About David Pires
👨🔬 I am a Nematologist with nearly a decade of research experience in plant health, biological control, and sustainable pest management. I earned a BSc in Biology-Geology (2014) and an MSc in Ecology (2016) from the University of Minho, where I began specializing in Plant Nematology. My career includes competitive research fellowships at several Portuguese institutions, collaboration in six national and two EU-funded projects, and a three-month international research stay at Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences. These diverse experiences have strengthened my ability to adapt methods across systems and scales, while fostering resilience, a collaborative mindset, and leadership beyond institutional boundaries.
📊 I have authored eleven peer-reviewed publications, cited over 200 times (h-index: 4), including ten in internationally indexed journals (Q1–Q2) and one in a national journal. These include five first-author and one corresponding-author papers, complemented by conference proceedings, encyclopedia entries, and technical articles. I have delivered 21 talks (four invited) and presented 21 posters, earning a Best Poster award. These outputs highlight my consistent track record of scientific leadership, productivity, and collaborations across domestic institutions as well as international partnerships in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
📝 Beyond research outputs, I contribute actively to the scientific community. I have reviewed more than 90 manuscripts for 40 journals (Q1–Q3) and served as handling editor for a submission to PNAS and as topic editor for Frontiers in Plant Science. These responsibilities reflect my recognized expertise and the professional trust I have earned within the field. I also served on the organizing and scientific committees of two conferences.
🚀 My research trajectory follows a clear vision: to advance the biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes by bridging molecular insights with scalable field applications, ultimately supporting sustainable forestry, agriculture, and food security.
📃 For more information, visit ➡️ https://sites.google.com/view/davidpires/
Recent Comments
Very interesting perspective!
As this type of problem would be perceived in agroecology here in Brazil, the nematode is not the cause, but a symptom of a more complex or systemic problem. We would commonly say that the system is sick, creating conditions for ecological imbalances — such as pests, invasive species, etc. — to take hold.
See if what I say next makes any sense.
When considering a set of factors, such as soil degradation, water stress, and low species diversity, which are considered to be contributing factors to the problem, I think this is the case.
So, I wonder if removing affected trees would be a palliative solution or induce positive feedback by contributing to the reduction of vegetation cover and, therefore, of the system that regulates infiltration and evapotranspiration, in addition to exposing more soil.
In addition to palliative measures, would it be interesting to adopt management actions aimed at promoting a richer and more functional ecological structure, as is done in agroecology, especially in the case of agroforestry?
These approaches have been shown to promote an enrichment of ecosystem services, such as soil quality and function, water availability and biodiversity enrichment, i.e. the same factors mentioned as problems in the text.
Perhaps agroecology approaches can contribute to other fields, such as the management of natural ecosystems.
Does this make sense?
Thank you, Leon, I really appreciate your perspective.
I agree that pine wilt disease reflects deeper ecological imbalances. The parallel with agroecology is spot on, though translating those principles to forest systems can be tricky, given the phytosanitary measures that require tree removal and containment.
Your point about feedback loops is also very relevant: reducing canopy cover in drought-prone areas can intensify water stress, which our study also highlighted. That's why adaptive, landscape-level management, integrating hydrology, diversity, and structure, is so important.
And I completely agree: approaches from agroecology can inspire more resilient forest management, especially when we think beyond pathogen control toward restoring ecological function.