BB

Bàrbara Baraibar

Universitat de Lleida, University of Lleida, Penn State University

ORCID iD 0000-0003-1601-7731
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About

My research career has focused on understanding how to use ecological processes to manage weeds effectively and with a low environmental impact. To do so, my work has focused on three main topics: weed seed predation, the use of cover crops, and the relationships between weeds and the soil and the soil microbiome. My PhD research on weed seed predation was pioneer in Spain and helped understand the importance of this ecological process and how to use it as a biological weed management tool (6 papers publ., best PhD at the Univ. of Lleida, UdL). After my PhD, I moved to Penn State University, in the USA (Nov. 2014 – Aug. 2019) where I worked as a lead post-doctoral researcher on a one-million dollars cover-crop-related project. I led the crop and weed samplings, analysis and result writing of the project (10 publ.) and learned how to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary group of agronomists, entomologists, soil scientists and economists, as well as farmers and extension agents. I also oversaw the project budget, wrote annual reports for the funding agency and organized the annual “Advisory board meeting”. During this period, I co-led a master’s subject on Ecology of Agricultural Systems and guest-lectured in four other subjects.

After coming back to Spain, I was awarded a competitive Beatriu de Pinós (BdP) postdoctoral fellowship at the UdL (2020-2023, with additional 12,000€), where I have led a project on the influence of soil, fertility management and the soil microbiome on weed - crop competition. In 2021 I was awarded a competitive national project, that I PId (TED2021-130138A-I00; 128,685€) to reduce soil disturbance to manage weeds in organic systems using cover crops. Within the project, I am supervising a PhD, a graduate student and an undergraduate. In 2023, I was awarded a Ramon y Cajal (RyC) fellowship that I enjoyed until February 2026, when I became an assistant professor at the University of Lleida. My research continues to deal with sustainable and innovative crop production strategies using cover crops, mulchings and crop rotations in field and perennial crops. I am also a Work Package leader and a National coordinator of the AGROSOIL project (Agro-Ecological Soil Optimization for Integrated Weed Management) from the Horizon Europe, Agroecology partnership call to delve into the relationship between the soil microbiome, agroecological weed management strategies and weed communities. I am also in charge of two research agreements with an organic pork farmer (60,500€) and with an almond company (25,000€). During this period, I have used my research and experience in the classes I have taught both at undergraduate and graduate level on weed science, crop protection and botany within the degree on agricultural engineering and within the Master of Integrated Crop Protection, which I coordinate since January 2025.

So far, I have published 31 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 2 book chapters with a total of 1081 citations in Scopus. My h index is 15. I have also published many extension publications in journals like “The Conversation” or “Investigación y Ciencia” and in extension websites. I have also spoken at many events to promote science dissemination, and knowledge transfer and I have supervised (or I am currently supervising) three PhD students (two of them have just started), three master students (2) and seven undergraduate final projects (2). I have participated in 7 national and two international research projects, being the PI in two of them (EMERGE and AGROSOIL). I have done three research stays in Germany, the USA and the Philippines, presented my results on national and international scientific conferences and organized the Symposium of the European Weed Research Society in Lleida (July 2025, 350 attendants). I serve as a Subject Editor of the journal Weed Research (IF 2.424) and regularly review manuscripts for JCR journals (50 in the last years; https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/933093).

Employment

  • Universitat de Lleida Assistant Professor
    2026 - Present
  • Universitat de Lleida Ramon y Cajal Fellow
    2024 - 2026
  • University of Lleida Beatriu de Pinos post-doctoral scholar
    2020 - 2023
  • Penn State University
    2014 - 2019

Education

  • University of Lleida Agronomic Engineering
    1998 - 2002

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (29)