The general aim of the research of Fernando Valladares has been to study the response of terrestrial ecosystems to changing environmental conditions. The underlying intention has been to contribute to the general issue of global change from the more specific aspects of plant ecology and evolution involved in his daily research. Among the studies addressed during the last twenty years of uninterrupted research, FV has also tried to identify general principles that can be applied to the restoration of degraded ecosystems, and that can be used as a basis for environmental policies primarily dealing with dry, Mediterranean-type ecosystems.