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Luca Montanarella

Luca Montanarella

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Environmental Sciences
Belgium
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Environmental Sciences

D-Index
87
Citations
34933
World Ranking
666
National Ranking
10

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Belgium Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Environmental Sciences in Belgium Leader Award

Overview

Luca Montanarella is affiliated with the European Commission in Belgium and focuses on research in the fields of Agricultural and Biological Sciences as well as Environmental Science. Their work encompasses several subfields including Soil Science, Global and Planetary Change, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Environmental Chemistry, and Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics.

The main topics covered in their publications include Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics, Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport, Land Use and Ecosystem Services, Soil Geostatistics and Mapping, Aeolian Processes and Effects, Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics, and Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology.

Frequent co-authors collaborating with Montanarella are Panos Panagos, Pasquale Borrelli, Cristiano Ballabio, Arwyn Jones, and Calogero Schillaci. Their research has been published in various scientific venues, with recurring publications in the European Journal of Soil Science, Land Degradation and Development, Land Use Policy, Science, and Geoderma.

Among recent significant publications authored or co-authored by Montanarella are:

  • "Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070)" (2020), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • "The relevance of sustainable soil management within the European Green Deal" (2020), Land Use Policy
  • "Tracking, targeting, and conserving soil biodiversity" (2021), Science
  • "A Soil Erosion Indicator for Supporting Agricultural, Environmental and Climate Policies in the European Union" (2020), Remote Sensing
  • "European Soil Data Centre 2.0: Soil data and knowledge in support of the EU policies" (2022), European Journal of Soil Science

Montanarella's research bridges soil science with environmental policy and ecosystem management, reflecting an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both scientific and regulatory aspects. Their involvement with soil erosion, soil carbon dynamics, and soil biodiversity demonstrates a commitment to understanding environmental processes at different scales.

Best Publications

  • An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion.

    Pasquale Borrelli;David A. Robinson;Larissa R. Fleischer;Emanuele Lugato

  • Heavy metals in agricultural soils of the European Union with implications for food safety

    G. Tóth;T. Hermann;M.R. Da Silva;L. Montanarella

  • The significance of soils and soil science towards realization of the United Nations sustainable development goals

    Saskia D. Keesstra;Johan Bouma;Jakob Wallinga;Pablo Tittonell

  • The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe

    Panos Panagos;Pasquale Borrelli;Jean Poesen;Cristiano Ballabio

  • Land use and climate change impacts on global soil erosion by water (2015-2070).

    Pasquale Borrelli;Pasquale Borrelli;David A. Robinson;Panos Panagos;Emanuele Lugato

  • Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.2)

    F.O. Nachtergaele;H. van Velthuizen;L. Verelst;D. Wiberg

  • Estimating the soil erosion cover-management factor at the European scale

    Panos Panagos;Pasquale Borrelli;Katrin Meusburger;Christine Alewell

  • European Soil Data Centre: Response to European policy support and public data requirements

    Panos Panagos;Marc Van Liedekerke;Arwyn Jones;Luca Montanarella

  • Digital Soil Map of the World

    Pedro A. Sanchez;Sonya Ahamed;Florence Carré;Alfred E. Hartemink

  • Contaminated Sites in Europe: Review of the Current Situation Based on Data Collected through a European Network

    Panos Panagos;Marc Van Liedekerke;Yusuf Yigini;Luca Montanarella

  • Soil erosion risk assessment in Europe

    J. M. Van der Knijff;R. J. A. Jones;L. Montanarella

  • Harmonized World Soil Database (version 1.0)

    F.O. Nachtergaele;H. van Velthuizen;L. Verelst;N.H. Batjes

  • Soil Spectroscopy: An Alternative to Wet Chemistry for Soil Monitoring

    Marco Nocita;Antoine Stevens;Bas van Wesemael;Matt Aitkenhead

  • The relevance of sustainable soil management within the European Green Deal

    Luca Montanarella;Panos Panagos

  • Reports of the technical working groups established under the Thematic Strategy for Soil Protection

    Lieve Van-Camp;Benilde Bujarrabal;Anna R. Gentile;Robert J. A. Jones

  • Projected changes in mineral soil carbon of European croplands and grasslands, 1990–2080

    Jo Smith;Pete Smith;Martin Wattenbach;Sönke Zaehle

  • World's soils are under threat

    Luca Montanarella;Daniel Jon Pennock;Neil McKenzie;Mohamed Badraoui

  • Prediction of Soil Organic Carbon at the European Scale by Visible and Near InfraRed Reflectance Spectroscopy

    Antoine Stevens;Marco Nocita;Gergely Tóth;Luca Montanarella

  • GlobalSoilMap: Toward a Fine-Resolution Global Grid of Soil Properties

    Dominique Arrouays;Michael G. Grundy;Alfred E. Hartemink;Jonathan W. Hempel

  • Estimating organic carbon in the soils of Europe for policy support

    Robert J. A. Jones;Roland Hiederer;E. Rusco;Luca Montanarella

  • Soil erosion risk assessment in Italy

    J. M. Van der Knijff;R. J. A. Jones;L. Montanarella

  • The significance of soils and soil science towards realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

    Saskia Keesstra;Johan Bouma;Jakob Wallinga;Pablo Tittonell

Frequent Co-Authors

Panos Panagos
Panos Panagos European Commission
Pasquale Borrelli
Pasquale Borrelli Roma Tre University
Emanuele Lugato
Emanuele Lugato University of Padua
Cristiano Ballabio
Cristiano Ballabio University of Milan
Christine Alewell
Christine Alewell University of Basel
Olivier Dewitte
Olivier Dewitte Royal Museum for Central Africa
Katrin Meusburger
Katrin Meusburger Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Bas van Wesemael
Bas van Wesemael Université Catholique de Louvain
Peter Smith
Peter Smith University of Aberdeen
Jean Poesen
Jean Poesen KU Leuven

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