My main research activity is focused on identifying the mechanisms contributing to biodiversity patterns in rural environments, and have applications in biolodiversity conservation, sustainable land management and ecological restoration. I am interested in assessing the effects of environmental factors at different spatial scales on the structure of biological communities and on dispersal processes. In particular, I study the effects of factors at the landscape scale over time on plant communities, and at the local scale on both plant and invertebrate communities and on seed dispersal processes. At the local scale, I consider both biotic (e.g. parasitism) and abiotic (e.g. mechanical disturbances) factors.