Maria Amélia Martins-Loução

I'm currently a Senior Scientist at the Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Change (cE3c), in the Plant-Soil Ecology team.

For many years I have been involved in and led studies on plant nitrogen (N) use strategies, including the study of N in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. I started the soil ecology group in the Department of Plant Biology and the studies on plant-microorganism interactions, in particular mycorrhizal symbioses. For more than 10 years I have also been involved in plant conservation, both in situ and ex situ. Since my PhD, I have been working with carob on a biological and agronomic level. I am currently pursuing studies on carob, focusing on its promotion as a sustainable and ecological resource in the Mediterranean region.

My current research focuses on promoting science and communicating biodiversity and ecological principles for sustainable development education. It is driven by four overarching objectives aimed at citizens and students: (i) scientific promotion of biodiversity to increase knowledge and awareness of the role of biodiversity in maintaining the resilience of ecosystems; (ii) communication of the role of N in the ecosystem to minimise it as an environmental problem; (iii) dissemination of science on the importance of soil as an important resource that sustains life on Earth; (iv) educational programmes on environmental sustainability applied to primary and secondary school students.