Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory

Main Ecosystem

Koiliaris CZO is an exemplary site for studying the Mediterranean soils under imminent threat of desertification due to climate change. The main type of soil degradation in the basin is water erosion, which is due to the clearing of forests and natural vegetation for cropping and livestock grazing. De-vegetation and inappropriate cultivation practices induces soil organic matter losses making soils susceptible to erosion and desertification with global consequences for food security, climate change, biodiversity, water quality, and agricultural economy.

The total area is 130 km2 and the total length of the river is 36 km. Intensive hydrologic and geochemical monitoring has been conducted since 2004 while the site has historical data since the ‘60s. In addition, high-frequency hydrologic and water quality monitoring stations have been deployed to obtain data for the characterization of the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes with varying process response-times. There are 3 meteorological stations within the watershed and several outside. Water quality data of surface and groundwater have been collected since 2004.

Critical Zone
Earth’s Critical Zone (CZ), the thin outer veneer of our planet from the top of the tree canopy to the bottom of our drinking water aquifers that supports almost all human activity.

Banwart, S., Chorover, J., Gaillardet, J., Sparks, D., White, T., et al. (2013): Sustaining Earth’s Critical Zone – Basic Science and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Global Challenges. The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, ISBN: 978-0-9576890-0-8. [ref]

Site Details
Short name: Koiliaris-CZO
ILTER ID: LTER_EU_GR_001
Year est.: 2004
Location: Chania, Crete, Greece
Elevation (m.a.s.l.): 0 to 2225, 600 (AVG)
Area (sqkm): 130

Contact Info
prof. Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis
nikolaos.nikolaidis@enveng.tuc.gr
Chania, Crete, Greece
herslab.tuc.gr
+302821037785

Research Topics

Water Resources Management and Sustainable Management of Soils,

Hydrologic Modelling of Complex Terrains,

High Frequency Environmental Monitoring,

Soil Degradation and Soil Formation,

Stream and Ground Water Chemistry.

Team

Nikos Nikolaidis

Dionissis Efstathiou

Maria Lilli

Partners

Key Scientific and Societal Questions

Stream and Ground Water Chemistry

How anthropogenic practices affect hydrogeochemical pathways between the terrestrial and aquatic environments in a Mediterranean watershed
What are the impacts of agricultural land use practices on water quality?
What are the impacts of livestock grazing on water quality?
Identify hydrogeochemical pathways and quantify chemical fluxes between the terrestrial and aquatic environments

Hydrologic and Geochemical Modeling of Complex Terrain

Model parameterization to improve hydrologic and geochemical predictability
Scaling up methodology – what are the uncertainties of parameter estimation at different scales.

High Frequency Environmental Monitoring

Development of intelligent monitoring system with adaptive sampling frequency – How is high frequency adaptive sampling going to improve the data availability for environmental decision making?
How is high frequency adaptive sampling going to improve the data availability flash flood forecasting?

Soil Degradation and Formation

How grazing affects nutrient (C, N, P) cycling in degraded soils of Koiliaris river basin (KRB) highlands. What are the impacts of livestock grazing on soil and water quality?
What are the processes controlling aggregation and nutrient sequestration in soils?
How agricultural practices affect aggregation and nutrient sequestration in soils?
What are the factors and processes affecting soil (aggregate) formation and degradation? Rates of formation and degradation?
What is the areal extend of soil at threat to degradation?

Sustainable Management of Water and Soil Resources

How is climate change going to affect water availability and management?
Soil sustainability requires long-term social change. What is the best governance paradigm for such a change?
Considering the fact that sustainability demands a mixture of governmental policies, market initiatives and civil-society interventions what are the more appropriate tools and mechanisms for more efficient public participation?

