SupervisoryTeam

Supervisor Photo

Juan Bosco Imbert

Supervisor Details

Email: bosco.imbert@unavarra.es

Organization Type: University

Organization Name: Public University of Navarre

Short Biography: After completing my bachelor’s degree in Biology and senior thesis in Spain, I continued my education on aquatic ecology in the United States at the University of Montana (Master) and University of Minnesota (Ph.D). Then, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Basque Country University in Spain. Upon my arrival at the Public University of Navarre in 1999, I initiated an expanding period from aquatic ecology to forest ecology. This was also the origin of a long-term project in which we are studying the functioning (nutrient cycling) and structure (biodiversity) of two contrasting pine-beech forests, one Continental and the other Mediterranean, and their responses to thinning. I have also taught for more than 20 years many science courses on ecology, environmental impact and related issues, and have supervised 25 master theses of future high school teachers on how to take ecology and environmental sciences into the classroom. My teaching results over the last 5 years have been evaluated as excellent. Finally, I have been, for more than a decade, actively involved in science dissemination.

Co-Supervisor Photo

Nur Algeet

Co-Supervisor Details

Email: nalgeet@agresta.org

Organization Type: Non-academic institution

Organization Name: AGRESTA Sociedad Cooperativa https://agresta.org/

Short Biography: Dr. Nur (h-index 9) holds a MSc (2009) from the Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and a PhD (2014 from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain). Dr. Nur has researcher with more than 20 publications and teaching experience at the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the University of Costa Rica, where has supervised BSc and MSc students. Dr. Nur is a specialist in remote sensing applied to studies of plant cover, forest biomass and carbon in the REDD+ framework. Since 2019, Dr. Nur has coordinated the Agresta S.Coop.´s Remote Sensing area.

Added Value: - Enlarging network as AGRESTA has multiple offices over Spain and collaborates with many government, academic and non-academic stakeholders on forest management projects. - Learning experience of applied forestry, to better understand the constrains and requirements of applying advanced scientific skills to meet clients´ requirements and business projects. - Improve the knowledge on using the latest technologies for carbon accounting and forest inventory analyses in real working forests.

Other Co-Supervisor Photo

Ignacio Barbeito

Other Co-Supervisor

Email: ignacio.barbeito@ubc.ca

Organization Type: University

Organization Name: University of British Columbia, Faculty of Forestry (Vancouver, Canada) https://forestry.ubc.ca/

Short Biography: Dr. Barbeito (h-index 24) has a wide international experience as a researcher. Having obtained his PhD from the Spanish National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) in 2010, later moved to work as a postdoc at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Switzerland for two years. He obtained a position as a Forest Ecologist at the French National Institute of Agriculture Research since 2012, being still associated to the institution. In addition, Dr. Barbeito worked as a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural research from 2018 to 2022. Since 2021, Dr. Barbeito is Assistant Professor of Silviculture at the University of British Columbia. This wide international experience has prepared Dr. Barbeito to understand different research environments, making him a perfect supervisor for international studies, as demonstrated with the supervision of several PhD thesis in Spain, Sweden and Canada.

Added Value: - Supporting international mobility to one of the top universities in the world (#44 University, #3 in sustainability, QS World University Rankings). - Increased networking by exposure to a multinational and diverse cultural and scientific backgrounds. - Training in the latest techniques the study long- term forest resilience (modelling, remote sensing, etc.)

ResearchGroup

Description: Our research group (https://www.unavarra.es/ecologia) is composed by 5 Professors, 5 postdocs and several graduate students. Our team is associated with two research institutes of the UPNA: the Institute for Innovation and Sustainable Food Chain development-ISFOOD and the Institute for Multidisciplinary Research in Applied Biology-IMAB. Our team has stable research collaboration with the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) on research on ecological modelling and tree and water interactions in forest ecosystems. We also collaborate with two Taiwanese research groups (National Taiwan University in Taipei, National Dong Hwa University in Hualien) on advanced mathematical methods applied to forest growth analyses. For non-academic organizations, we routinely cooperate with the local Asociación Navarra de Propietarios Forestales, the public enterprise Gestión Ambiental de Navarra (environmental management) and the private company Agresta (advanced forest data collection and processing)

ResearchLine

Description: Title: Using stoichiometry to assess and predict effects of nutrient limitation and forest management on competition, resistance to drought and tree growth. Research line: elucidation of resistance mechanisms of mixed forests to adapt to environmental stress. In this project, we will focus on two contrasting pine- beech forests in the southwestern Pyrenees, one Mediterranean and the other continental, whose structure and function have been intensively studied since 1999. Thus, a 22-years nutrient data base from different ecosystem components of our sites and two fertilization experiments will be used to support our objective: to determine nutrient limitation to growth of microorganisms and plants and its influence on long-term pine-beech growth dynamics. The overarching research hypothesis is that competition, growth dynamics and resistance to drought of these forests are related to changes in stoichiometry and management

Others

Description: Supervisors of this doctorate research proposal fully agree with the MSCA Green Charter and have incorporate many of their recommendations in the work dynamics. The future young researcher, as member of our respective groups, will follow up these principles as well. In fact, some measures has always being part of our team procedures (reduce, reuse, and recycle, minimizing use of transportation by planning field expeditions in advance, removing discarded material from the forest for adequate residue processing) as it has always been our way of efficient project management (financially as well as environmentally). The use of teleconferencing is being promoted in our team and we are pioneers in raising awareness as we have already organized for 10 years a summer school on basic ecological concepts open to the general society. The PhD student is expected to follow all these principles and participate in these events.

CareerDevelopment

Objectives

  • Future postdoc employment at the University
  • Increased employability in the non-academic sector
  • International mobility
  • Building collaborative networks
  • Trainings to enhance career opportunities
  • Application of postdoctoral grants (MSCA, Juan de la Cierva, etc.)
  • Involvement in teaching, supervision, or mentoring

Expected Outputs

  • PhD defense
  • Application of grants (MSCA, Juan de la Cierva, etc.)
  • Publication of articles
  • Attendance to international conferences

Training Skills

  • Time Management
  • Grant Writing
  • Open Science
  • Ethics and Research Integrity
  • Intellectual Property
  • Advanced Digital Skills
  • Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence
  • Spanish
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