Science Tribune on April 4th: Soil and Its Degradation
Montenegrin Academy of Science and Arts organizes Science Tribune on topic “Soil and Soil Degradation”. Lecturer is Velibor Spalević, PhD, from the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Montenegro.
Tribune will be held on Tuesday, April 4th 2023, with beginning at 12 o’clock, in the hall of Montenegrin Academy of Science and Arts, Podgorica, Risto Stijović Street 5.
We invite you to attend the science tribune.
Velibor Spalević, PhD, graduated (1995) and mastered (1999) on Department for Meliorations of Soil and Water of Agriculture Faculty of the University in Belgrade. He attended doctoral studies on the same faculty in period 2006-2011. He defended PhD thesis from the field of melioration of soil and physical-geographic research of Polimlje in 2011.
Since 1995, he has worked on the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Montenegro, and he is a lecturer on a Study Program Geography of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niksic. In the period from 2001-2014 he managed projects of the European Commission for the field of Agriculture and environment. He was coordinator, afterwards director of the Office UN IFAD International Fund for Economy Development (2016-2018). He presides the Department of young scientists and advisor of the World Organization for Soil and Water Protection. In two mandates, he was president of the Board of Soil, Environment and Ecosystem Interactions of Europe Geoscience Union (EGU). He is member of the Engineer Academy of Serbia. He was member of the Scientific Board of the Senate of the University of Montenegro.
He finalized 34 trainings abroad, during 2004 on the University Cornel (USA), under mentorship of Harold van Es, President of American Society for Soil Studying and Chris Renschler from Department for Geography in Buffalo, studied from the field of soil conservation.
Greatest interest of scientific expert public is triggered by introducing own internationally recognized model for calculation of erosion intensity of soil and outflow from basins. In his papers, he points to importance of soil and water as resource for food production, emphasizing to what extent soils influence on erosive, and also hydrological and carbon cycle.
In his research, he works on assessing the level of degradation of soil that reduces its organic matter, biota and fertility. He reckons that soil erosion is a main environmental problem, and turns attention to usurpation of agriculture plots with urbanization. He advocates shifting from emotional sphere into legally binding political sphere of translating metaphors into solid facts, based on reliable data that are backed up by measurable indicators, and applicable for quantitative estimation of soil soundness relevant for policy creation.