International Day| MDPI World Soil Day Webinar 2025
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Elisa Pellegrino
Institute of Crop Science, Italy;
Dr. Elisa Pellegrino holds a PhD in Crop Science and a degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Pisa, Italy. She is currently a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Agronomy and Field Crops at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. Her research focuses on soil quality, microbial diversity, and sustainable crop production across different agro-ecosystems, including food, feed, and biomass systems. She specializes in the study of soil microbes—particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)—using morphological, biochemical, and molecular approaches and has developed innovative field inoculation techniques with biofertilizers.
Her work explores the role of extraradical mycelium in nutrient uptake, glomalin production, and soil carbon storage. She also investigates micronutrient accumulation (zinc, iron, selenium) in crops, conservation agriculture practices, and the effects of organic amendments and nanomaterials on plant–soil interactions. She has coordinated or contributed to around 40 national and EU-funded projects, including six as a principal investigator, on biological fertilizers.
A member of the British Ecological Society, International Mycorrhiza Society, and European Society of Agronomy, she serves as an evaluator and reviewer for numerous research programs and journals. She has authored over 120 scientific publications, including 51 indexed papers, achieving an h-index of 25 with more than 2,400 citations.
Dr. Cátia Venâncio
University of Aveiro, Portugal;
Dr. Cátia Venâncio is a Researcher at the Center for Marine and Environmental Studies. In the last five years, her scientific career has focused on understanding how terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems respond to contamination and developing biotechnological strategies for the rehabilitation of degraded soils. She is currently the Principal Investigator of the LIFT – LeveragIng rot Fungi potential for the rehabiliTation of degraded soils project, which explores the potential of rot fungi to restore soil functionality. With over 50 publications, international research experience, and strong collaborations with academia and industry, her work seeks to promote nature-based solutions that integrate science, sustainability, and innovation to protect our most vital resource—the soil. As part of World Soil Day, her presentation aims to highlight the importance of healthy soils and sustainable soil management as foundations for food security and environmental resilience.
Dr. Ali El-Naggar
Western EcoSystems Technology, Canada;
Dr. Ali El-Naggar is a recognized Professional Agrologist (P.Ag.) and Senior Soil Scientist at Western EcoSystems Technology (WEST), Canada. With over 15 years of expertise in soil reclamation, conservation, surveying, classification, quality assessment, land use, environmental remediation, and sustainable management, he brings a wealth of experience across academia, industry, and consultancy. Dr. El-Naggar holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in soil science from Ain Shams University, Egypt, and a Ph.D. in natural resources and environmental science from Kangwon National University, South Korea. His academic journey includes postdoctoral research at the University of Alberta, Canada (2021–2023), and Zhejiang A&F University, China (2019–2020), as well as roles as a visiting researcher at Korea University, South Korea (2017–2018), and an NRF-DAAD Fellow at Wuppertal University, Germany (2016–2018).
Dr. El-Naggar is the recipient of several prestigious international awards, including the PYRO ASIA 2020 Young Research Award for his outstanding contributions to biowaste conversion and the Outstanding Academic Award from the President of Kangwon National University (2018) for being the top graduating student.
A distinguished researcher, Dr. El-Naggar serves as an editorial board member for six internationally recognized journals and has reviewed over 350 manuscripts for leading international journals in agricultural sciences. He has authored 55+ peer-reviewed research papers and book chapters (H-index: 37), with eight of his papers recognized as Web of Science ESI top papers (seven “highly cited papers” and one “hot paper”). He has also presented 30+ conference abstracts, earning three Best Presentation Awards. Dr. El-Naggar is actively involved in the organization of international conferences in South Korea, China, and Canada and is recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists, according to Stanford University rankings.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
Welcome to the MDPI World Soil Day 2025 Webinar!
Healthy soils are the foundation of life on Earth—supporting food production, water regulation, biodiversity, and climate resilience. However, human activities and climate change are accelerating soil degradation, underscoring the urgent need for science-based and sustainable soil management practices to safeguard global food security.
This year’s theme, “Soil and Water: Sources of Life” emphasizes the close relationship between these two natural resources and their importance in sustaining agriculture, biodiversity, and environmental balance. The webinar will bring together experts and researchers from around the world to share their insights, findings, and experiences in soil science and sustainable land management. It will also provide an engaging platform for dialogue and collaboration, inspiring innovative actions to protect and restore our soils for a more resilient and sustainable future.
Join us for the MDPI World Soil Day 2025 Webinar, where leading experts, researchers, and practitioners will share insights, strategies, and innovations to protect one of our planet’s most vital natural resources—the soil.
Date: 5 December 2025
Time: 10:00 am CET | 4.00 am EST | 5.00 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 815 3701 6073
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Dr. Ali El-Naggar: “The webinar highlighted current advances in using biochar for the sustainable remediation of soils contaminated with potentially toxic elements. Key mechanisms, challenges, pros and cons, and recent experimental and meta-analysis insights were discussed. The presentation emphasized that while biochar offers promising benefits, its effectiveness depends strongly on soil chemistry, metal speciation, environmental conditions, and the characteristics and types of biochar used.”
The webinar was hosted via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found below. In order to learn about future webinars, you can sign up to our newsletter by clicking “Subscribe” at the top of the page.
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2026