In Memory of Professor García Novo
Friday 25 th July 2025Francisco García Novo, Professor of Ecology at the University of Seville, passed away on 15 July 2025.
His connection with Portugal and the establishment of an Iberian network for the exchange of ecological knowledge began in the 1980s. For this reason, he attended and participated with great joy and enthusiasm in the 1st SIBECOL Congress, held in Barcelona in February 2019. A natural-born and interdisciplinary researcher of nature and ecological principles, he was largely responsible for fostering a global and cross-disciplinary understanding of Doñana National Park. Iberian ecology has lost one of its great masters.
We share the following tribute written by Professor Mari Cruz Barradas, Professor of Ecology at the University of Seville.
Memories of Professor García Novo
Professor Francisco García Novo — known affectionately as Fuco to his friends — passed away on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.
His wisdom and ideas will remain with us forever. He was a brilliant researcher, ecologist, teacher, and speaker, and played a fundamental role in nature conservation, especially in the ecosystems of Doñana National Park.
Born in Madrid on 2 May 1943, though of Galician heritage, he graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid, where he completed his PhD under Professor Fernando González Bernáldez, the father of terrestrial ecology in Spanish science. He furthered his studies at the Institute of Edaphology in Madrid and the Plant Improvement Station in Elvas, where he collaborated with the renowned botanist and engineer Malato Beliz.
In 1968, he married Marisa Bouzas, his lifelong partner, and moved to Scotland to continue his training at the University of St Andrews, where he completed a second PhD in plant physiology under Professor Robert Crawford. Their first child was born there, continuing the family line of biologists. Back in Spain, they had three more children — two daughters and a son — who inherited the family's energy, curiosity, and wisdom.
In 1976, he was awarded the Chair in Ecology at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and the following year he returned permanently to Seville to become Professor of Ecology.
During those years of transition, he led pioneering research on the vegetation and dunes of Doñana, playing a key role in their protection and contributing to the formal establishment of Doñana National Park in 1979.
I met Professor García Novo in June 1980 when I was still a biology student. I was immediately captivated by his knowledge and extraordinary ability to communicate. I took his course on Systems Ecology, where he masterfully integrated the biosphere's systems through the lens of entropy and thermodynamics.
He published numerous scientific articles and supervised 26 PhD theses on a wide range of topics, including grassland vegetation, Mediterranean shrubland, and fish ecology. I would especially like to highlight three theses on Doñana: one on post-fire succession; another on Doñana’s ecological history, reconstructed from historical records dating back to the 13th century; and a truly innovative thesis on the visual and plastic representation of the park’s ecosystems, carried out by a Fine Arts professor. He also supervised theses in Galicia and Portugal.
In 1983, we began the journey of my own doctoral thesis. With his inventive spirit, we explored the vertical structure of Doñana’s vegetation — an advanced and unconventional topic at the time. This involved mathematically describing a plant, converting it into pixelated images, and analysing its interaction with light, neighbouring vegetation, and seasonal changes.
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At that time, he gave me invaluable advice — including that the role of an ecologist is to learn how to ask the right questions of nature. He also encouraged me, given my Iberian context, to establish contacts with Portuguese centres. So I went to Lisbon in search of ecologists, and at the old Faculty of Sciences of the Polytechnic School, I met Professor Catarino (Fernando Catarino), Amélia (Maria Amélia Martins-Loução), and Otília (Otília Correia). That marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration and friendship.
I recall many anecdotes from those years — such as the time he caught a viper in the woods of the Doñana dunes and said he had to measure it, because "an ecologist must know how to take measurements in the field."
In spring 1985, we joined a trip organised by the British Ecological Society, visiting Doñana and the Huelva coast, where Professor Valverde welcomed us and spoke with great enthusiasm about the early conservation campaigns. The following year, I accompanied Professor García Novo to a conference in Třeboň (then Czechoslovakia), just a month after the Chernobyl disaster. That same June, during the First Spanish-Portuguese Integrated Action, we travelled to Lisbon. I vividly remember Professors García Novo and Catarino passionately discussing the essence of ecology during a visit to the Serra da Arrábida. He also supervised a thesis on the landscape diversity of Alto Alentejo, led by a landscape engineer from the University of Évora.
It is impossible to fully capture the scope of Professor García Novo’s legacy in a single text, but I will mention a few glimpses. He participated in a development commission on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, in Argentinian Patagonia. In 1989, he began directing the Doñagua Project, which aimed to understand Doñana’s groundwater systems, their dynamics, and interactions with vegetation.
