Dr. Antonios Apostolakis
I am a soil biogeochemist with a background on environmental engineering. My research focuses on carbon and nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils and my goal is to make agriculture “greener” by reducing its environmental footprint. I use field experiments and laboratory observations, often combined with modeling approaches, to understand biogeochemical processes in soils.
Research interests
- Effects of land use and management on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling
- Agroecology and climate change mitigation strategies
- Trade-offs between food security, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions
Former projects
- TrueSoil (2022-25) Understanding trade-offs and dynamic interactions between SOC stocks and GHG emissions for climate-smart agrisoil management
- Biodiversity Exploratories (2017-22) Large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research
- ReCare (2015-17) Remediation of degraded soils through land care in Europe
- SoilTrEC (2014-15) Soil Transformation in European Catchments
Education
- PhD (2017-22) on Land Use Effects on Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes in Soils, Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry and University of Jena, Germany
- MSc (2015-17) on Water Resources Management, Technical University of Crete, Greece
- Diploma (2010-15) on Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Greece
Additional information
Personal website: https://www.aapostolakis.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonios-apostolakis-b84791122/
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=H1P64nkAAAAJ&hl=en
Selected publications
- Apostolakis et al., 2026. Long-term reduced tillage does not enhance crop yield, soil organic carbon stocks or greenhouse gas mitigation under ambient rainfall and rainfall exclusion in a temperate Luvisol. Soil and Tillage Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2025.106985
- Apostolakis et al., 2023. Forest Structure and Fine Root Biomass Influence Soil CO2 Efflux in Temperate Forests under Drought. Forests 14, 411. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14020411
- Apostolakis et al., 2022. Direct and plant community mediated effects of management intensity on annual nutrient leaching risk in temperate grasslands. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-022-10209-1
- Apostolakis et al., 2022. Drivers of soil respiration across a management intensity gradient in temperate grasslands under drought. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-022-10224-2
- Apostolakis et al., 2017. Shifts in soil structure and soil organic matter in a chronosequence of set-aside fields. Soil and Tillage Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.07.004