Gerd Dercon, PhD

e-mail: g.dercon@iaea.org

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Austria

Since 1994 Gerd Dercon (born in Belgium) has been working as a soil and crop scientist for national and international organizations and universities based in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the last 23 years his work has been continuously focused on how research can trigger development, in particular in the field of land, water and crop management. His research interest is related to the interaction of geomorphological, hydrological, atmospheric, soil and crop/vegetation dynamics in response to climate change and human intervention, under different ecological conditions (from the Equator to the polar regions, from the lowlands to the highlands) and at different geographical scales. Gerd Dercon is currently based at the joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and is involved as Head of the Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition Laboratory in the coordination of research for development worldwide in the field of land, water and nutrient management (e.g. carbon sequestration, soil conservation, climate change impact analysis, climate change adaptation and mitigation, nutrient-water interactions, soil moisture screening at landscape level, and fate of radionuclides in the environment). His focus is on the development, adaptation and dissemination of isotopic and related research techniques for improving land and water management and crop nutrition.