Success Stories

Water Resources and Climate Change Sustainable Agricultural Development Deficit Irrigation of Avocado & Olive Trees Flood Protection & Riparian Forest Restoration

Tools for Water Resources Management and Climate Change Adaptation

The complex geomorphology of Greece with irregular terrain, high mountains, small valleys, temporary rivers, karstic springs and a semi-arid climate necessitated the development of a model that would be capable of simulating the hydrologic and geochemical processes at the watershed and regional scale. Based on the data collected at the Koiliaris CZO, our team developed the Karst-SWAT model that can simulate the Koiliaris basin and its extended karst as well as extend it for the simulation of the whole island of Crete.

The model was used to estimate the available water for use for 356 sub-basins of Crete as well as assess the impacts of climate change scenarios on water availability. The Region of Crete has used the results of the model to develop drought management plans as well as comply with the Water Framework Directive in terms of accounting climate change impacts in the Program of Measures to improve the quality of degraded water bodies.

Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Development and Land Management

The Integrated Critical Zone model has been developed to simulate soil functions(biomass production, carbon/nutrient sequestration in relation to soil structure, and water filtration) and soil ecosystem services and contribute to sustainable land management by accounting for interactions among water flow, solute transport, soil structure dynamics, carbon and nutrient dynamics and plant biomass production. The model can be used at the farm scale version, the 1D-ICZ to assess soil fertility, agricultural practices and food production or the basin scale combined with the Karst-SWAT, the Karst-SWAT-ICZ model to identify sustainable land management practices.

Experimental Stations for Deficit Irrigation of Avocado and Olive Trees

Two hydrologic and plant monitoring stations have been established in an avocado and olive plantation to determine optimal irrigation schemes, the water use efficiency of the trees and ways to improve plant productivity. The stations consist of a precipitation and meteorological station, soil moisture profilers near and away from the tree, irrigation flow monitoring, NDVI and PRE cameras for the estimation of the above ground biomass changes. These data that are collected every 15 minutes, together with expert knowledge will determine optimal; irrigation schemes such as deficit irrigation that will conserve the use of water as well as maximize plant production.

Design of Sustainable Flood Protection and Restoration of Riparian Forest

Koiliaris River basin like many other basins in Greece is prove to flash floods that have resulted in significant bank erosion and the degradation of the riparian forest. The riparian forest has been reduced to a single row of trees along the river bank due to agricultural expansion that are being threatened due to erosion. The restoration of the eroded banks (given their steep slopes) will be achieved with stone walls and rip-rap constructions that will be accompanied with the restoration of the riparian forest. The latest means that we will restore not only the last row trees next to the river, but also reclaim the riparian forest area from agriculture. Flood protection will be achieved by creating short (1.5-2 m tall) embankments 10 meters away from the river that will have at the crest a walk way for pedestrians and their slopes as well as the area between the river and the embankment will be planted with indigenous trees to the existing riparian forest. In this way 20 m on both sides of the bank will be created a riparian forest that will extend to almost 5 Km long. This green corridor is a traditional NBS with multiple benefits for the stability of the banks from erosion as well as for the ecosystem of the river.

