The article “Rapid adaptation and extinction in synchronized outdoor evolution experiments of Arabidopsis” has just been published in the journal Science, co-authored by Carlos Lara Romero, Alfredo García Fernández, Martí March Salas and José María Iriondo Alegría, researchers at the IICG-URJC.

Last week, the meeting of the Working Groups Chairs and Executive Committee of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) took place at the Aranjuez Campus of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC), organized by ECPGR and the Global Change Research Institute (IICG-URJC).

February 11th is a very important date on our calendars because it is the day on which the International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated, and the IICG-URJC has carried out various very interesting outreach activities in educational centres.

Last week, the R course with a university microcredential, directed and taught by IICG-URJC researcher Luis Cayuela, was a resounding success.

Sonia Molino, a researcher at Global Change Research Institute (IICG-URJC), has described a new species of fern in the Cordillera del Cóndor (the Andes) which they have named Parablechnum shuariorum and which belongs to the Blechnaceae family.

On December 11, 2025, the director of the IICG and Professor of Ecology at the URJC, Adrián Escudero, excitedly received the highest academic recognition from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) of Ecuador, the distinction of Professor Honoris Causa.

New semi-annual information bulletin “LÍQUENES Y ECOSISTEMAS” (“LICHENS AND ECOSYSTEMS” in English), created by IICG researcher Gregorio Aragón.

The IICG 2026 Calendar is here!

Last Wednesday, November 12, 2025, an information session was held regarding the upcoming 2025 call for “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento”, organized by the IICG. This session was divided into two parts, as it aimed to achieve two main objectives

Pre-registration is now open for the in-person course, associated with the IICG, “Expert in Experimental Design and Use of Mixed Models in R with University Microcredential”.

From October 20th to 23rd, 2025, the second workshop funded by the “2nd Call Forward Thinking Actions IICG-URJC” took place. This workshop, entitled “C4 Photosynthesis in Cyperaceae Workshop,” was hosted by IICG researchers Tamara Villavede and Julia Quintana and featured the participation of 13 international researchers specializing in the subject.

From October 7th to 9th, 2025, the “9th Biodiversas Ecological Symposium (BES)” was held in the Lecture Hall of Department II on the Móstoles Campus of the URJC. This symposium was organized by the URJC’s Biodiversity and Conservation Area (Biodivers@s) and the IICG.

On October 1, 2025, Adrián Escudero, director of the IICG and researcher in the Biodiversity and Conservation Area at URJC, received the Foreign Honorary Professor Award at the VII International Congress of Environmental Engineering of UCSM.

On Friday, September 19th, 2025, we kicked off Welcome Week for our GLOBE Master’s programme!
Our international students had the opportunity to meet representatives from the partner universities where they’ll be studying throughout their Erasmus Mundus journey. It was a great start to the semester, full of energy, connection, and inspiration.

On September 18, 2025, an unforgettable event entitled “Herbarium de Sabiduría: El legado científico de las Botánicas” (Herbarium of Wisdom: The Scientific Legacy of Women Botanists translated into English) took place in the Aula Magna 003 of Aulario I at the URJC Móstoles Campus. With this event, the High-Performance Research Group in Evolutionary Ecology of the Rey Juan Carlos University (EcoEvo) and the IICG, in collaboration with the Spanish Botanical Society (SEBOT), aimed to highlight the role of women in botany.

From September 8th to 12th, 2025, the first Workshop funded by the “2nd Call Forward Thinking Actions IICG-URJC” took place. This workshop, entitled “Floral longevity and resource economy: towards a stronger link with the floral economic spectrum (FLARE)”, was hosted by IICG researcher Marcos Méndez and featured the participation of six international researchers specializing in the field.

From June 23 to 26, 2025, the second Writing Retreat took place, funded by the “I Convocatoria Writing retreats IICG-URJC” call, launched by the IICG a few months prior.
This time, researchers Natalia González, Mª Carmen Molina, Alfredo García, Carlos Celdrán, Mercedes Uscola, and Pilar Martínez enjoyed this writing retreat in Fuentidueña (Segovia).

