Dr. Cristina Cruz has a Ph.D. in Plant Ecology and Systematics from the University of Lisbon
and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Lisbon. Presently, she is a Lecturer in Plant Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (FCUL) and a Researcher at the university’s Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (CE3C). She is interested in the physiological mechanisms that determine the suitability of terrestrial plants to their environments, especially in environments rich in ammonium. Her main scientific interest is the physiological ecology of nitrogen (N) acquisition and the impacts of increased N availability on terrestrial plants. The distinct effects of NO3− and NH4+ on plant performance and species preference for one of these chemical species of N have been a constant in her research. She is examining the role of plant N fluxes in several key areas: ecological succession, primary productivity, carbon–nitrogen interactions, the physiology of inorganic
nitrogen assimilation, and the role of plant micro-organism interactions in nitrogen acquisition.
