Valerie Vranová

Valerie Vranová is a soil scientist at the Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology (FFWT), Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU), Czech Republic. She joined academia in 2000. She holds a PhD in Forest Ecology (2005), awarded for her dissertation The Effect of Tree Species Composition on the Sorption Properties of Forest Soils in Areas Affected by Air Pollution, and obtained her habilitation degree in Forest Ecology (2012). The topic of her associate professor thesis was Proteinogenic and Non-Proteinogenic Amino Acids in Soils of Terrestrial Ecosystems.

Valerie Vranová heads the Department of Geology and Soil Science since 2018, where her research focuses on soil processes, nutrient cycling, and the impacts of land-use change on soils health. Her expertise lies in linking soil functioning with ecosystem restoration and biodiversity outcomes. She has extensive experience in leading and participating in national and international research and educational projects related to soil science, forest ecology, and sustainable management practices. She is a member of International Humic Substances Society (Czech Chapter) and Czech Geological Society.

She is also active in academic service since 2018 as Vice-Dean for International Affairs at FFWT MENDELU, facilitating international academic mobility and institutional cooperation. She is a member of the Scientific Board of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, MENDELU. In addition, she serves as guarantor of the doctoral study programme Forest Ecology (in Czech and English) and the master’s study programme European Forestry (in English) at FFWT MENDELU.