Uxafores

On 21 October Juan Alberto Molina Valero defended his PhD thesis entitled “Modelling forest stand maturity from National Forest Inventory and Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data”, supervised by César Pérez Cruzado and Juan Gabriel Álvarez González (UXAFORES).

Estimation of forest maturity linked to the biomass (or carbon) stock capacity is considered one of the most important issues regarding forest management and planning in the most recent forest strategies and policies. This doctoral thesis explores such relationships and considers the use of stand level maximum biomass stock as a proxy for forest maturity through site quality gradient, as a measure that can feasibly be estimated from National Forest Inventory (NFI) data. The research study was conducted in Spain using NFI data and a non-probabilistic collection of mature plots. Both data sources correspond to maritime pine (Pinus pinaster ssp. atlantica H. de Vill.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), beech-fir and silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) forests.

The doctoral thesis by Antonio José Lara Bocanegra entitled “Elastic timber gridshell. From material to construction”, supervised by Manuel Guaita Fernández (UXAFORES) and Francisco Arriaga Martitegui (UPM) and defended in June at the Technical University of Madrid-UPM, has been awarded a prize.

This PhD thesis has been awarded second prize in the Environmental Sciences category of “the Margarita Salas” Research Awards 2022 granted by Madrid City Council. These awards for PhD theses undertaken at universities in the Community of Madrid, are given in recognition of scientific excellence and enhanced transfer of scientific knowledge between the university and society.

The awards were presented at a ceremony held on 10 November (video available)

For further information about the award, see the UMP web site