Beatriz Águeda Hernández

Since October 2022 I am Assistant Professor (PAYUD) at the Department of Plant Production and Forestry Resources of the University of Valladolid. Between 2017 and 2022 I have been responsible for business development at föra forest technologies, an innovative SME and until 2020 spin-off of the University of Valladolid, specialised in the evaluation and management of agroforestry resources using new technologies, in which I developed a project as a Torres Quevedo researcher. During this period, I have focused on developing products that integrate remote sensing information into truffle farming, management of non-timber forest products, precision agriculture, and ecosystem services.
My most relevant research work has focused on the biology and ecology of fungi, ectomycorrhizae and their structures, with the aim of developing improvements in the cultivation systems of edible species of ectomycorrhizal fungi, mainly the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) and Boletus edulis, by studying their dynamics and the biotic and abiotic factors that trigger mushroom production, as well as their structures and those of other ectomycorrhizal fungi in the soil. Currently, my research focuses on the integration and use of remote sensing data (LiDAR, RADAR, multispectral and hyperspectral) for the detection, quantification and modelling of the different fungal structures.
After finishing my studies in Forestry Engineering in 1997, I started my scientific career at the Forestry Research Centre of Valonsadero of the Junta de Castilla y León in Soria. From that moment until its closure in July 2012, I worked as a research trainee in the Applied Forest Mycology Area with several contracts and grants. After the closure of the centre, I finished my university studies in order to be able to adapt my academic qualifications to the research tasks I was carrying out and to continue my scientific career. From July 2012 to November 2014, I completed my degree in Forest Engineering, my master's degree and my doctoral thesis.
My scientific papers in the fields of trufficulture and mycology reflect the evolution of my career from the characterisation and biodiversity of ectomycorrhizae in ecosystems to the search for the mechanisms that trigger the fructification of this type of fungi using molecular tools, remote sensing data and AI, which allow a holistic approach to the life cycle of fungi. My research work has resulted in 22 publications in JCI journals (14 in the last 10 years), 17 with preferred authorship, 13 (59%) in the first quartile (12 in the last 10 years) and 15 (68%) in the first tercile (13 in the last 10 years). These articles have received a total of 401 WoS citations as of January 2023 (371 in the last 10 years), 17.43 on average per article and 36 citations per year in the last five years. I have a H-index of 12. I have been a guest editor in the special issue on trufficulture of the Springer-edited, JCI-listed journal Mycorrhiza in 2014 (4/24 mycology).
I have presented my research results in different national and international conferences, having carried out research stays in centres in Germany, Italy and Spain, and also participated as a research team in 14 research projects funded in national and international competitive calls (7 in the last 10 years), coordinating one of them (PTQ-16-08411).
The applied nature of my research has allowed the development of a transfer component aimed mainly at the truffle-growing sector, through quality control of mycorrhizal plants and advice on mycorrhization processes in forest nurseries, and the forestry sector, through various consultancy work. I am author of four applications related to open data downloading and remote sensing data processing registered in the intellectual property register (765-807945, 765-808079, 765-808129, 765-808140). I am a researcher member of the University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest Management (iuFOR) (http://sostenible.palencia.uva.es/) of the University of Valladolid, of the Recognised Research Group 186 cambium (https://www.cambiumresearch.eu/) of the Junta de Castilla y León.
Accredited as a full university lecturer (Profesora Titular) by ANECA, from the academic year 2013/2014 to the academic year 2021/2022 I have taught as an associate lecturer at the University School of Forestry, Agronomic and Bioenergy Engineering (EIFAB) of the University of Valladolid in Soria, which I joined as an assistant professor in the academic year 2022/2023. My teaching activity is carried out in the Department of Plant Production and Forestry Resources, within the degree courses in Forestry Engineering and Agricultural and Energy Engineering. In this academic year, I've just directed a doctoral thesis on mushroom production estimation using remote sensing in the Industrial Doctorate programme.
https://portaldelaciencia.uva.es/investigadores/180255/detalle