Marc Fradera-Soler
About me
Botanist interested in plant diversity and evolution, particularly of dryland and desert plants.
Currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Bolin Centre and the Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, studying how drought and frost resistance have evolved in plant lineages adapted to hot and cold deserts.
Research
Previous research
My previous research focused on drought adaptation in succulent plants in terms of morpho-anatomical and glycomic/cell wall traits.
Current research
My postdoc investigates how plants have evolved resistance to multiple abiotic stressors, such as drought and frost, in hot and cold deserts. A key question is whether adaptation to one type of stressor constrains or facilitates adaptation to others. To address this, I will use published phylogenetic, biodiversity, and climate data to determine when various plant lineages developed different forms of abiotic resistance. By studying diverse plant lineages across multiple hot and cold deserts, this project aims to understand the evolutionary history and adaptation strategies of plants to climatic extremes, with potential implications for climate change mitigation and crop improvement.