Publications

Journal Papers

Shaojun Qiu; Huiyi Yang; Shuiqing Zhang; Shaomin Huang; Shicheng Zhao; Xingpeng Xu; Wei Zhou; Ying Zhao; Na Yan; Nikolaos Nikolaidis; Peter Christie; Steven A Banwart, 2023. Carbon storage in arable soils combining field measurements, aggregate turnover modeling and climate scenarios, CATENA Vol 20, January 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106708
Paranychianakis NV, G. Giannakis, D. Moraetis, V. A. Tzanakakis, N. Nikolaidis, 2021. Crop has a strong effect on soil carbon sequestration in semi-arid environments, Sustainability 13, 13278. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313278.
Skoulikidis T., N.P. Nikolaidis, A. Panagopoulos, M. Fischer-Kowalski, S. Zogaris, P. Petridis, V. Pisinaras, D. Efstathiou, T. Petanidou, N. Michalopoulos, M. Mimikou, 2021. The LTER-Greece environmental observatory network: Design and initial achievements, WATER, 2021, 13, 2971. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13212971
Xuan Yu, Zexuan Xu, Daniel Moraetis, Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis, Frank W. Schwatz, Yu Zhang, Lele Shu, Christopher Duffy, Bingjun Liu 2021. Capturing hotspots of fresh submarine groundwater discharge using a couple surface-subsurface model, Journal of Hydrology, 598, 126356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126356
Lilli, M.A.; Efstathiou, D.; Moraetis, D.; Schuite, J.; Nerantzaki, S.D.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Α Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Understand Hydrologic and Geochemical Processes at Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. Water 2020, 12, 2474, doi:10.3390/w12092474.
Nerantzaki, S., Nikolaidis, NP, 2020. The response of three Mediterranean karstic springs to drought and the impact of climate change, Journal of Hydrology, 591, 125296, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125296.
Lilli, M.A.; Nerantzaki, S.D.; Riziotis, C.; Kotronakis, M.; Efstathiou, D.; Kontakos, D.; Lymberakis, P.; Avramakis, M.; Tsakirakis, A.; Protopapadakis, K.; et al. Vision-Based Decision-Making Methodology for Riparian Forest Restoration and Flood Protection Using Nature-Based Solutions. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3305, doi:10.3390/su12083305.
Nerantzaki, S.D.; Hristopulos, D.T.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Estimation of the uncertainty of hydrologic predictions in a karstic Mediterranean watershed. Sci. Total Environ. 2020, 717, 137131, doi:10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.137131.
Banwart, A.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Zhu, Y.G.; Peacock, C.L.; Sparks, D.L. Soil Functions: Connecting Earth’s Critical Zone. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2019, 47, 333–359, doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020544.
Jonsson, J; Davidsdottir, B.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Giannakis, G.V. Tools for Sustainable Soil Management: Soil Ecosystem Services, EROI and Economic Analysis. Ecol. Econ. 2019, 157, 109–119, doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.010.
Demetropoulou, L; Lilli, M.A.; Petousi, I.; Nikolaou, T.; Fountoulakis, M.; Kritsotakis, M.; Panakoulia, S.; Giannakis, G.V.; Manios, T.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Innovative methodology for the prioritization of the Program of Measures for integrated water resources management of the Region of Crete, Greece. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 672, 61–70, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.397.
Nerantzaki, D.; Efstathiou, D.; Giannakis, G.; Kritsotakis, M.; Grillakis, M.; Koutroulis, A.; Tsanis, I.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Climate Change Impact on the Hydrologic Budget of a large Mediterranean island. Hydrol. Sci. J. 2019, 64, 1190–1203, doi: 10.1080/02626667.2019.1630741.
Yu, X.; Moraetis, D.; Duffy, C.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Li, B. A coupled surface-subsurface hydrological model to assess flood risk at a karstic watershed. Environ. Model. Softw. 2019, 114, 129–139, doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.01.008.
Tzanakakis, V.A.; Apostolakis, A.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Ammonia oxidizing archaea do not respond to ammonium or urea supply in an alkaline soil. Appl. Soil Ecol. 2018, 132, 194–198, doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.08.002.
Apostolakis, Α.; Panakoulia, ; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Shifts in soil structure and soil organic matter in a chronosequence of set-aside fields. Soil Tillage Res. 2017, 174, 113–119, doi:10.1016/j.still.2017.07.004.
Malagò, A.; Efstathiou, D.; Bouraoui, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Franchini, M.; Bidoglio, G.; Kritsotakis, M. Regional scale hydrologic modeling of a karst-dominant geomorphology: The case study of the island of Crete. J. Hydrol. 2016, 540, 64–81, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.061.
Varouchakis, E.A.; Giannakis, G.V.; Lilli, M.A.; Ioannidou, E.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Karatzas, G.P. Development of a statistical tool for the estimation of riverbank erosion probability. Soil Discuss. 2016, 2, 1–11, doi: 10.5194/soil-2-1-2016.
