Maria Isabel Arce Sanchez

I got PhD in Biology in 2014 in the University of Murcia, Spain. I made my thesis in the frame of Ecology and Biogeochemistry of fluvial ecosystems in the Department of Ecology and Hydrology. My pre-doctoral research focused on biogeochemical processes involved in nitrogen cycle. In general terms, my studies aim to understand the effects of global change (increased irrigated agricultural landuse and water scarcity) on functioning of river ecosystems. I am been working in rivers and streams that naturally cease to flow (so called, intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams) by examining aspects of nitrogen cycle at biogeochemical scale, such as nitrification and denitrification and more recently, since my PhD, I am paying attention also to aspects related to organic matter decomposition process and structure of macroinvertebrates communities in these rivers. In the last 3 years, I have incorporated the molecular perspective of the nitrogen cycle by examining microbial functional groups (e.g. quantification of functional genes). Half of my Postdoc career has been developed in Berlin at IGB institute (Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries) granted by a year IGB fellowship and a 2 years fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Result from my international research and from different collaborations with other research groups , I have 23 scientific contributions: 2 book chapters and 21 publications in Scientific Journals of significant impact related to Ecology and Environmental Sciences, including recent papers in Nature GeoSciences, Frontiers in Microbiology and Earth Science Reviews. 13 out 23 contributions were published in the last 5 years (2015-2019).I have participated in more than 20 communications (oral and posters) to conferences, 7 out 20 as a first author. Following the postdoc period in Germany, I was granted by a Juan de la Cierva contract to work at CEBAS-CSIC in Murcia. Here I am focusing on the role of drybeds of intermittent rivers affected by nitrate pollution as a source of GreenHouse Gas emissions . Nowadays I am research member in a Spanish project (based in the University of Murcia) dedicated to the assessment of dry sections of intermittent rivers. In addition, I am member of the EU- COST action (CA15113) SMIRES (Science and Management of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams) within the Working group3-Biogeochemistry My current h-index since 2013 (Scopus) = 8