Rafael Poyatos López

I have a BSc in Environmental Sciences (2002; Autonomous University of Barcelona, UAB) and a PhD in Biology (2006; Institute of Earth Sciences ‘Jaume Almera’, ICTJA-CSIC and University of Barcelona, UB). I have been postdoctoral researcher at Solfranc Tecnologías, Spain (2007-2008), Durham University, UK, (2008-2009) and CREAF, Spain (2009 – present), with short-term postdoctoral visits at University of Edinburgh, UK, (2012), Ghent University in Belgium (2017) and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany (2019).

Since 2018 I am also Adjunct Lecturer at UAB and since 2019 I hold a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. I work in the fields of plant and ecosystem physiological ecology, forest ecology, and ecohydrology. I am interested in understanding plant water and carbon fluxes, studying the interactions between the environment, whole-plant physiology and ecosystem processes. My research focuses on plant functioning at multiple spatial and temporal scales, in the context of global change and with a strong focus on trees and forests. I currently coordinate the SAPFLUXNET initiative , in which we curate the first global database of tree water use derived from sap flow measurements. We use SAPFLUXNET to disentangle the determinants of tree transpiration and drought responses at the global scale. I have a teaching profile in Ecology, having lectured in the MSc in Terrestrial Ecology and Biodiversity Management (2010-2013) and at several BSc Degrees (2018 – present; Genetics, Environmental Biology, Biology), all at UAB.