In 1991, during the Felipe González government and under the Andalusian regional government of Manuel Chaves, an international commission was established — led by sociologist Manuel Castells — to propose strategies for sustainable development in the Doñana area. Professor García Novo was appointed to this commission. In 1992, they presented a visionary report that promoted sustainable development in the surrounding areas, focusing on tourism and brand image, without intervening directly in the protected territory.
In 1995, he was awarded the prestigious Jaume I Prize for the Environment in Valencia, which he received from Infanta Cristina.
In 1999, we began a new collaborative project with Lisbon — one that still continues today. Through the Spanish-Portuguese Integrated Action programme, we studied the Portuguese crowberry (Corema album) along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, with Professor García Novo actively contributing ideas and interpretations.
In 2005, he participated in the Doñana 2005 Project, focused on hydrological restoration of the park’s systems. That same year, we received a visit from students of the University of Lisbon, led by Professors Otília Correia, Margarida Santos-Reis, and Francisco Fonseca. He shared his insights with them and proudly led a field visit to the Partido restoration area, north of El Rocío village — a site he had helped recover from severe degradation.
28 March 2007 was a landmark day for Professor García Novo. He became a full member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, delivering a comprehensive lecture on biological diversity. The reply was given by the anthropologist Emiliano Aguirre. It was an emotional day, filled with family and friends.
In September 2013, he retired at age 70. He celebrated this milestone with a heartfelt dinner attended by family, colleagues, and friends — a moving evening full of memories.
In the months following retirement, he continued visiting the department to sort through his materials and check mail. Gradually, his visits became less frequent as he shifted his focus to his work with the Academy. Still, we continued to share conversations, attend conferences, and take field trips together.
One of the most enjoyable recent projects we shared was filming three educational documentaries. He presented the last one — about the history of Doñana — so we still have his image and voice preserved.
But on 3 July 2025, his voice fell silent due to a devastating brain haemorrhage. He remained in a coma for several days until he passed away peacefully on Tuesday, 15 July, surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Rest in peace, my dear teacher. I am sure that by now, you’ve already begun revolutionising celestial ecology.
Mari Cruz Barradas
Professor of Ecology
University of Seville
July 2025
His connection with Portugal and the establishment of an Iberian network for the exchange of ecological knowledge began in the 1980s. For this reason, he attended and participated with great joy and enthusiasm in the 1st SIBECOL Congress, held in Barcelona in February 2019. A natural-born and interdisciplinary researcher of nature and ecological principles, he was largely responsible for fostering a global and cross-disciplinary understanding of Doñana National Park. Iberian ecology has lost one of its great masters.
We share the following tribute written by Professor Mari Cruz Barradas, Professor of Ecology at the University of Seville.
Memories of Professor García Novo
Professor Francisco García Novo — known affectionately as Fuco to his friends — passed away on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.
His wisdom and ideas will remain with us forever. He was a brilliant researcher, ecologist, teacher, and speaker, and played a fundamental role in nature conservation, especially in the ecosystems of Doñana National Park.
Born in Madrid on 2 May 1943, though of Galician heritage, he graduated from the Complutense University of Madrid, where he completed his PhD under Professor Fernando González Bernáldez, the father of terrestrial ecology in Spanish science. He furthered his studies at the Institute of Edaphology in Madrid and the Plant Improvement Station in Elvas, where he collaborated with the renowned botanist and engineer Malato Beliz.
In 1968, he married Marisa Bouzas, his lifelong partner, and moved to Scotland to continue his training at the University of St Andrews, where he completed a second PhD in plant physiology under Professor Robert Crawford. Their first child was born there, continuing the family line of biologists. Back in Spain, they had three more children — two daughters and a son — who inherited the family's energy, curiosity, and wisdom.
In 1976, he was awarded the Chair in Ecology at the University of Santiago de Compostela, and the following year he returned permanently to Seville to become Professor of Ecology.
During those years of transition, he led pioneering research on the vegetation and dunes of Doñana, playing a key role in their protection and contributing to the formal establishment of Doñana National Park in 1979.
I met Professor García Novo in June 1980 when I was still a biology student. I was immediately captivated by his knowledge and extraordinary ability to communicate. I took his course on Systems Ecology, where he masterfully integrated the biosphere's systems through the lens of entropy and thermodynamics.
