ECoSYSTEM ECoLoGY & AGRoECoLoGY LAB
Main goal?
Our research is situated at the interface between ecosystem ecology and soil sciences. We aim to understand the role of plants and soil organisms as drivers of soil carbon and nitrogen under climate change. Anthropogenic climate warming is a reality, but we must act now to avoid its most dramatic consequences.
Our ultimate goal is to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation in natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems.
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Who we are?
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This is the website of the Ecosystem Ecology & Agroecology Lab at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences-CSIC (Madrid, Spain). The lab is led by Dr. Pablo García-Palacios, and is part of the Sustainable Agriculture & Biogeochemistry Group. We understand science as a collective, inclusive and multidisciplinary effort, and try to integrate expertise from biogeochemistry, ecology, agronomy and microbiology.
What do we do?
We conduct experimental research in long-term trials exploring the effects of climate change and management on the plant-soil system, soil carbon cycling and crop production. We are involved in a number of global-scale observational networks merging field surveys of plant and soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions with remote sensing. We also carry out studies in growth chambers and greenhouses to disentangle the mechanisms by which plant and soil communities mediate ecosystem responses to climate change and management.​
Where do we do it?
Our research takes place in natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems. Current projects include samplings in grasslands, drylands, agricultural fields and urban lawns.
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