From June 2nd to 6th, 2025, the third edition of the SIBECOL (Iberian Society of Ecology) congress was held, along with the seventeenth national conference of the AEET (Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology). This event, known as the “III SIBECOL & XVII AEET Meeting,” took place at the Conference Centre in the Galician city of Pontevedra, and IICG members participated extensively.

On May 26, 2025, a very interesting day took place on “Living Labs” where Elisa Pizarro Carbonell, who is an expert in the field and is certified by the ENoLL, revealed to us the key points of this methodology

Today is the Taxonomy Recognition Day!
The TETTRIS Project has launched an awareness campaign in which they encourage everyone to contribute to making taxonomy visible.

New title of Expert in Genomic and Metagenomic Data Analysis (21 ECTS) IICG-URJC.

From May 12th to 14th, 2025, the first of the Writing Retreats funded by the “I Convocatoria Writing retreats IICG-URJC” call, launched by the IICG a few months prior, took place.
The first to break the ice were researchers José Gómez, Sara Arganda, Jana Montero, and Myriam Catalá, who enjoyed this writing retreat in Fuentidueña (Segovia).

The Taxonomy Recognition Day is coming!
The TETTRIS Project has launched an awareness campaign in which they encourage everyone to contribute to making taxonomy visible.

The Global Change Research Institute is organising a talk where Elisa Pizarro Carbonell will present all the key points of a Living Lab.

On the occasion of the birth date of Carlos Linneo, considered the originator of the classification of living beings, Taxonomy Recognition Day will be held on 23 May.

Our researcher, Gregorio Aragón Rubio, and his colleague, have produced an informative brochure on the role of lichens and bryophytes in siliceous forest slopes.

The Institute organized an Information session about ERC Grants.

Our researcher, Gregorio Aragón Rubio, and his colleagues show us the diversity of lichens on the volcanoes of Campo de Calatrava.

Jagoba Malumbres, a scientific illustrator who participated in our first MACROsize Workshop, has created an infographic about the process of promoting research workshops.

From the IICG, we wish you happy holidays!

May nature guide us towards a fairer and healthier future.

This week we have the pleasure to host at URJC the last workshop from the 1st IICG-URJC’s Forward Thinking Call. 

From 16 to 18th, Raquel Pino Bodas organizes the Workshop Fungal Genomics . We are sure that this action will boost future research collaborations among IICG researchers and researchers outside our walls.

This week we have the pleasure to host at URJC the second workshop from the 1st IICG-URJC’s Forward Thinking Call. 

From 11 to 13th, Raúl García Valdés organizes the Workshop Forest functional diversity and resilience . We are sure that this action will boost future research collaborations among IICG researchers and researchers outside our walls.

This coming week we have the pleasure to host at URJC the first workshop from the 1st IICG-URJC’s Forward Thinking Call.

From 25 to 28th, Ignasi Arranz organizes the Workshop MACROSIZE. We are sure that this action will boost future research collaborations among IICG researchers and researchers outside our walls.

Next Tuesday, September 17th, we will participate in a Working Breakfast of the Spanish Green Growth Group focused on the importance and necessity of public policies being based on solid scientific arguments.

IICG-URJC had a strong presence at the XX International Botanical Congress held between July 21 and 27 in Madrid, with global change as a cross-cutting theme in much of the excellent research presented.

A very high success rate for IICG-URJC members in the latest call for Knowledge Generation projects from the State Research Agency.
Best of luck to all the researchers involved in the new projects.

The first edition of Forward Thinking Actions has been resolved, in which international workshops coordinated by members of the IICG-URJC will be financed to advance in strategic lines of research.

The European Commission has funded the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Global Change Ecology and Biodiversity Management, an international postgraduate program that will begin in September 2025 and which is coordinated by IICG-URJC members.