Tsiknia, M.; Paranychianakis, N.V.; Varouchakis, E.A.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Environmental Factors Shaping the Distribution of Nitrogen Cycling Functional Genes at a Watershed Scale. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 2015, 90, 139–152, doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiv052.
Moraetis, D; Paranychianakis, N.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Banwart, S.; Rousseva, S.; Kercheva, M.; Nenov, M.; Shishkov, T.; Ruiter, de P.; Bloem, J.; Blum, W.E.H.; et al. Sediment provenance, soil genesis, and carbon storage in fluvial and manmade terraces at Koiliaris River Critical Zone Observatory. J. Soils Sediments 2015, 15, 347–364, doi: 10.1007/s11368-014-1030-1.
Regelink, I.C.; Stoof, C.R.; Rousseva, S.; Weng, L.; Lair, G.J.; Kram, P.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Kercheva, M.; Banwart, S.; Comans, R.N.J. Mechanistic linkages between soil aggregates, soil porosity and soil chemical properties. GeoDerma 2015, 247–248, 24–37, doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.01.022.
Van Leeuwen, J.P.; Moraetis, D.; Lair, G.; Bloem, J.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Hemerik, L.; de Ruiter, P.C. Ecological soil quality affected by land use and management on semi-arid Crete. Soil Discuss. 2015, 2, 187–215, doi:10.5194/soild-2-187-2015.
Nerantzaki, S.D.; Giannakis, G.V.; Efstathiou, D.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Sibetheros, I.A.; Karatzas, G.P.; Zacharias, I. Modeling Suspended Sediment Transport and Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change in a Karstic Mediterranean Watershed. Sci. Total Environ. 2015, 538, 288–297, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.092.
Menon, M.; Rousseva, S.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; van Gaans, P.; Panagos, P.; de Souza, D.M.; Ragnarsdottir, K.V.; Lair, G.J.; Weng, L.; Bloem, J.; et al. SoilTrEC: A global initiative on critical zone research and integration. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2014, 21, 3191–3195 doi: 10.1007/s11356-013-2346-x.
Banwart, S.A.; Black, H.; Cai, Z.; Gicheru, P.; Joosten, H.; Victoria, R.; Milne, E.; Noellemeyer, E.; Pascual, U.; Nziguheba, G.; et al. Benefits of soil carbon: Report on the outcomes of an international Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment Rapid Assessment Workshop. Carbon Manag. 2014, 5, 185–192, doi:10.1080/17583004.2014.913380.
Giannakis, G.V.; Panakoulia, S.K.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Simulating Soil Fertility Restoration using the CAST model. Procedia Earth Planet. Sci. 2014, 10, 325–329, doi:10.1016/j.proeps.2014.08.027.
Tsiknia, M.; Paranychianakis, N.; Varouchakis, E.; Moraetis, D.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Environmental drivers of soil microbial community distribution at the Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 2014, 90, 139–152, doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12379.
Paranychianakis, N.V.; Tsiknia, M.; Giannakis, G.V.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Kalogerakis, N. Nitrogen cycling and relationships between ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers in a clayey soil. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2013, 97, 5507–5515, doi:10.1007/s00253–013-4765-5.
Stamati, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Banwart, S.A.; Blum, W.E. A Coupled Carbon, Aggregation, and Structure Turnover (CAST) Model for topsoils. GeoDerma 2013, 211–212, 51–64, doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.06.014.
Nikolaidis, N.P.; Bouraoui, F.; Bidoglio, G. Hydrologic and geochemical modeling of a karstic Mediterranean watershed. J. Hydrol. 2013, 477, 129–138, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.11.018.
Kourgialas, N.N.; Karatzas, G.P.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Development of a thresholds approach for real-time flash flood prediction in complex geomorphological river basins. Hydrol. Process. 2012, 26, 1478–1494, doi:10.1002/hyp.8272.
Banwart, S.A.; Bernasconi, S.; Bloem, J.; Blum, W.; de Souza, D.M.; Chabaux, F.; Duffy, C.; Lundin, L.; Kram, P.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; et al. Soil Processes and functions across an International Network of Critical Zone Observatories: Introduction to experimental methods and initial results. Comptes Rendus Geosci. 2012, 344, 758–772, doi:10.1016/j.crte.2012.10.007.
Moraetis, D.; Stamati, F.; Kotronakis, M.; Fragia, T.; Paranychnianakis, N.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Identification of hydrologic and geochemical pathways using high frequency sampling, REE aqueous sampling and soil characterization at Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. Appl. Geochem. 2011, 26, S101–S104, doi:/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.055.
Stamati, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Venieri, D.; Psillakis, E.; Kalogerakis, N. Dissolved organic nitrogen as an indicator of livestock impacts on soil biochemical quality. Appl. Geochem. 2011, 26, S340–S343, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.070.
Moraetis, D.; Efstathiou, D.; Stamati, F.; Tzoraki, O.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Schnoor, J.L.; Vozinakis, K. High-frequency monitoring for the identification of hydrological and bio-geochemical processes in a Mediterranean river basin. J. Hydrol. 2010, 389, 127–136, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.05.037.

