Víctor Matamoros Mercadal

I am a biochemist and biologist and my core expertise lies in understanding the role of vegetation in the behavior and fate of contaminants in the wastewater treatment and agricultural sectors. I lead the "Green Technologies and Agriculture Research Team" at IDAEA, focusing on two main areas: a) investigating the impact of nature-based solutions such as intensified constructed wetlands, biofilters, microalgae, in-stream attenuation, river bank infiltration, daphniafilters, and buffer strips om pollutant attenuation and b) studying the impact of chemical and biological contaminants, particularly emerging pollutants like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, plasticizers, and ARGs, as well as metals, on crop productivity and human health. This research specifically addresses the implications of using reclaimed water and organic residues in agriculture. I have participated in more than 150 international (HORIZON 2020) and national projects (National Programme for Research) from which I have been principal investigator of 9 of them (CTM2012-33547, AGL2014-59353-R, AGL2017-89518-R, CTM2017-91355-EXP, LIFE18-ENV/ES/000199, PCI2021-121969, LIFE21-ENV-ESBIODAPH2O, TED2021-132869B-I00, and PID2022-1431350B-100), with >1,500,000 euros). I have published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers (Water Research, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Science and Technology, etc.), 10 chapter books, and 5 dissemination papers in public magazines (Tecnología del Agua, Investigación y Ciencia, etc.). My work is highly recognized internationally as illustrated by the large number of citations (>7000, Scopus source, November 2023) that my publications have attracted, with a H-index of 49.

I am biochemist and biologist and my core expertise lies on understanding the role of vegetation in the behavior and fate of contaminants in the wastewater treatment and agricultural sectors. Since I awarded my advance fellow (RyC), and later my tenure position at the IDAEA-CSIC (Científico titular), I have built my own laboratory to understand: a) the effect of vegetation on the attenuation of contaminants through different nature-based water treatment solutions (microalgae, in-stream attenuation, wetland systems, river bank infiltration, buffer strips…), and b) the effect of chemical contaminants on crop productivity and human health due to the use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation. The most important findings accomplished during my research career include: a) the demonstration of the positive effect of vegetation in nature-based solutions on the attenuation of the so called emerging and priority contaminants from wastewater, and b) the demonstration that hydroponic cultivars are more prompt to show morphological (crop yield and quality) and physiological (metabolomic) changes due to the presence of chemical contaminants than conventional soil cultivars. This has been accomplished by participating in more than 10 international (HORIZON 2020) and national projects (National Programme for Research) from which I have been principal investigator of 4 of them (CTM2012-33547, AGL2014-59353-R, AGL2017-89518-R, and CTM2017-91355-EXP with >400,000 euros). I have published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers (Water Research, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Environmental Science and technology, etc.), 5 chapter books and 5 dissemination papers in public magazines (Tecnología del Agua, Investigación y Ciencia, etc.). My work is highly recognized internationally as illustrated by the large number of citations (>3300, Scopus source) that my publications have attracted, with a H-index of 33. I have been invited to several congresses and courses to give plenary speeches, and I have been member of the organizing committee of the WETPOL and ICEE congresses, chair of the scientific committee of the International Congress for Wetland Systems from IWA (2018), and associate editor of the WST journal.