Natural ecosystems provide the basic conditions without which humanity could not survive. Good and services provided by ecosystems include for example provision of food, fibre and fuel, purification of water and air, cultural and aesthetic benefits, stabilization and moderation of the Earth's climate, generation and renewal of soil fertility, including nutrient cycling or maintenance of genetic resources as key inputs to crop varieties and livestock breeds, medicines, and other products. However, the ability of biological diversity to continue performing these services is seriously threatened since some species are being seriously deteriorated, and in some cases destroyed. While loss of species has always occurred as a natural phenomenon, the pace of extinction has accelerated dramatically as a result of human activity. Ecosystems are being fragmented or eliminated, and innumerable species are in decline or already extinct. This book is divided into ten chapters, which are all related to endangered species research studies.
Since 2005, I have been working on different research projects and teaching activities at Castilla La Mancha University. I developed my doctoral thesis in Cuenca Mountains working on Spanish black pine (Pinus nigra Arn. ssp salzmannii) natural regeneration and sustainable forest management. I have also spent some years in different European and national universities and research centers as for example Edinburgh University, Instituto Superior de Agronomia de Lisboa, Tras-Os-Montes e Alto Douro University and Centro de Biología Aplicada del Segura. Now, I am currently involved on many different research and teaching activities at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering. (Castilla La Mancha University), the Research Institute for Renewable Energy of Albacete (www. http://ier.uclm.es) and the National Open University (U.N.E.D.). My research and teaching interest are related to: 1. - Forest ecosystem management under the sustainability and multifunctionality forestry principles on the new context of climate change. Natural regeneration of forest species. Dendrocronology; 2.- Assessing hydrological behaviour and sediment connectivity in contrasting Mediterranean catchments. Impacts of Global Change.
