Pere Casals Tortras

Head of group

PROGRAM / Multifunctional forest management

Doctor in Biology from the University of Barcelona, and postgraduate degree in Classification, Cartography and Evaluation of Soils from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Senior researcher in plant-plant and plant-soil interactions within agrosilvopastoral systems at the CTFC, where I lead the group of “Ecology and Management of Silvopastoral Systems”. My work focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning the resilience of plant functional groups and key soil components in response to specific management options (i.e., prescribed fire, thinning, grazing) or land use changes, particularly, land abandonment.
After several years conducting environmental impact assessments as a freelance consultant, my interest in deepening on ecosystem functioning motive me to pursue a PhD at the University of Barcelona (1995-2002). My doctoral research investigate soil nitrogen dynamics and plant nitrogen fixation short-term following prescribed fires. Since then, I gained extensive experience studying soil nutrient cycling and organic matter dynamics under the influence of climate and land-use changes, in the frame of different European and Spanish research projects. In these projects we used stable (13C, 15N) or radioactive (14C) isotopes as tracers to investigate key processes in the plant-soil systems, such as nitrogen fixation, litter and root decomposition, and CO₂ efflux. This research was developed through a Juan de la Cierva contract at the Fundación Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterráneo (CEAM) and a Ramón y Cajal contract at the Centro de Ciencia y Tecnología Forestal de Cataluña (CTFC).
Throughout my career, I have coordinated multiple field trials and laboratory analysis programs and have actively contributed to both national and international research and knowledge transfer projects. I have supervised several PhD and master’s students and have been involved in preparing and publishing book chapters, research articles, and outreach materials.