Dr Efisio Mattana
Research Leader
Department
Team
Sustainable Use, Seeds and Solutions
Specialism
Seed germination ecology, ex situ plant conservation, effect of climate change in plant regeneration from seeds
I have a a background in seed biology and ecology and ex situ plant conservation, with a specific research interest in the impact of climate change in the regeneration by seeds of wild, threatened, and neglected and underutilized species.
I research approaches from seed ecology and MSB-banked seed lots to support and develop Nature-based Solutions, particularly in the UK.
- Undergraduate Studies, Natural Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, 2002
- PhD, Environmental and Applied Botany, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, 2009
- Postdoc Research Fellowship, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, 2009-2013
- Kew Honorary Visiting Research Associate, 2011 – 2014
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Native Seeds for Restoration: diversity and resilience in the UK
Supporting the effective selection and use of native seed in the restoration of climate-resilient, genetically diverse plant populations in the UK.
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Seed traits for tree production
This project combines research and technical development to investigate germination traits in UK native trees; to understand how these traits vary; and optimise commercial seed quality using high-throughput screening techniques.
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Enhancing carbon sequestration and improving livelihoods in Mexico's shade-grown coffee plantations
Supporting smallholder coffee farms to mitigate climate change, through carbon sequestration and enhanced biodiversity.
Mattana, E., Chapman, T., Miles, S., Ulian, T., & Carta, A. (2023).
Regeneration from seeds in a temperate native flora: A climate‐smart and natural–capital‐driven germination risk modelling approach
Plants, People, Planet.
Carta, A., Fernández-Pascual, E., Gioria, M., Müller, J.V., Rivière, S., Rosbakh, S., Saatkamp, A., Vandelook, F., & Mattana, E. (2022).
Climate shapes the seed germination niche of temperate flowering plants: a meta-analysis of European seed conservation data
Annals of Botany, 129, 775–786.
Mattana, E., Ulian, T., & Pritchard, H. W. (2022).
Seeds as natural capital
Trends in Plant Science, 27(2), 139-146.
Mattana, E., Peguero, B., Di Sacco, A., Agramonte, W., Encarnación Castillo, W. R., Jiménez, F., Clase, T., Pritchard, H. W., Gómez-Barreiro, P., Castillo-Lorenzo, E., Terrero Encarnación, M., Way, M. J., García, R., & Ulian, T. (2020).
Assessing seed desiccation responses of native trees in the Caribbean
New Forests, 51(4), 705-721.
Ulian, T., Diazgranados, M., Pironon, S., Padulosi, S., Liu, U., Davies, L., Howes, M. J. R., Borrell, J. S., Ondo, I., Pérez-Escobar, O. A., Sharrock, S., Ryan, P., Hunter, D., Lee, M. A., Barstow, C., Łuczaj, Ł., Pieroni, A., Cámara-Leret, R., Noorani, A., Mba, C., Nono Womdim, R., Muminjanov, H., Antonelli, A., Pritchard, H. W., & Mattana, E. (2020).
Unlocking plant resources to support food security and promote sustainable agriculture
Plants People Planet, 2(5), 421-445.
Tellez, O.*, Mattana, E.*, Diazgranados, M., Kühn, N., Castillo-Lorenzo, E., Lira, R., Montes-Leyva, L., Rodriguez, I., Ortiz, C. M. F., Way, M., Dávila, P., & Ulian, T. (2020).
Native trees of Mexico: Diversity, distribution, uses and conservation
PeerJ, 8, Article e9898.