Fernando Valladares Ros
Protection of the Environment 2021Research Professor at the CSIC, National Museum of Natural Sciences
(Madrid, aged 55)
PhD in Biological Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid. He currently heads the Ecology and Global Change group at the National Museum of Natural Sciences and is also an associate professor at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
Fernando Valladares’ scientific research into the impacts of human activity on terrestrial ecosystems began thirty years ago, coinciding with the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), which led to the main conventions on biodiversity conservation and the fight against climate change. Particular mention should be made of his work in research, education and public outreach on the impacts of biodiversity loss and climate
change. He has published over 450 scientific works, including articles and books, the majority in international journals of ecology and plant biology. He has an H-index of 85 for citations of his work. Since 2015, he has been a highly cited scientist in the field of Ecology and the Environment (placing him amongst the top 1 per cent of scientists with the greatest international impact, according to Thomson Reuters).
He has delivered over 220 lectures and courses at more than 37 universities and research centres worldwide. He has supervised 20 doctoral theses. He served as president of the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology for eight years and is currently vice-president of the Iberian Society of Ecology.
His significant contribution to science communication across numerous media outlets and directly through his social media channels has been recognised with various awards.
The jury for the Rei Jaume I Prize for Environmental Protection, meeting in Valencia, has unanimously decided to award the 2021 prize to Mr Fernando Valladares Ros.
This is in recognition of his fundamental contributions to our understanding of the interactions between forest plants and how these interactions are affected by factors such as humidity, carbon concentrations and other parameters that are altered as a result of climate change. His work demonstrates that there are limits to the ability of ecological systems to adapt to these changes, which is fundamental to understanding the true risks of climate change. He has also excelled at communicating the importance and relevance of his work, and has been a leader in setting up new large-scale experiments and in leading extensive networks of collaborators to seek deeper understanding and predictive capabilities.
