David Moreno-Mateos

David Moreno-Mateos is Associate Professor in Physical Geography and Tutorial Fellow in Geography at the University of Oxford, joining St Edmund Hall in September 2023 as a Governing Body Fellow. He concurrently holds a part-time Research Professor position at the Basque Center for Climate Change (BC3).

His academic journey includes a PhD with honours from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and University of Alcala (2008), followed by postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and CNRS France. Key research areas focus on Restoration Ecology and Ecosystem Recovery across biomes from arctic to tropics, examining century-scale responses to anthropogenic disturbances through observational, experimental, and analytical review methodologies.

Publications reveal consistent emphasis on recovery debt, ecosystem complexity restoration, and biodiversity offset limitations, with high-impact contributions in Nature journals and PLOS Biology. His work bridges theoretical ecology with practical conservation strategies for degraded ecosystems.

Major recognitions include:

• Ikerbasque Fellowship (Basque Country government)
• Ramon y Cajal Fellowship (Spanish government)

He directs the Ecosystem Recovery Lab, investigating global recovery patterns to inform restoration efficacy. His tutorial fellowship involves undergraduate geography instruction while leading interdisciplinary research on long-term ecological trajectories.