Josep
Penuelas
Professor
CSIC-CREAF
Prof Peñuelas is highly cited scientist in ecology/environment, in plant and animal sciences, agricultural sciences, geosciences and in all science fields of the ISI essential science indicators. Prof. Peñuelas is one of the most respected, cited and influential ecologists working today in the world; no one working in global ecology can afford not to engage with his work. Professor Josep Penuelas is internationally recognized for his innovative research on global change ecology, remote sensing and atmosphere-biosphere interactions which has had enormous impact. He is specially known for his pioneering work on the discovery of ecophysiological mechanisms linked to the use of carbon and oxygen use that helps to explain the diversity and distribution of aquatic and terrestrial plants; the development of increasingly used remote sensing techniques to assess plant and ecosystem functioning (e.g. he codeveloped the PRI, photochemical reflectance index, and t'he WBI, water band índex, that ser are becoming established tools in remote sensing of natural and agricultural ecosystems); the discovery of current evidences of global change, climate change, and air pollution effects on biodiversity and structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems; the introduction of metabolomics in ecology, the study of the mechanisms, function and effects of volatile organic compounds emissions by plants and ecosystems, the disentangling of biogeochemical processes involved in the carbon and nutrient cycles, or the development of science and policy for a sustainable planet, among many others. This work led to a critical understanding of how environment and ecology are centrally important in managing the global environmental crisis. He has coordinated groups of international scientists in the production of a series of influential papers on Ecology, Earth sciences, plant and animal sciences, agriculture, and the influences that human activities have on the biosphere. He also has an international reputation in other, diverse fields, such as molecular ecology, theoretical ecology, agriculture, food security, global human health, or the role of humans in precipitating global change and existential crisis during the Anthropocene. This expertise is reflected in the number of Keynote and Plenary invitations in the most prestigious universities and research centres and the Prizes and Awards he receives every year has been awarded to. His research in the field of global ecology tackles scientific challenges that require high levels of interdisciplinarity. His fields of specialization are: Global ecology, remote sensing, global change, climate change, atmospheric pollution, Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds emissions, plant ecophysiology, functioning and structure of terrestrial plants and ecosystems, chemical ecology, ecometabolomics, microbial ecology, macroecology, biogeochemistry with special focus on phosphorus, environmental sustainability, food security and global health.