I firmly believe that knowledge construction should lead to Consilience, as defined by Edward O. Wilson.

My main research interest is Soil Ecology, particularly trying to understand the causal, correlational, and predictive relationships between different ways of measuring soil microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. And the effects of abiotic and (other) biotic factors in such relationships. I am fascinated by the complexity of the soil system, as millions of microorganisms can inhabit 1 gram of soil.

In an article, I have developed my own, very subjective 10 Research Principles, which I try to apply in my career. These include an emphasis on interdisciplinary work, which I think I have applied throughout my career, publishing articles on topics as diverse as geology, philosophy of science, agronomy, plant propagation, and science/religion relationships, among several others.

My Soil Ecology research includes areas such as Mycology, Soil Science, Biogeochemistry, Ecosystem, Community Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and some Agronomy and Geology; specifically, I am focused on the study of:

– Soil ecology: specifically seeking the mechanisms and ecological theories by which the relationship between soil microorganisms (microbial ecology) and biogeochemical cycles (ecosystem ecology) is established. I would like to find causal relationships between different types of soil microbial diversity/structure (alpha, structural, functional, phylogenetic, and co-occurrence networks) and biogeochemical cycles/processes (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, soil formation, etc.). For example, for my doctoral thesis, I studied the geological (ecosystem age), biogeochemical (nutrient dynamics), and soil fungal community factors (mycorrhizal types, and their different diversity measurements) that affect the process of biogenic weathering of the parent material of temperate rainforests in southern Chile – in the Figure, hyphae on muscovite under Nothofagus alpina (a), and on biotite under N. dombeyi (b). Soil biogenic weathering is the process by which rocks are degraded by soil biota up to reaching the molecular level. I am also interested in how plant-related factors and traits, affect and are affected by microbial and ecosystem factors. For example, I would like to understand how the mycorrhizal types of the dominant vegetation affect soil biodiversity and functions. 

Regarding soil fungi, I have studied their biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and applications in areas such as agronomy and ecological restoration. I use metabarcoding, bioinformatic, and statistical tools in this area of research.
Main area: Soil Ecology.
                   Sub-areas: Fungal Biodiversity; Fungal Biodiversity in Chile; Mycorrhizal Applications; Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning; Soil Fire Ecology; Soil Chemistry; Root Ecology; South American Mycorrhizas.

– Multilevel selection: understanding how natural selection can act on different levels of the biological hierarchy (from molecules to ecosystems). It has been argued that selfish individuals always beat in competition to altruist individuals, and altruist groups always beat selfish groups, as was initially proposed by Darwin (1871; The Descent of Man). From a quantitative genetics perspective (adaptive landscapes – shifting balance theory), it can be argued that an individual fitness depends on its own traits and on the traits of the group to which that individual belongs (contextual analysis). When natural selection is very, very strong on a superior level of the biological hierarchy, and is almost irrelevant at the inferior level, a major transition in evolution is occurring. In this sense, I look to contribute theoretically and mainly empirically to the levels of selection debate in evolutionary biology. Here are some references I recommend on the subject.
Main area: Multilevel Selection.

I also am interested in other research areas, such as:

– Plant propagation, crop-weeds dynamics, biofertilizers: for the first one, I have mainly studied the effects of density, sowing spatial pattern, and genetic variability on cereal productivity and on their inter-specific competition with weeds.

– Science sociology, philosophy, and history: I want to understand how science itself works. For example, I have explored religious and evolutionary beliefs among scientists and science students belonging to different areas or contexts. I have explored how inductive and deductive reasoning shapes different everyday aspects of the scientific career.
Main area: Others.
                  Sub-areas: Crops vs. Weeds Dynamics; Agricultural Economy; Complexity Science; Philosophy of Biology; Plant Propagation; Science History; Science Sociology.