Prof. Dr. Dolors Armenteras

13/13 T𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. If we want fire science to genuinely support resilience and justice, we need time to build the right partnerships, data and questions. More soon! Thanks for reading till the end

12/13 FIRE‑DEGRADES is therefore not only about data and models, but also about insisting that excellence and equity include the everyday working conditions we offer to researchers – in Spain, in Latin America and beyond. #FireEcology #ProtectedAreas #LandscapeEcology #ScienceEquity #GlobalSouth

11/13 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 These months have also been a reminder of how institutional conditions shape what is possible in science, especially for someone coming from outside the system without a clear induction or guidance to navigate procedures in other countries.

10/13 And as I post this, I am on my way to Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) as member of the Science Steering Committee for the Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA) Strategic Plan workshop, bringing my long standing commitment to Amazonian deforestation, fire and governance into dialogue.

9/13 In Leipzig, I joined the DEFORESG workshop @UFZ, on causal chains of Amazonia deforestation & governance options for transforming current trends. I participated in the final FIRE-RES meeting, as member of its Advisory Board, contributing to discussions on wildfire resilient landscapes in Europe

8/13 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 Over these first six months, FIRE DEGRADES has also travelled. I was invited to deliver a keynote at the national fire and forest congress in Paraguay, strengthening ties with researchers and agencies working in fire prone socio ecological systems.

7/13 Parallel to this, I have been invited to speak on equity and structural biases in environmental science, and these conversations are directly informing how we design roles, collaborations and authorship within FIRE DEGRADES. More to come in the coming months.

6/13 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
A call for team positions is on its way, with a clear focus on interdisciplinary profiles and on creating opportunities for early career researchers, particularly from regions most affected by fire driven degradation.

5/13 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 Much of the less visible work has focused on assembling and structuring the geospatial and thematic existing databases that could be useful to quantify across regions. This includes harmonising fire histories, land cover information and ecosystem service proxies.

Spatiotemporal Fire Patterns and Post‐fire Forest Change in Peru (2000–2021) Fire is increasingly more frequent and severe in many tropical regions, leading to significant forest loss, diminished biodiversity, and reduced Nature's contributions to people (NCPs). In this study...

4/13 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 During this transition into FIRE‑DEGRADES, we have already published two related articles (about Peru, doi.org/10.1002/ldr.... and one in Colombia, iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...) and one in Chile, just accepted, soon out.

3/13 𝗔 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 Colleagues from 🇨🇴🇵🇪🇨🇱🇵🇾 have now formally joined the project, bringing complementary expertise on ecology, ecosystem services, conservation & monitoring. We also hosted professor Móstiga from La Molina Uni, 🇵🇪 & also met with collaborator Dr Hernández, CIEP, 🇨🇱

2/13 This update is about the foundations we are putting in place to make the project is meaningful, collaborative and useful beyond our own walls. #ATRAE #FireEcology #EcosystemServices #ProtectedAreas #LandscapeEcology #ScienceEquity #GlobalSouth

1/13 𝗦𝗶𝘅 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 ATRAE 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦 (ATRAE2024 154617): 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 It has been six intense months since “Quantifying FIRE driven DEGRADation in forest Ecosystem Services” – formally started at CSIC/INIA ICIFOR, funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI, shorturl.at/xNR6n)

a happy new year greeting card with fireworks in the background ALT: a happy new year greeting card with fireworks in the background

(7/7)
2026: resilient landscapes, equitable science, cross-border impact! . Open to meaningful connections (not transactional) on fire/degradation/connectivity/equity.
Hiring: Spatial/Data Analyst (GEE/R/Python/SQL, ML, fire/resilience dashboards). DM! #FireEcology #Restoration #ScienceEquity

a black and white drawing of a cat with the words `` thank you '' written above it . ALT: a black and white drawing of a cat with the words `` thank you '' written above it .

(6/7)
Personal milestone: September science inequity piece spotlights middle and low income country researcher barriers, unrecognized labor that shaped me.
Always grateful to all students/colleagues/communities/mentors/friends/challenges and my family for always being there.

