María Menéndez Miguélez

Research support technitian

maria.menendez@mncn.csic.es

0000-0002-5119-4672

María Menéndez Miguélez

biomass; climate change; growth and yield modelling; sustainable forest management; terrestrial laser scanning; wood quality

I am a Forestry Engineer and the technical lead of the Hydrology and Climate Change Laboratory. Technical Forestry Engineer specialisation in Forest exploitation (University of Oviedo). Forestry Engineer (2nd cycle) (University of Valladolid). Master's in Engineering Research for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Ecosystems (University of Valladolid). University Expert in Advanced Methodology on Applied Statistics (UNED). University Expert in Forest Planning and Management Tools Based on LiDAR Technology (University of Córdoba). PhD in Biological Resources and Biodiversity (University of Oviedo).

My research focuses on growth and yield modelling for sustainable forest management, with particular emphasis on forest biomass, carbon sequestration, tree physiological responses to extreme events, wood quality, and the integration of new technologies in forest planning and management.

I have led research aimed at improving biomass prediction models for Spanish forest species and have established a new research line based on the use of remote sensing technologies—such as terrestrial laser scanning and airborne LiDAR—as efficient and accurate tools for forest biomass estimation.

Beyond my scientific activity, I actively participate in international research networks, including IUFRO Working Group 1.01.13 (Ecology and Silviculture of Chestnut) and the 3DForEcoTech network developed from the European COST Action of the same name. I also serve as a project evaluator for the Spanish Research Agency and am accredited as an Assistant Professor Doctor by the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation. Additionally, I am a member of the GADE‑CSIC research group, which evaluates environmental and geological post‑fire impacts in the World Heritage Site of Las Médulas (León, Spain).

2026

  • Erdozain M, Alberdi I, ..., María Menéndez-Miguélez (36 of 44). 2026. The role of social, policy and economic forces in shaping forest restoration practices in Europe. Land Use Policy 161, 107876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107876

  • Rubio-Cuadrado A, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Cañellas I, de-Miguel S, Erdozain M, Hoffmann J, Lapin K, Werden L, Alberdi I. 2026. Restoration information: A European database of ecological restoration knowledge from stakeholder surveys. One Ecosystem 11. https://doi.org/10.3897/oneeco.11.e161148

2025

  • Erdozain M, Alberdi I, ... Menéndez-Miguélez M (42 of 45). 2025. The Evolution of Forest Restoration in Europe: A Synthesis for a Step Forward Based on National Expert Knowledge. Current Forestry Reports 11, 4. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-024-00235-3

  • Lapin K, Hoffmann J, Dyderski MK, Roche J, Lakatos F, Menéndez-Miguélez M, de-Miguel S, Erdozain M, Svensson J, Werden L, Cañellas I, Zoric M, Alberdi I. 2025. Challenges, motivations, and perspectives of practitioners on forest restoration across seven European countries. Restoration Ecology 33, 8, e70160. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70160

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Cañellas I, Erdozain M, de-Miguel S, Alberdi I. 2025. Post-fire treatments in Mediterranean forests: a review for enhancing restoration strategies. Fire Ecology 21:82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-025-00430-y

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Rubio-Cuadrado A, Bauhus J, Cañellas I, Crowther T, de-Miguel S, Erdozain M, Hoffmann J, Kremer K, Sotirov M, Lapin K, Lundhede T, Jacobs S, Schatzdorfer E, Werden L, Alberdi I. 2025. A comprehensive analysis of forest restoration practices across Europe: Ecological, economic, social and policy dimensions. Ecological Indicators 173, 113348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113348

2024

  • Calama R, Madrigal G, del Río M, López-Senespleda E, Pardos M, Ruiz-Peinado R, Menéndez-Miguélez M. 2024. Dynamic Height Growth Equations and Site Index-Based Biomass Models for Young Native Species Afforestations in Spain. Forests 15, 827. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15050827

  • Calama R, Martínez C, Gordo J, del Río M, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Pardos M. 2024. The impact of climate and management on recent mortality in Pinus pinaster resin-tapped forests of inland Spain. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research 97. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad023

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Rubio-Cuadrado A, Cañellas I, Erdozain M, de-Miguel S, Lapin K, Hoffmann J, Werden L, Alberdi I. 2024. How to measure outcomes in forest restoration? A European review of success and failure indicators. Frontiers in Forest and Global Change 7:1420127. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1420127

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Madrigal G, Sixto H, Oliveira N, Calama R. 2023. Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Non-Destructive Estimation of Aboveground Biomass in Short-Rotation Poplar Coppices. Remote Sensing 15, 7, article number 1942. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15071942

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Álvarez-Álvarez P, Pardos M, Madrigal G, Ruiz-Peinado R, López-Senespleda E, del Río M, Calama R. 2023. Development of tools to estimate the contribution of young sweet chestnut plantations to climate-change mitigation. Forest Ecology and Management 530, 120761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120761

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M (CA), Ruiz-Peinado R, del Río M, Calama R. 2021. Improving tree biomass models through crown ratio patterns and incomplete data sources. European Journal of Forest Research 140(3):675-689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-021-01354-3

  • Nevares I, del Álamo-Sanza M, Martínez-Martínez V, Menéndez-Miguélez M, van den Bulcke J, van Acker J. 2019. Influence of Quercus petraea Liebl. wood structure on the permeation of oxygen through wine barrel staves. Holzforschung 73(9):859-870. https://doi.org/10.1515/hf-2018-0299

  • Fernández MP, Basauri J, Madariaga C, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Olea R, Zubizarreta-Gerendiain A. 2017. Effects of thinning and pruning on wood properties of radiate pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) grown in Chile. iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry 10(2):383-390. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor2037-009

  • Martínez-Martínez V, del Álamo-Sanza M, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Nevares I. 2018. Method to estimate the medullar rays angle in pieces of Wood based on tree-ring structure: application to planks of Quercus petraea. Wood Science and Tecnology 52: 519-539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-017-0979-5

  • Fernández MP, Basauri J, Madariaga C, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Olea R, Zubizarreta-Gerendiain A. 2017. Effects of thinning and pruning on wood properties of radiate pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) grown in Chile. iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry 10(2):383-390. https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor2037-009

  • Pérez-Rodríguez F, Azevedo JC, Menéndez-Miguélez M. 2017. ApkFor®, an Android Open-Source Project for research and technology transfer in forest management. Resource communication. Forest Systems 26(3), eRC03. https://doi.org/10.5424/fs/2017263-12047

2021

2019

2018

2017

Publications (last 10 years)

2016

2023

2022

  • Lerma-Arce V, Yagüe-Hurtado C, Van den Berg H, García-Folgado M, Oliver-Villanueva J-V, Benhalima Y, Marqués-Duarte I, Acácia V, Rego FC, López-Senespleda E, Menéndez-Miguélez M, Ruiz-Peinado R, Petillon T, Jalabert S, Carbó-Valverde E, Gimeno-García E, Aleix-Amurrio R, Lorenzo-Sáez E. 2022. Development of a model to estimate the fire risk of emission of greenhouse gases from forest fires. Fire 6 (1), 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/fire6010008

  • Menéndez-Miguélez M, Calama R, del Río M, Madrigal G, López-Senespleda E, Pardos M, Ruiz-Peinado R. 2022. Species-specific and generalized biomass models for estimating carbon stocks of young reforestations. Biomass and Bioenergy 161, 106453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2022.106453