He published numerous scientific articles and supervised 26 PhD theses on a wide range of topics, including grassland vegetation, Mediterranean shrubland, and fish ecology. I would especially like to highlight three theses on Doñana: one on post-fire succession; another on Doñana’s ecological history, reconstructed from historical records dating back to the 13th century; and a truly innovative thesis on the visual and plastic representation of the park’s ecosystems, carried out by a Fine Arts professor. He also supervised theses in Galicia and Portugal.
In 1983, we began the journey of my own doctoral thesis. With his inventive spirit, we explored the vertical structure of Doñana’s vegetation — an advanced and unconventional topic at the time. This involved mathematically describing a plant, converting it into pixelated images, and analysing its interaction with light, neighbouring vegetation, and seasonal changes.
At that time, he gave me invaluable advice — including that the role of an ecologist is to learn how to ask the right questions of nature. He also encouraged me, given my Iberian context, to establish contacts with Portuguese centres. So I went to Lisbon in search of ecologists, and at the old Faculty of Sciences of the Polytechnic School, I met Professor Catarino (Fernando Catarino), Amélia (Maria Amélia Martins-Loução), and Otília (Otília Correia). That marked the beginning of a long-standing collaboration and friendship.
I recall many anecdotes from those years — such as the time he caught a viper in the woods of the Doñana dunes and said he had to measure it, because "an ecologist must know how to take measurements in the field."
In spring 1985, we joined a trip organised by the British Ecological Society, visiting Doñana and the Huelva coast, where Professor Valverde welcomed us and spoke with great enthusiasm about the early conservation campaigns. The following year, I accompanied Professor García Novo to a conference in Třeboň (then Czechoslovakia), just a month after the Chernobyl disaster. That same June, during the First Spanish-Portuguese Integrated Action, we travelled to Lisbon. I vividly remember Professors García Novo and Catarino passionately discussing the essence of ecology during a visit to the Serra da Arrábida. He also supervised a thesis on the landscape diversity of Alto Alentejo, led by a landscape engineer from the University of Évora.
It is impossible to fully capture the scope of Professor García Novo’s legacy in a single text, but I will mention a few glimpses. He participated in a development commission on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, in Argentinian Patagonia. In 1989, he began directing the Doñagua Project, which aimed to understand Doñana’s groundwater systems, their dynamics, and interactions with vegetation.
In 1991, during the Felipe González government and under the Andalusian regional government of Manuel Chaves, an international commission was established — led by sociologist Manuel Castells — to propose strategies for sustainable development in the Doñana area. Professor García Novo was appointed to this commission. In 1992, they presented a visionary report that promoted sustainable development in the surrounding areas, focusing on tourism and brand image, without intervening directly in the protected territory.
In 1995, he was awarded the prestigious Jaume I Prize for the Environment in Valencia, which he received from Infanta Cristina.
In 1999, we began a new collaborative project with Lisbon — one that still continues today. Through the Spanish-Portuguese Integrated Action programme, we studied the Portuguese crowberry (Corema album) along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, with Professor García Novo actively contributing ideas and interpretations.
In 2005, he participated in the Doñana 2005 Project, focused on hydrological restoration of the park’s systems. That same year, we received a visit from students of the University of Lisbon, led by Professors Otília Correia, Margarida Santos-Reis, and Francisco Fonseca. He shared his insights with them and proudly led a field visit to the Partido restoration area, north of El Rocío village — a site he had helped recover from severe degradation.
28 March 2007 was a landmark day for Professor García Novo. He became a full member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, delivering a comprehensive lecture on biological diversity. The reply was given by the anthropologist Emiliano Aguirre. It was an emotional day, filled with family and friends.
In September 2013, he retired at age 70. He celebrated this milestone with a heartfelt dinner attended by family, colleagues, and friends — a moving evening full of memories.
In the months following retirement, he continued visiting the department to sort through his materials and check mail. Gradually, his visits became less frequent as he shifted his focus to his work with the Academy. Still, we continued to share conversations, attend conferences, and take field trips together.
One of the most enjoyable recent projects we shared was filming three educational documentaries. He presented the last one — about the history of Doñana — so we still have his image and voice preserved.
But on 3 July 2025, his voice fell silent due to a devastating brain haemorrhage. He remained in a coma for several days until he passed away peacefully on Tuesday, 15 July, surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Rest in peace, my dear teacher. I am sure that by now, you’ve already begun revolutionising celestial ecology.
Mari Cruz Barradas
Professor of Ecology
University of Seville
July 2025
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