, R., Balascio, N.L., Bradley, R.S., Curtin, L., Peteet, D.M., Rapu, R., Rull, V., Seelenfreund, A., D’Andrea, W.J. 2025. Prolonged drought on Rapa Nui during the decline of melalithic monument construction. Communications Earth & Environment, 6: 865. Link

• Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Blasco, A., Garcés-Pastor, S., Blaauw, M., Calero, M.A., Rull, V. 2025. Early organic carbon and nitrogen accumulation in a Pyrenean site: from rock to peat across the Late-Glacial-Early Holocene transition. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 680: 113330. Link

• Rull, V. 2025. Insights on the indicator capacity of Artemisia pollen in pre-Holocene paleoecology. Palynology, 49: 2499121. Link

• Rull, V. 2025. Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 323: 109404. Link

• Rull, V. 2025. A critical evaluation of fossil pollen records from the mangrove tree Pelliciera beyond the Neotropics: biogeographical and evolutionary implications. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 335: 105299. Link

• Rull, V. 2025. The Global Humanization Event (GHE). The Holocene, 35: 111-112. Link

• Rull, V., Sigró, J., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2024. Cannabis pollen sources and dispersal in the Iberian Pyrenees during the last century: preliminary results and proposals for future studies. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 331: 105208. Link

• Rull, V. 2024. The Rapa Nui Little Ice Age drought: evidence, potential causes and socioecological impact. Journal of Biogeography, 51:1014-1017. Link

• Rull, V. 2024. The ‘Anthropocene’: alea iacta est. EMBO Reports, 25: 939-943. Link

• Rull, V., Alba, D., Casanovas-Vilar, I. 2024.  Middle Miocene vegetation of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), as recorded by fossil pollen analysis: state of the art and future prospects. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 321: 105042. Link

• Rull, V. 2023. Settlement and anthropization of the Azores Islands. Journal of Biogeography, 50: 2008-2011. Link

• Rull, V. 2023. Eocene/Oligocene global disruption and the revolution of Caribbean mangroves. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 59: 125733. Link

• Rull, V. 2023. The Neogene-Quaternary diversification trend in the shaping of modern Caribbean mangroves. Quaternary Science Reviews, 300: 107920. Link

• Rull, V., Burjachs, F., Carrión, J.S., Ejarque, A., Fernández, S., López-Sáez, J.A., Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, R., Ochando, J., Pérez-Díaz, S., Revelles, J., Riera, S., Rodríguez, S. 2023. Historical biogeography of Cannabis in the Iberian Peninsula: a probabilistic approach based on palynological evidence. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 58: 125704. Link

• Rull, V., Sacristan-Soriano, O., Sánchez-Melsió, A., Borrego, C.M., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2022. Bacterial phylogenetic markers in lake sediments provide direct evidence for historical hemp retting. Quaternary Science Reviews, 295: 107803. Link

• Rull, V. 2022. Inductive prediction in biology. EMBO Reports, 23: e54846. Link

• Rull, V. 2022. The Caribbean mangroves: an Eocene innovation with no Cretaceous precursors. Earth-Science Reviews, 231: 104070. Link

• Rull, V. 2022. Origin, early expansion, domestication and anthropogenic diffusion of Cannabis, with emphasis on Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 55: 125670. Link

• Rull, V. 2022. On predictions and laws in biological evolution. EMBO Reports, 23: e54392. Link

• Rull, V. 2022. Biodiversity crisis or mass extinction? EMBO Reports, 23: e54193. Link

• Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Corella, J.P., Trapote, M.C., Montoya, E., Valero-Garcés, B. 2021. A unique Pyrenean varved record provides a detailed reconstruction of Mediterranean vegetation and land-use dynamics over the last three millennia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 268: 107128. Link

• Rull, V., Cañellas-Boltà, N., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2021. Late-Holocene forest resilience in the central Pyrenean highlands as deduced from pollen analysis of Lake Sant Maurici sediments. The Holocene, 31: 1797-1803. Link

• Rull, V. 2021. The Anthropozoic era revisited. Lethaia, 54: 289-299. Link

• Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Corella, J.P., Valero-Garcés, B. 2021. Bronze Age to Medieval vegetation dynamics and landscape anthropization in the southern-central Pyrenees. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 571: 110392. Link

• Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2021. A spatiotemporal gradient in the anthropization of Pyrenean landscapes. Preliminary report. Quaternary Science Reviews, 258: 106909. Link

• Rull, V. 2021. Contributions of paleoecology to Easter Island’s prehistory: a thorough review. Quaternary Science Reviews, 252: 106751. Link

• Rull, V. 2021. Pristinity, degradation and replacement: the three dimensions of human impact on island vegetation. Progress in Physical Geography, 45; 407-426. Link

• Rull, V. 2020. Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age. The Holocene, 30: 774-780. Link

• Rull, V. 2020. The deforestation of Easter Island. Biological Reviews, 95: 124-141. Link