(5/7)
Other 2025 proud highlights:
• Orinoco edge-fire traits→structural loss
• Nature reversing global degradation via food systems
• Amazon tipping points
• Connectivity: Indigenous Amazon lands
• IFM for CC mitigation and adaptions
And more..all at www.researchgate.net/profile/Dolo...

(4/7)
Environ Res Lett (Dec15, public-private partnership project fibale): “Afforestation reduces fire occurrence in Colombia’s tropical savannas”—strategic planting cuts fire risk (for now). Scalable restoration vs climate change. See iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

(3/7)
Land Degrad Dev (Dec29, Dr Möstiga lead): Peru fires 2000-21 burned 2.1Mha; ~½ forests/shrublands→savannas/grasslands. Need integrated policy beyond bans! See onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

(2/7)
Most productive scientific year! Forest resilience🔥, fire dynamics, connectivity, conservation, and other. Beyond “publish or perish” (not the goal), these publications catalyze change: fire mgmt, forest conservation, science equity. Final 2025 days: 2 fire papers published urging action

2025: Endings & new beginnings. 🇨🇴➡️🇪🇸 Colombia shaped me as person/professor/scientist—a short stay became long one and meant deep investment in landscapes/biodiversity/people/science. Amid frustrations/inequities/burnout, for now relocated to Spain. Latin America collaborations continue.

“Merit” so often proves to be inherited privilege and institutional gatekeeping. Naming that openly is uncomfortable — but necessary. While the top of the ladder may resist, change can still grow sideways. That’s the win Thank you @nature.com @annenotintokyo.bsky.social for the space to discuss it

“Thank you for your courage to say what many of us cannot”, (Latin America).
All ☝️ these voices are a reminder that many have been raising these issues for a long time. I’m sorry if I haven’t replied yet — I am trying 🙏. This conversation is not new, but it feels like it’s gaining strength.

And others too:

“I began fighting inequity many years ago but reached the same conclusions as you.” (Europe → Africa)

“Impresionante: pusiste en palabras lo que vengo observando y sintiendo.” (Latin America)

“So much window-dressing, so little willingness to face real change.” (UK)

Some of the replies have been striking:

“Your writing articulated the anxieties I’ve struggled to put in words.” (India → US/Canada)

“In Aotearoa, Māori knowledge is referenced but rarely respected as an equal partner.” (New Zealand)

I can’t promise this will be the last time I talk about inequity — or equity washing — in science. But after the multitude of responses to my Nature piece, I know something has shifted. Many came from the Global North. That alone feels like a small win. 👉 rdcu.be/eGEun

But over these days I’ve been deeply moved by the many responses to my Nature World View @nature.com @natureportfolio.nature.com on equity in science. It has sparked conversations I never imagined, across continents and disciplines. If you haven’t read it yet, I invite you to do so👉 rdcu.be/eGEun

Closing my visit to Paraguay 🇵🇾 after the first National Forestry Congress, where I gave the opening keynote. We also visited degraded forests and explored nature-based solutions for restoration — a reminder of both the
challenges and the possibilities ahead.

El Congreso fue declarado de Interés Institucional en Ciencia por la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias de la UNA, y de Interés para el sector forestal por el INFONA. Contó con la participación de expositores y estudiantes de Argentina, Brasil, Costa Rica, México, Chile, Venezuela y Colombia

Academia, gobierno y sector productivo celebran el I Congreso Forestal Paraguayo - Universidad Nacional de Asunción Con el compromiso de impulsar el sector forestal de nuestro país, la carrera de Ingeniería Forestal, de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción (FCA-UNA) organizó el I ...

Hoy concluye mi visita a Paraguay 🇵🇾 tras el I Congreso Nacional Forestal @congresoforestalpy, donde tuve el honor de impartir la conferencia inaugural. También visitamos bosques degradados y experiencias de Soluciones Basadas en la Naturaleza (SBN) para su restauración. www.una.py/academia-gob...

Decades in science taught me this: inequity won’t end with optics or lip service. The system won’t transform itself. Real change means building sideways: horizontal collaborations, valuing local expertise, and setting other terms for authorship, funding, and leadership.