Dr. Márta Fuchs - MATE Research
Overview
Dr. Márta Fuchs is an associate professor at the Department of Soil Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences. Her research focuses on diagnostic-based soil classification, field survey, soil monitoring, soil data harmonization and soil organic carbon stock calculation under different land use and climatic conditions.
Márta Fuchs’s work contributes to the selection, environmental and pedologic characterization of sites managed under no-till or carbon farming systems in order to explore interactions among management and SOC turnover to evaluate carbon sequestration potential of regenerative systems. Her work will contribute to questions of how detailed site and soil descriptions, pedologic interpretations and soil classification can provide a well-founded bases allowing observed OC changes to be correctly attributed to regenerative practices rather than to natural spatial soil variability.
Across her research, she applies soil spectral data-based approaches for evaluating the taxonomic relationships of different soil types, including the prediction and interpretation of selected soil properties like soil organic carbon.
She authored and co-authored 21 research articles in high-impact scientific journals.
Márta Fuchs has collaborated with research groups across Europe and Africa, and he has successfully applied for H2020 and Horizon Europe grants.
Research keywords:
Publications
Rotich, B., Szegi, T., Gelsleichter, Y. A., Fuchs, M., Ocansey, C. M., Phensin, J. N., Abdulkadir, M., Kipkulei, H., Wawire, A., Mutuma, E., Mesele, S. A., Michéli, E., Csorba, Á. (2025): Variation in Soil Organic Carbon and Total Nitrogen Stocks Across Elevation Gradients and Soil Depths in the Mount Kenya East Forest. LAND, 14(6), Paper: 1217, 17 p. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14061217
Adiyah, F.; Csorba, Á.; Dawoe, E.; Ocansey, C. M.; Asamoah, E.; Szegi, T.; Fuchs, M.; Michéli, E., 2023. Soil organic carbon changes under selected agroforestry cocoa systems in Ghana. GEODERMA REGIONAL 35 Paper: e00737 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2023.e00737
Adiyah, F.; Michéli, E.; Csorba, A.; Gebremeskel Weldmichael, T.; Gyuricza, Cs.; Ocansey, C. M.; Dawoe, E.; Owusu, S.; Fuchs, M., 2022. Effects of landuse change and topography on the quantity and distribution of soil organic carbon stocks on Acrisol catenas in tropical small-scale shade cocoa systems of the Ashanti region of Ghana. CATENA 216 Paper: 106366, 15 p. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106366
Micheli, E., Csorba, Á., Láng, V., Szegi, T., Székács, A., Várszegi, G., Fuchs, M., Pásztor, L., Dobos, E. (2022): Soil priorities for Hungary. Geoderma Regional, 29, e00521 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2022.e00521
Projects
African Union Soil Observatory – AUSO
https://auso.faraafrica.org/
AUSO is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative to establish a continent-wide soil information system for Africa, addressing critical data gaps that currently hinder sustainable land and agricultural management. AUSO will consolidate soil data into an African Soil Data Centre (ASDAC) and an interactive Soil Health Dashboard, enabling continuous soil health monitoring, evidence-based policymaking, and targeted land management interventions across the continent. The project builds on previous efforts such as Soils4Africa, is coordinated by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and owned by the African Union Commission, and engages partners from both Africa and Europe to support national soil strategies and strengthen soil data systems in at least 12 countries. By providing reliable, harmonised soil information, AUSO will support sustainable agriculture, food security, and resilience to environmental challenges at local, national, and regional levels.
Soil Information System for Africa - Soils4Africa
https://www.soils4africa-h2020.eu/
Soils4Africa was a Horizon 2020 funded project that developed a continent-wide, open-access Soil Information System (SIS), providing harmonised soil data and a consistent set of key soil quality indicators for African agricultural land. The project was built on standardised field and laboratory methods and a large, statistically representative soil sampling campaign, enabling comparable soil information across participating countries. The SIS supported evidence-based decision-making for sustainable agricultural intensification, food security, and soil health management, and was designed to be hosted and maintained by an African institution as part of a broader knowledge platform. By integrating new soil data with open earth observation information, Soils4Africa promoted open science, strengthened Africa-Europe collaboration, and enhanced the capacity for soil information services across the continent.
Refining Soil Conservation and Regenerative Practices to Enhance Carbon Sequestration and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions - C-arouNd
https://www.embrapa.br/en/arroz-e-feijao/pesquisa/c-around
C-arouNd aims to investigate how short and long-term agricultural management practices affect SOM persistence in the soil profile and contribute to inclusion of the effects in national inventories to inform policy to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate global change. C-arouNd also aims to synthesize findings from a worldwide consortium of long-term agricultural field experiments with focus on soil organic matter sequestration and persistence.
