The consolidated scientific background and expertise of the Limnology Research Group of the Cavanilles Institute for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology (University of Valencia) is focused on the general limnology, the microbial ecology, and the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients of aquatic environments, paying mostly attention to the regulation of the carbon cycle and its key role in the exchange of greenhouse gases with the atmosphere.

Over the last 35 years, the group, led by Prof. Antonio Camacho, has developed competitive R&D+I projects, some of them of a markedly transdisciplinary nature. An important part of these studies focused on Mediterranean wetlands, but also biodiversity and functional studies in polar aquatic ecosystems were carried out leading several Antarctic and Arctic expeditions. Furthermore, the research group has conducted molecular ecology studies in both natural lakes and man-made reservoirs, which have successfully identified genes and enzymes with specific metabolic functions and biotechnological interest. The group also developed GIS and remote sensing procedures targeting conservation and restoration purposes and land use planning. All this basic research described above has been greatly fruitful in terms of scientific production.

On the other hand, the group has a long background in applied and knowledge transfer research in several fields. These mainly include the design, development and implementation of techniques for water purification, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystems restoration. It is noteworthy the work done for the development and implementation of European Directives, such as the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive, as well as other aspects related to the management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems.