I am a botany professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and a researcher affiliated with the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF). My research focuses on describing large-scale patterns of plant diversity and the ecological processes that shape them, as well as understanding how plant communities respond to climate change. I have over seven years of postdoctoral research experience in different institutions in New Zealand, the United States, and the Czech Republic, and Spain. Recently, I was selected for the Ramón y Cajal Spanish program for research excellence.

Zdeňka Lososová got her PhD in 2003 at Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. Since 2010, she has worked as an associate professor of botany at the same university. She is an expert in urban ecology, functional ecology, and Central European urban flora. Her interests are in understanding biodiversity patterns, especially in the functional and phylogenetic diversity of urban plant communities.

Sabina Burrascano received a Ph.D. in ecological sciences from Sapienza University of Rome in 2009. From 2020, she has been an Associate Professor in the same University. Her research activities are focused on multi-taxon biodiversity response to human pressures in forests and grasslands. She is involved in several conservation and research projects on this topic, ranging from local to continental scales.

Gianluigi Ottaviani got his PhD in June 2016 at The University of Western Australia, Perth. He is currently a Researcher at the National Research Council, IRET (Porano, Italy), after 6+ years spent in Czechia as PostDoc (2 years), junior Researcher (3 years) and Researcher (1 year) – at the Institute of Botany, CAS (Trebon) and Masaryk University (Brno). He has a broad interest in examining plant-environment links at different scales and across organizational levels. He uses whole-plant trait-based approaches, including above- and belowground organs and functions. His core focus is on functional biogeography, and he is particularly intrigued by exploring which functional traits and strategies contribute to shaping plant species’ persistence and distribution in insular systems and refugia.

John Rodwell has worked as an ecologist for over 50 years, gaining an international reputation for the quality and impact of his teaching, research and publications.  He was Coordinator of the UK National Vegetation Classification and editor of the 5-volume British Plant Communities, one of the first new-generation accounts of the vegetation of a European country.  He was a founder member of the EVS and early Chair of its Steering Committee.  Through the UK Darwin Project he helped broaden the inclusion of east-European vegetation scientists into the EVS and harmonise vegetation database management across Europe.  He played a key part in securing a role for the EVS in the revision of the EUNIS Habitat Classification and the European Red List of Habitats, providing expert advice to the EU Environment Directorate and European Environment Agency. He represented the UK in the Vegetation Map of Europe project, applying its approach in landscape management and regeneration in both historic and post-industrial settings.  More recently, he has worked in exploring relationships between landscape, culture and sense of place.  He also enjoys trying to bring some common sense to the wilder fringes of nature conservation in the UK.  He was made a Life Member of the IAVS and awarded the President’s Medal of the Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management for his ‘Distinguished Contribution of the Advancement of Vegetation Science in Britain and Europe’