Areas of Research

Efficient use of water resources in agriculture

  • Functional keys to water use efficiency: Genetic bases and biotechnology applied to the optimisation of physiological processes of plant regulation associated with water use.
  • Selection of water-efficient genotypes.
  • Technification and sensorics applied to the efficient use of irrigation.

Sustainable primary production

  • Strategies for water quality and use optimisation and irrigation economics.
  • Soil and plant genetic resources management.
  • Study and efficient control of emerging pests and parasites.
  • Fisheries management.

Legal aspects of the agri-food sector and the environment

  • Industrial property and competition in the agri-food sector (plant breeders’ rights, patents, etc.), biosafety, trade in the agri-food sector, etc.

Adaptations and physiological responses of plants to abiotic stresses

  • Mechanistic bases of productivity and stress tolerance from an ecological and evolutionary point of view.
  • Study of physiological and molecular strategies for the genetic improvement of crops of interest in the face of climate change.
  • Biotechnological applications of native species in extreme environments.

Development of natural hazard prevention plans

  • Flood early warning systems.
  • Hydrology and sediment transport in drainage basins.
  • Assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards.
  • Soil quality and ecogeomorphology.