Lilli, M.A.; Efstathiou, D.; Moraetis, D.; Schuite, J.; Nerantzaki, S.D.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Α Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Understand Hydrologic and Geochemical Processes at Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. Water 2020, 12, 2474, doi:10.3390/w12092474.
Lilli, M.A.; Nerantzaki, S.D.; Riziotis, C.; Kotronakis, M.; Efstathiou, D.; Kontakos, D.; Lymberakis, P.; Avramakis, M.; Tsakirakis, A.; Protopapadakis, K.; et al. Vision-Based Decision-Making Methodology for Riparian Forest Restoration and Flood Protection Using Nature-Based Solutions. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3305, doi:10.3390/su12083305.
Nerantzaki, S.D.; Hristopulos, D.T.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Estimation of the uncertainty of hydrologic predictions in a karstic Mediterranean watershed. Sci. Total Environ. 2020, 717, 137131, doi:10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2020.137131.
Banwart, A.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Zhu, Y.G.; Peacock, C.L.; Sparks, D.L. Soil Functions: Connecting Earth’s Critical Zone. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2019, 47, 333–359, doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020544.
Jonsson, J; Davidsdottir, B.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Giannakis, G.V. Tools for Sustainable Soil Management: Soil Ecosystem Services, EROI and Economic Analysis. Ecol. Econ. 2019, 157, 109–119, doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.11.010.
Demetropoulou, L; Lilli, M.A.; Petousi, I.; Nikolaou, T.; Fountoulakis, M.; Kritsotakis, M.; Panakoulia, S.; Giannakis, G.V.; Manios, T.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Innovative methodology for the prioritization of the Program of Measures for integrated water resources management of the Region of Crete, Greece. Sci. Total Environ. 2019, 672, 61–70, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.397.
Nerantzaki, D.; Efstathiou, D.; Giannakis, G.; Kritsotakis, M.; Grillakis, M.; Koutroulis, A.; Tsanis, I.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Climate Change Impact on the Hydrologic Budget of a large Mediterranean island. Hydrol. Sci. J. 2019, 64, 1190–1203, doi: 10.1080/02626667.2019.1630741.
Yu, X.; Moraetis, D.; Duffy, C.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Li, B. A coupled surface-subsurface hydrological model to assess flood risk at a karstic watershed. Environ. Model. Softw. 2019, 114, 129–139, doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.01.008.
Tzanakakis, V.A.; Apostolakis, A.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Ammonia oxidizing archaea do not respond to ammonium or urea supply in an alkaline soil. Appl. Soil Ecol. 2018, 132, 194–198, doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2018.08.002.
Apostolakis, Α.; Panakoulia, ; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Shifts in soil structure and soil organic matter in a chronosequence of set-aside fields. Soil Tillage Res. 2017, 174, 113–119, doi:10.1016/j.still.2017.07.004.
Malagò, A.; Efstathiou, D.; Bouraoui, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Franchini, M.; Bidoglio, G.; Kritsotakis, M. Regional scale hydrologic modeling of a karst-dominant geomorphology: The case study of the island of Crete. J. Hydrol. 2016, 540, 64–81, doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.05.061.
Varouchakis, E.A.; Giannakis, G.V.; Lilli, M.A.; Ioannidou, E.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Karatzas, G.P. Development of a statistical tool for the estimation of riverbank erosion probability. Soil Discuss. 2016, 2, 1–11, doi: 10.5194/soil-2-1-2016.
Tsiknia, M.; Paranychianakis, N.V.; Varouchakis, E.A.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Environmental Factors Shaping the Distribution of Nitrogen Cycling Functional Genes at a Watershed Scale. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 2015, 90, 139–152, doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiv052.
Moraetis, D; Paranychianakis, N.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Banwart, S.; Rousseva, S.; Kercheva, M.; Nenov, M.; Shishkov, T.; Ruiter, de P.; Bloem, J.; Blum, W.E.H.; et al. Sediment provenance, soil genesis, and carbon storage in fluvial and manmade terraces at Koiliaris River Critical Zone Observatory. J. Soils Sediments 2015, 15, 347–364, doi: 10.1007/s11368-014-1030-1.
