Biography
Rafael Villar is a plant ecologist at the University of Córdoba whose research focuses on how Mediterranean and semi-arid forests cope with environmental stresses—especially drought, heat extremes, nutrient limitation and shade. He links plant functional traits (leaf and wood economics, construction costs, root and seedling traits) to whole-plant performance, regeneration and resilience across climatic and edaphic gradients. Combining trait databases, common-garden and field experiments, and long-term monitoring, his group examines mechanisms that control carbon balance, growth and survival from seedlings to mature trees. He collaborates widely across Mediterranean systems to identify stress-tolerance strategies and improve predictions of forest vulnerability under climate change.
