My research focuses on the analysis of the response of terrestrial ecosystems, in general, and plant communities of drylands, in particular, to environmental conditions. I would like to generate information from the perspective of plant functional ecology to predict future biodiversity in a context of global change. I try to identify general principles that support plant community functions, while trying to provide a scientific basis for environmental policies that affect terrestrial ecosystems limited by water. I analyze how direct and indirect interactions among plants and plants and other organisms (e.g., herbivores, soil microorganisms) change along environmental gradients and their mechanisms. I also analyze different physiological processes of species from drylands, such as the mechanisms and consequences of hydraulic redistribution by roots at different scales or the functional and physiological ecology of intra-individual phenotypic plasticity in the genus Moricandia. These research lines increase our knowledge of species and plant community dynamics under different scenarios and it is critical to be able to forecast the effects of global change on terrestrial ecosystems, and particularly on water-limited environments, which account for nearly half the land Surface on Earth. My main lines of research are: i) Plant Community Ecology; Biotic interactions involving plants their mechanisms and responses to global change drivers, and ii) Functional and Physiological Plant Ecology of species and communities from drylands, from arid to dry alpine ecosystems. Since 2010, I have mentored 6 PhD theses, all obtained the highest marks and all have academic or postdoctoral research positions nowadays. I also supervised 2 MSc theses and act as part of the evaluation committee of 5 MSc (Brasil and Chile) and 7 PhD theses (Spain, Colombia, Argentina). I participated in more than 20 national or international projects, and lead 5. As for the editorial duties, I am Associate Editor (equivalent to deputy Editor in Chief of a section) of Journal of Arid Environments since 2009, Academic Editor of PLoS One from 2014-2020 and Drylands (2024-), and have been guest Editor in Chief of two special issues in J. Arid Environments (2011 and 2016). I also participated in three “Expert Evaluation Committees” for the MINECO and/or MICINN and AEI in 2016, 2018 and 2019: In 2019 Comision de evaluacion de Proyectos I+D+I PEICTI 2017-2020; in 2018 Comisión del Programa Juan de la Cierva-Formación convocatoria 2017, and in 2016 Proyectos del Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad 2015 para Jovenes

investigadores sin vinculación o vinculación temporal. I am also usual reviewer of different research project calls in Spain, EU and South America (Argentina, Uruguay and Chile).