mY sToRy...
Research background
InTrOdUcTiOn...
Hola!
Who am I?
I am Miguel Montoro Girona, a forest ecologist researcher at the Restoration Ecology group of the department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå and in the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (Quebec, Canada).
Where I came from?
I am Andalusian (Spain), specifically I was born and raised in the second biggest protected area in Europe: Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park.
What's Science for me?
My conception of science as a tool to answer fundamental and applied problematics. For me, research is cooperation, teamwork, excellence, quality, solidarity, creativity, innovation and originality. It is an art...
My education...
I have studied two bachelors: 1) Evironmental Sciences and 2) Forestry engineering. And also two Masters: 1) Geographical Information Systems and 2) Nature Conservation. I have a multidisciplinary experience that is able to provide the balance between Ecology and Forestry in my research approaches.
General background...
I have a background in silviculture and forest management developing experimental treatments to reach the sustainable management in boreal forest studying the growth, mortality, regeneration and vegetation responses but also the economic implications. Also, I have experience the impact of natural disturbances in forest dynamic as insect outbreaks, windthrows and browsing. Therefore, I am working in Landscape Ecology (modelling) and Restoration projects.
My PhD...
During my PhD in Canadian boreal forests, I worked with timber production especially with growth modelling using dendroecological approaches to determine the factors influencing the response of residual trees after experimental silvicultural treatments. We have determined for the first time the edge effect on growth response in black spruce, this phenomenon will be interesting to consider at the landscape scale due to the fragmentation impact in timber production (losses and benefits: mortality and growth). And, I developed a new and revolutionary approach to study tree growth after disturbances using individual non-linear methods that achieved to explain tree growth in much higher resolution that previous studies. Besides, I have studied one of the most understudied natural disturbances in forest ecosystem: Windthrows. In that study, we evaluated the vulnerability of trees to overturning, breakage or standing dead after silvicultural intervention using survival analysis (probability models). One other chapter of my thesis evaluate the regeneration processes with deciduous and coniferous species, accounting for substrate, perturbation type and light as main elements in the seedling growth and density. This study gave me the opportunity to learn specific methodologies including light measurements (analysis of hemispheric photos and LICOR measurements). Finally, I studied the vegetation response 10 years after experimental silvicultural treatment, using richness, diversity and evenness as indicators of boreal forest dynamics. In this project, I have also conceptualized, financed and developed a vegetation comparative study between Finland (Evo-experiment) and Canada after restoration treatments. I am also skilled coordinating long fieldwork in remote places, in plant identification of the boreal forest. In my Phd, I obtained two excellence scholarships by the Forest Complexity Modelling Program (Canada).
My professional past...
Before starting in the wonderful world of Research, I worked during 4 years in the Ministry of the Environment of Andalusia (Spain) in different fields: evaluating grant applications for the European Commission of Environment funds, engineer in the forest fire intervention and technician in spatial analysis.
My network...
During the last years, I participated in different Forest Ecology and Restoration projects around boreal biome: Canada, Sweden and Finland. But also, in Spain, USA, Brazil, Italy and France.
Editorial involvement...
Referee: PLOS-One, Forests, Forestry, Sustainability, Austral Ecology
Reviewer editor: Frontiers in Plant Science and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Scientific communication and social media:
Twitter
Blog
Loop
ResearchGate
Forest Research Center
Leisure activity...
Scientific communication, photography, ornithology, hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, painting, philosophy.
Who am I?
I am Miguel Montoro Girona, a forest ecologist researcher at the Restoration Ecology group of the department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Sciences at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå and in the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (Quebec, Canada).
Where I came from?
I am Andalusian (Spain), specifically I was born and raised in the second biggest protected area in Europe: Cazorla, Segura y las Villas Natural Park.
What's Science for me?
My conception of science as a tool to answer fundamental and applied problematics. For me, research is cooperation, teamwork, excellence, quality, solidarity, creativity, innovation and originality. It is an art...
My education...
I have studied two bachelors: 1) Evironmental Sciences and 2) Forestry engineering. And also two Masters: 1) Geographical Information Systems and 2) Nature Conservation. I have a multidisciplinary experience that is able to provide the balance between Ecology and Forestry in my research approaches.
General background...
I have a background in silviculture and forest management developing experimental treatments to reach the sustainable management in boreal forest studying the growth, mortality, regeneration and vegetation responses but also the economic implications. Also, I have experience the impact of natural disturbances in forest dynamic as insect outbreaks, windthrows and browsing. Therefore, I am working in Landscape Ecology (modelling) and Restoration projects.
My PhD...
During my PhD in Canadian boreal forests, I worked with timber production especially with growth modelling using dendroecological approaches to determine the factors influencing the response of residual trees after experimental silvicultural treatments. We have determined for the first time the edge effect on growth response in black spruce, this phenomenon will be interesting to consider at the landscape scale due to the fragmentation impact in timber production (losses and benefits: mortality and growth). And, I developed a new and revolutionary approach to study tree growth after disturbances using individual non-linear methods that achieved to explain tree growth in much higher resolution that previous studies. Besides, I have studied one of the most understudied natural disturbances in forest ecosystem: Windthrows. In that study, we evaluated the vulnerability of trees to overturning, breakage or standing dead after silvicultural intervention using survival analysis (probability models). One other chapter of my thesis evaluate the regeneration processes with deciduous and coniferous species, accounting for substrate, perturbation type and light as main elements in the seedling growth and density. This study gave me the opportunity to learn specific methodologies including light measurements (analysis of hemispheric photos and LICOR measurements). Finally, I studied the vegetation response 10 years after experimental silvicultural treatment, using richness, diversity and evenness as indicators of boreal forest dynamics. In this project, I have also conceptualized, financed and developed a vegetation comparative study between Finland (Evo-experiment) and Canada after restoration treatments. I am also skilled coordinating long fieldwork in remote places, in plant identification of the boreal forest. In my Phd, I obtained two excellence scholarships by the Forest Complexity Modelling Program (Canada).
My professional past...
Before starting in the wonderful world of Research, I worked during 4 years in the Ministry of the Environment of Andalusia (Spain) in different fields: evaluating grant applications for the European Commission of Environment funds, engineer in the forest fire intervention and technician in spatial analysis.
My network...
During the last years, I participated in different Forest Ecology and Restoration projects around boreal biome: Canada, Sweden and Finland. But also, in Spain, USA, Brazil, Italy and France.
Editorial involvement...
Referee: PLOS-One, Forests, Forestry, Sustainability, Austral Ecology
Reviewer editor: Frontiers in Plant Science and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Scientific communication and social media:
Blog
Loop
ResearchGate
Forest Research Center
Leisure activity...
Scientific communication, photography, ornithology, hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, painting, philosophy.