Research Groups

The System Ecology group (SystEco) aims to understand the complex ecological systems and the promotion of resilience and sustainability (R&S) in the face of the Anthropocene’s challenges.

The mission is to model relationships within ecological systems at different biological, spatial, and temporal scales, identify vulnerabilities, develop strategies that enhance R&S and inform decision-makers. We will use field and remote sensing data working with big data applied to ecology, aiming to:

Advance Ecological Knowledge: Modelling the complex interactions among species, traits, ecosystems, and the environment in response to disturbances to evaluate ecosystem resilience over time, using trait-based approaches and evaluating cascading effects on different trophic levels;
Enhance Ecological Resilience to enable ecosystems to adapt and recover from disturbances by developing frameworks, identifying tipping points, promoting restoration and evaluating CC adaptation strategies;
Promote Sustainability practices that support human well-being through the provision of ES in urban areas (evaluate the effectiveness and the trade-offs of different nature-based-solutions in providing ES), in different agriculture practices (compare ES such as pollination, pest control, seed dispersal, soil fertility and their trade-offs) and in large solar photovoltaic areas to reduce impacts and promote biodiversity;
Inform to support the conservation and restoration of ecosystems by developing scenario analysis and providing recommendation.

For that, we have the following projects: AdaptForGrazing, Renewal, BioSolar, SustainAfrica, BiNatUr, BioDiverCities, GrowLIFE, LIFEPLAN. We collaborate with REALP, IUFRO, INMS, LTSER, TFRN-UNECE, TeaComposition, MedECC, GLUE, Silva Mediterranean-FAO, NBRACER and COST ACTIONs: G-Bike, CleanForest, SHIFT. We actively participate in different outreach activities such as: congresses, seminars, animated videos, TV, Radio, PodCasts, and exhibitions, some of which received prizes.

SystEco Team