Prof. Yakov Kuzyakov works in various Soil and Environmental Science departments of universities and research institutes worldwide, including Germany, USA, UK, Russia and China. He completed his Dr.rer.nat. at the Moscow Agricultural Academy, and he was awarded in 2015 the John Waid Award for Best Review Paper in Soil Biology & Biochemistry, in 2016 the EGU Outstanding Editor Award, etc. He is a Highly Cited researcher (HI 118), has published 850 papers in prestigious journals, and serves as an active member of several editorial boards for top-ranked journals, including Land Degradation and Development, Biogeosciences, Rhizosphere, Scientific Reports etc. His teaching disciplines include isotopes in ecosystem sciences, and his interests include ecosystem sustainability, soil ecology, biogeochemistry, rhizosphere ecology, soil degradation, C and N cycles, C sequestration, priming effects, pedogenic carbonates, nutrient mobilization, rhizodeposition, the partitioning of CO2 sources, land use, agroecology, and low-molecular-weight organic compounds.