Orestis Kairis

Orestis Kairis serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Land Management & Geology at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), operating under the School of Environment and Agricultural Engineering. His academic appointment focuses on Land Mapping and Assessment, with teaching responsibilities spanning both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in soil science, land degradation, and geospatial analysis. Kairis maintains active research leadership through his role as elected member of Greece's National Committee for Combating Desertification since 2021.

His educational background demonstrates deep institutional roots at AUA: BSc in Natural Resources and Agricultural Engineering (2001), MSc in Soil Resources and Agricultural Engineering (2003), and PhD from the same department (2015) with thesis on land degradation and desertification factors. This progression reflects his specialized expertise in Mediterranean soil systems.

Research interests center on critical environmental challenges including soil mapping methodologies (integrating digital and conventional approaches), agricultural suitability assessment, and desertification risk modeling. His work uniquely bridges field soil survey techniques with advanced geospatial analysis, particularly examining soil erosion mechanisms and environmental sensitivity indicators under climate stress. Current projects emphasize practical applications for sustainable land management in vulnerable Mediterranean ecosystems.

Publication trends reveal consistent focus on Mediterranean environmental challenges through 15+ recent articles (2017-2025), with increasing emphasis on digital soil mapping validation, climate dataset applications for agriculture, and mining impact assessments. His work demonstrates strong methodological diversity, combining field measurements, remote sensing, and simulation modeling to address land degradation.

Kairis has directed significant research infrastructure as scientific director for 2 projects and deputy director for 3 others, participating in over 30 European and Greek State-funded initiatives. His project leadership spans soil health assessment in mining areas, desertification monitoring systems, and agricultural land capability evaluations, demonstrating practical implementation of his research frameworks.

His technical capabilities include advanced soil survey methodology, erosion risk modeling using PESERA/RUSLE systems, and integration of CORINE/NDVI data for land sensitivity mapping. Current work focuses on developing decision support tools for land management policy implementation, particularly through the DRAST framework for desertification risk assessment.