About me

I am a quantitative ecologist interested in understanding biodiversity patterns and change across spatial and temporal scales. My research combines plant ecology, ethnobotany, functional diversity, biodiversity monitoring and ecological modelling, with a particular interest in the relationships between people, plants and ecosystems.

During my PhD, I studied floristic, functional and cultural diversity across western Amazonian forests, exploring how plant traits, species composition and ecological gradients relate to traditional plant uses and Indigenous ecological knowledge. My work involved extensive botanical and ethnobotanical fieldwork in Peru, tropical plant identification and collaboration with international research networks.

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), working within the European ANTENNA project. My research focuses on biodiversity monitoring, ecological time series, population trends and uncertainty, with the aim of improving the reliability of biodiversity assessments and ecological forecasting.

I am also interested in reproducible research, open science and developing computational tools that make ecological research more accessible.

Research interests #

• Tropical ecology and biogeography — Floristic diversity, forest composition and patterns of species dominance.
• Ethnobotany and biocultural diversity — Traditional plant uses, Indigenous ecological knowledge and human–plant relationships.
• Functional ecology — Plant functional traits and their links to ecosystem functioning and benefits to people.
• Biodiversity change — Population trends, ecological monitoring, time-series uncertainty and forecasting.
• Ecoinformatics — Ecological data analysis, reproducible workflows and scientific software development.

Academic background #

• 2023 — PhD in Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. International mention, cum laude.
  Thesis: Floristic, functional and cultural diversity: evaluation across a latitudinal gradient in western Amazonian forests.

• 2018 — MSc in Forest and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.

• 2015 — BSc in Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
  Including an academic exchange at Université de Montréal, Canada (2013–2014).

Research experience #

2024–present | Postdoctoral researcher
Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Spain
European ANTENNA project: biodiversity monitoring, population time-series analysis and ecological forecasting.

2024 | Researcher
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Revision and coordination of botanical terminology for the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (RAE).

2022–2023 | Researcher
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Spain
DIVERCLADE project: tropical plant diversity and ecological data analysis.

2018–2022 | Predoctoral researcher
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
DISPLAMAZ project: Amazonian floristic diversity, functional ecology and ethnobotany.

International research experience #

My research has taken me to tropical forests, herbaria and research institutions across several countries.

• Peru: Extensive botanical and ethnobotanical fieldwork in western Amazonia, including vegetation inventories, specimen collection and plant identification.
• Naturalis Biodiversity Center, the Netherlands (2022): Research on Amazonian plant functional traits and traditional uses.
• Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Peru (2019): Tropical plant identification and herbarium research.
• Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands: Graduate research in tropical ecology and ethnobotany.

Selected publications #

• de Aledo et al. (2025). Plant functional traits shape the provision of ecosystem services to Indigenous communities in western Amazonia. People and Nature.

• de Aledo et al. (2023). Floristic diversity, composition and dominance across Amazonian forest types respond differently to latitude. Journal of Biogeography.

• Matas-Granados et al. (2023). Understanding different dominance patterns in western Amazonian forests. Ecology Letters.

• Báez et al. (2022). FunAndes – A functional trait database of Andean plants. Scientific Data.

• de Aledo et al. (2021). Connecting Indigenous and Scientific Ecological Knowledge in the Madidi National Park, Bolivia. Environmental Sciences Proceedings.

For more publications, visit my Google Scholar or ORCID.

Open science and software #

I enjoy developing tools and sharing data to support reproducible ecological research.

• labeleR — An R package to automate the creation of labels, badges, certificates and other documents.
• MetroBrewer — An R package providing colour palettes inspired by metro systems worldwide.
• reserBUGS – BioTIME forecasting analysis — Collaborative software for ecological time-series forecasting.
• Species functional traits of useful plants from western Amazonia — Open-access research dataset.
• Floristic composition in western Amazonian forests — Open-access floristic dataset.

My main tools include R, Python, Git, GitHub, GIS, Quarto and Shiny.

Teaching and scientific community #

Alongside research, I contribute to teaching, supervision and scientific communication.

I have taught botany practical courses at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and R-based data analysis, and have co-supervised undergraduate and master’s theses in tropical plant ecology and ethnobotany.

I am involved in the Ecoinformatics Working Group of the Asociación Española de Ecología Terrestre (AEET) and have helped organise scientific meetings and symposia on ethnobotany, botanical research ethics, biodiversity monitoring and ecoinformatics.

I also enjoy science communication and developing resources that make ecological research accessible to broader audiences.

Contact #

Email · Google Scholar · ORCID · Bluesky · Twitter · Instagram