dr. V (Slava) Vasenev

I was born in Kishinev (Moldova Republic) and grew up in Kursk (Central Chernozemic Region of Russia), so I was surrounded by the most fertile soils during all my life. Not a surprise that I picked up Soil Science Faculty in the Lomonosov Moscow State University for my higher education. I graduated LMSU in 2008 and moved to Wageningen as an Erasmus exchange PhD student. In 2015, I obtained a doctoral degree in Wageningen University. My research interests have always been focused on interactions between natural and anthropogenic ecosystems and particularly on the environmental consequences of urbanization. Urban soils’ functions and ecosystem services with a particular focus on carbon stocks and greenhouse gases emissions were the major focus of my PhD projects. In 2011-2021 I was appointed at the Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Development of RUDN University as an associate professor and as a coordinator of the research center “Smart Technologies for Sustainable Urban Development under Global Changes”. During this period my research interests expanded considerably following the new research projects and collaborations with stakeholders. Currently the directions of my research are the following: urban soils’ quality and health; soil ecosystem services; the role of soil in nature-based solution, IoT technologies and remote sensing to monitor urban soils and green infrastructure; urban farming; soil contamination and remediation; engineering artificial soil constructions; the effect of urban climate on soils; social and economic metrics to evaluate ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructures, urban ecosystems in Arctic. My teaching experience includes developing and teaching courses for bachelors, masters and PhD students, supervising diplomas and thesis, organization of field research practices and summer schools. Since 2017 I have been organizing an annual international field summer school 3MUGIS “Anthropogenic soils and landscapes: from Sea to Sea”, which (to my knowledge) is the first summer school involving a comprehensive analysis of soils and green infrastructure by express and integral assessment techniques in a wide range of bioclimatic conditions from subarctic to subtropics.

Since January 2021 I am appointed as an assistant professor in Soil Geography and Landscape research group and look forward for new collaboration.