Prof. Dr. Erika Michéli - MATE Research
Overview
Prof. Erika Michéli is a professor at the Department of Soil Science of the Institute of Environmental Sciences, where she serves as chair of the Institute.
Her research focuses on soil genesis and classification. Her expertise lies on numerical approaches in differentiation of soils.
Prof. Michéli’s work contributes to questions of how soils develop and become different in environmental and agricultural properties.
Her theoretical work examines how soil differences can be expressed by classifications tool. Her empirical work has assessed these theories in settings ranging from genetic to numerical approaches. Across her research, she uses pedometric approaches.
Prof. Michéli pioneered the development of diagnostic soil classification. Her findings are instrumental in international correlation of soils making significant contributions in soil science.
She authored and co-authored 120 research articles in high-impact scientific journals.
Prof. Michéli has collaborated with numerous research groups worldwide, and she has successfully applied for various research grants nationally and internationally. She won several national awards and is honorary member of the International Union of Soil Sciences.
She is member of the editorial board of the Geoderma Regional Q1 Journal. She was co-author of Soil Atlases of Europe, Africa and Asia.
Research keywords:
Publications
Michéi, 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 DOI: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2022.e00521
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
Micheli Erika, Láng Vince, Owens Phillip,McBratney Alex,Hempel Jon (2016). Testing the pedometric evaluation of taxonomic units on soil taxonomy: A step in advancing towards a universal soil classification system. GEODERMA (0016-7061 1872-6259): 264 SI pp 340-349 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.09.008
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.
