Carlos Magno Martins Vila-Viçosa

I am a geobotanist, specialized in vegetation ecology. I've started my research with Monchique Flora and Vegetation, where I had the necessity to deepen the theme on marcescent woodland ecology in the biogeographic scope of Iberian Peninsula. Therefore I developed expertise skills in the taxonomy of Iberian white oaks (Subgender Quercus Hickel & Camus - Fagaceae).

Presently I’m a Ph.D. student at University of Porto and CIBIO –InBIO, from BioDiv PhD programme and my thesis focuses on the phylogeographic inference of Galliferae (Spach) Guerke subsection (Quercus L.) in Western Mediterranean Basin, combining morphological data with molecular tools, to solve taxonomic and phylogenetic issues, in what gives respect to these woodlands conservation, with special emphasis to the probably more threatened tree in Europe – Quercus canariensis Willd.

Also I aim to bind the metadata and phytogeographic knowledge, gathered and acquired through extensive fieldwork in Western Iberian Peninsula, in a wide variety of issues, like: spatial analysis; phylogeny and paleogeographic analysis on marcescent oak stands; effects of environmental changes in Mediterranean ecosystems, specially regarding autochthonous flora and vegetation. Thus, my study intends to provide guidelines based in GIS analysis and statistical tools, which can explain these species-complex occurrence, on the topic of environmental changes and related to severe threats as genetic introgression, climatic shifts or anthropogenic activities.