Jorge Mataix-Solera

Jorge Mataix-Solera is a Professor at the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, serving in the Faculty of Experimental Sciences within the Department of Agrochemistry and Environment. He holds the administrative position of Associate Dean of Communication and Projection and is a member of the Soil Science and environmental technologies research group.

His research focuses extensively on Soil Science, particularly examining fire effects on soils, soil water repellency, soil aggregation, and post-fire management strategies. He has developed comprehensive photographic resources documenting fire effects on ecosystems, especially related to soil systems, which serve both research and educational purposes. His work spans multiple continents, including field studies in Spain, Chile, Australia, the USA, and Peru.

Professor Mataix-Solera teaches several courses in the Bachelor's in Environmental Science program, including 'Environmental Problems from Forest Fires,' 'External Dynamics of Physical Environments,' 'Physical Geology,' and 'Soil Science.' He also contributes to the Master's in Teacher Training program. His teaching approach integrates photography as a key educational tool in geosciences.

His publication record shows consistent productivity with numerous high-impact papers in journals such as Catena, Geoderma, and Earth-Science Reviews. His most cited work is the 2011 review on 'Fire effects on soil aggregation' which has received over 500 citations, demonstrating significant influence in the field.

His current research continues to investigate the complex relationships between fire severity, soil properties, and ecosystem recovery, with recent work focusing on biocrust development, salvage logging effects, and soil microbial community responses in fire-affected landscapes. His work has practical applications for post-fire management strategies in Mediterranean and other fire-prone ecosystems worldwide.