Blanca Ivañez Ballesteros

• Agroecology and sustainable development, especially in the tropics
• Ecosystem services, from pollination to pest control
• Landscape ecology
• Socioecosystems and agroecology

Ecological intensification and multifunctionality of cacao agroforestry systems in Peruvian landscapes (ECO-CACAO)

2022 - 2026: PhD student at the University of Wuerzburg, Germany

2020-2021: Collaboration with Grupo de Ecología Tropical de España (Spanish Tropical Ecology group)

2018-2020: MSc in Biology, Ecology, at Københavns Universitet, Denmark

Master thesis: "Ants as Ecosystem Engineers: changes in soil conditions and greenhouse gas emission"  supervised by Prof. Dr. Michael Poulsen, Dr. Søren Christensen and Dr. Flemming Ekelund

2017: Internship at IRNAS (Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville)-CSIC, Sevilla, Spain

2017: Internship in the Centre for Plant Sciences, Plant Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, UK

2014-2018: BSc in Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

Bachelor thesis: "Landing orientation of water birds in Santa Pola salt marshes (Alicante)"  supervised by Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier de Miguel Águeda

Peer-reviewed

Ivañez‐Ballesteros, B., et al. (2026). Local canopy cover, shade tree identity and landscape tree cover shape leaf‐cutter ant nest density and herbivory in cacao agroforestry systems. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63(4), e70359.

Aycart-Lazo, P., Ivañez-Ballesteros, B. et al. (2026). Integrating local and landscape management promotes biodiversity, multifunctionality and yields in tropical agroforests. Communications Earth & Environment, 7(1), 840.

Aycart-Lazo, P., Sánchez-Maldonado, L., Ivañez-Ballesteros, B., et al. (2026). Tree cover loss and intensified land use simplify bat assemblages in Amazonian cacao agroforestry landscapes. Landscape Ecology.

Aycart-Lazo, P., Ivañez-Ballesteros, B., et al. (2025). Landscape context influences local management effects on birds and bats in Amazonian cacao agroforestry systems. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 385, 109545.

Tscharntke, T., Ocampo‐Ariza, C., Vansynghel, J., Ivañez‐Ballesteros, B., et al. (2023). Socio‐ecological benefits of fine‐flavor cacao in its center of origin. Conservation Letters, 16(1), e12936.

Preprints

• Ivañez-Ballesteros, B., et al. Cacao Fruit Set Depends on Variety, Pollinator Diversity, Local Canopy Cover and Tree Rich Landscapes.

Conferences

Iváñez-Ballesteros, B., et al. (2025). Cacao fruit set depends on variety, pollinator diversity, local canopy cover and tree-rich landscapes. Talk at GFÖ Conference, Würzburg, Germany.(Talk)

Iváñez-Ballesteros, B., et al. (2025). Leaf-Cutter Ants in Cacao Agroforestry. Talk at GTÖ Conference, Amsterdam. (Talk)

Iváñez-Ballesteros, B., et al. (2024). Cacao Pollination: Impact of Landscape and Farming Practices. Talk at GTÖ Conference, Lisbon. (Talk)

Iváñez-Ballesteros, B., Cayuela, L., Gomez-Zurita, J. (2021). Taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of Chrysomelidae through the altitudinal gradients in the Ecuatorian Andes. XIV Scientific Marathon in the Royal Botanical Garden (RJB-CSIC) in Madrid, Spain. (Talk)

Iváñez-Ballesteros, B. and De Miguel-Agueda, F.J. (2018) Landing orientation of water birds in Santa Pola salt marshes (Alicante) Poster at I Jornada Primeros Pasos, Biology Deparment, Autonomous University of Madrid. (Poster)