Regelink, I.C.; Stoof, C.R.; Rousseva, S.; Weng, L.; Lair, G.J.; Kram, P.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Kercheva, M.; Banwart, S.; Comans, R.N.J. Mechanistic linkages between soil aggregates, soil porosity and soil chemical properties. GeoDerma 2015, 247–248, 24–37, doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.01.022.
Van Leeuwen, J.P.; Moraetis, D.; Lair, G.; Bloem, J.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Hemerik, L.; de Ruiter, P.C. Ecological soil quality affected by land use and management on semi-arid Crete. Soil Discuss. 2015, 2, 187–215, doi:10.5194/soild-2-187-2015.
Nerantzaki, S.D.; Giannakis, G.V.; Efstathiou, D.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Sibetheros, I.A.; Karatzas, G.P.; Zacharias, I. Modeling Suspended Sediment Transport and Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change in a Karstic Mediterranean Watershed. Sci. Total Environ. 2015, 538, 288–297, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.07.092.
Menon, M.; Rousseva, S.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; van Gaans, P.; Panagos, P.; de Souza, D.M.; Ragnarsdottir, K.V.; Lair, G.J.; Weng, L.; Bloem, J.; et al. SoilTrEC: A global initiative on critical zone research and integration. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2014, 21, 3191–3195 doi: 10.1007/s11356-013-2346-x.
Banwart, S.A.; Black, H.; Cai, Z.; Gicheru, P.; Joosten, H.; Victoria, R.; Milne, E.; Noellemeyer, E.; Pascual, U.; Nziguheba, G.; et al. Benefits of soil carbon: Report on the outcomes of an international Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment Rapid Assessment Workshop. Carbon Manag. 2014, 5, 185–192, doi:10.1080/17583004.2014.913380.
Giannakis, G.V.; Panakoulia, S.K.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V. Simulating Soil Fertility Restoration using the CAST model. Procedia Earth Planet. Sci. 2014, 10, 325–329, doi:10.1016/j.proeps.2014.08.027.
Tsiknia, M.; Paranychianakis, N.; Varouchakis, E.; Moraetis, D.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Environmental drivers of soil microbial community distribution at the Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 2014, 90, 139–152, doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12379.
Paranychianakis, N.V.; Tsiknia, M.; Giannakis, G.V.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Kalogerakis, N. Nitrogen cycling and relationships between ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers in a clayey soil. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2013, 97, 5507–5515, doi:10.1007/s00253–013-4765-5.
Stamati, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Banwart, S.A.; Blum, W.E. A Coupled Carbon, Aggregation, and Structure Turnover (CAST) Model for topsoils. GeoDerma 2013, 211–212, 51–64, doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.06.014.
Nikolaidis, N.P.; Bouraoui, F.; Bidoglio, G. Hydrologic and geochemical modeling of a karstic Mediterranean watershed. J. Hydrol. 2013, 477, 129–138, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.11.018.
Kourgialas, N.N.; Karatzas, G.P.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Development of a thresholds approach for real-time flash flood prediction in complex geomorphological river basins. Hydrol. Process. 2012, 26, 1478–1494, doi:10.1002/hyp.8272.
Banwart, S.A.; Bernasconi, S.; Bloem, J.; Blum, W.; de Souza, D.M.; Chabaux, F.; Duffy, C.; Lundin, L.; Kram, P.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; et al. Soil Processes and functions across an International Network of Critical Zone Observatories: Introduction to experimental methods and initial results. Comptes Rendus Geosci. 2012, 344, 758–772, doi:10.1016/j.crte.2012.10.007.
Moraetis, D.; Stamati, F.; Kotronakis, M.; Fragia, T.; Paranychnianakis, N.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Identification of hydrologic and geochemical pathways using high frequency sampling, REE aqueous sampling and soil characterization at Koiliaris Critical Zone Observatory. Appl. Geochem. 2011, 26, S101–S104, doi:/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.055.
Stamati, F.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Venieri, D.; Psillakis, E.; Kalogerakis, N. Dissolved organic nitrogen as an indicator of livestock impacts on soil biochemical quality. Appl. Geochem. 2011, 26, S340–S343, doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.070.
Moraetis, D.; Efstathiou, D.; Stamati, F.; Tzoraki, O.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Schnoor, J.L.; Vozinakis, K. High-frequency monitoring for the identification of hydrological and bio-geochemical processes in a Mediterranean river basin. J. Hydrol. 2010, 389, 127–136, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.05.037.

