14 May 2021
Dr Mauricio Diazgranados Cadelo
Research Leader
Biography
I am a Research Leader for Diversity & Livelihoods in the Natural Capital and Plant Health Department of Kew Science, part of a research group developing plant diversity approaches to support communities in locations and economies where nutritional, income and biodiversity issues are of paramount importance. In my role, I lead research projects based in tropical developing countries, primarily in Latin America, focused on studying utilised, neglected and under-utilised plants, their main threats and conservation status, and their sustainable use. I am also interested in how climate change is affecting these plants and the related ecosystem services. My projects are interdisciplinary in approach, integrating economic botany, ethnobotany, systematics, macroevolution, biogeography, restoration, and conservation biology. I have significant experience working on the páramos and Andean ecosystems and currently lead Kew's Colombia Bio Programme, which aims to support the sustainable development of Colombia’s biodiversity resources involving a robust scientific programme in partnership with various local organisations.
Qualifications and appointments
- BSc, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 1999
- MA, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 2005
- PhD, Saint Louis University, 2012
Projects
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Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia (UPFC)
Understanding Colombia’s useful plants and fungi to improve people’s livelihoods, reducing inequality and gender gap by boosting its bioeconomy through the sustainable use of its biodiversity.
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Kew – Colombia Bio Programme
Transforming the Colombian economy into one based on green growth by assisting the country to make sustainable use of its natural capital and rich biodiversity.
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Boyacá’s Páramo Plants for Life
This project’s ambition is to research the impact of climate change on important plants for the ecosystem services of the páramos of Boyacá, Colombia.
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Science-based conservation of tree species in Mexico
Supporting reforestation through seed conservation - a collaborative research programme between the Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM, México and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for the conservation of useful tree species in Mexico.
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Boyacá’s Forgotten Kingdom
This project is designed to explore the diversity of the Kingdom Fungi in Boyacá, Colombia.
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GCRF Underutilised Plants of Tropical Africa Hub
Turning plant diversity in Sub-Saharan Africa into an economic resource for community livelihoods.
Selected publications
Padilla-González, G.F., Diazgranados, M., da Costa, F.B. (2017).
Biogeography shapes the metabolome of the genus Espeletia: insights into an adaptive radiation.
Scientific Reports 7: 8835.
Diazgranados, M., Barber, J.C. (2017).
Geography shapes the phylogeny of frailejones (Espeletiinae Cuatrec., Asteraceae): a remarkable example of recent rapid radiation in sky islands.
PeerJ 5:e2968.
Diazgranados, M., Sanchez, L.R. (2017).
Espeletia praesidentis, a new species of Espeletiinae (Millerieae, Asteraceae) from northeastern Colombia.
Phytokeys, 76, 1–12.
Ávila, F., Funk, V. A., Diazgranados, M., Díaz-Piedrahita, S., Vargas, O. (2016).
Asteraceae. Pp 795-908. In: Bernal, R., R. Graddstein & M. Celis. (Eds.).
Catálogo de las plantas y líquenes de Colombia. ISBN 978-958-775-727-9. Available online
Diazgranados, M. (2012).
A nomenclator for the frailejones (Espeletiinae Cuatrec., Asteraceae).
Phytokeys 16: 1–52.
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