Book Chapters

Rousseva, S.; Kercheva, M.; Shishkov, T.; Lair, G.J.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Moraetis, D.; Krám, P.; Bernasconi, S.; Blum, W.; Menon, M.; et al. Soil Water Characteristics of European SoilTrEC Critical Zone Observatories. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 29–72, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.10.004.
Banwart, S.A.; Bernasconi, S.; Blum, W.; de Souza, D.M.; Chabaux, F.; Duffy, C.; Kercheva, M.; Kram, P.; Lair, G.; Lundin, L.; et al. Soil Functions in Earth’s Critical Zone—Key results and conclusions. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 1–27, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.11.001.
Jonsson, J.; Davidsdottir, B.; Nikolaidis, N.P. Valuation of Soil Ecosystem Services. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 353–384, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.10.011.
Panakoulia, S.K.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Paranychianakis, N.V.; Menon, M.; Schiefer, J.; Lair, G.J.; Kram, P.; Banwart, S.A. Factors Controlling Soil Structure Dynamics and Carbon Sequestration Across Different Climatic and Lithological Conditions. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 241–276, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.10.008.
Kotronakis, E.; Giannakis, G.V.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Rowe, E.C.; Valstar, J.; Paranychianakis, N.V.; Banwart, S.A. Modeling the Impact of Carbon Amendments on Soil Ecosystem Functions Using the 1D-ICZ Model. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 315–352, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.10.010.
Giannakis, G.V.; Nikolaidis, N.P.; Valstar, J.; Rowe, E.C.; Moirogiorgou, K.; Kotronakis, E.; Paranychianakis, N.V.; Rousseva, S.; Stamati, F.E.; Banwart, S.A. Integrated Critical Zone Model (1D-ICZ): A Tool for Dynamic Simulation of Soil Functions and Soil Structure. Adv. Agron. 2017, 142, 277–314, doi:10.1016/bs.agron.2016.10.009.
Nikolaidis, N.P.; Bidoglio, G. Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Structure. Sustain. Agric. Rev. 2013, 12, 175–200, doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-5961-9_6.