Email:
v.pisinaras@elgo.gr
Vassilios Pisinaras is a Researcher (Grade B’) at the Soil & Water Resources Institute (SWRI) of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization–DIMITRA (HAO). His scientific work focuses on hydrologic and hydrogeologic modelling, water resources management and optimization, the Water–Energy–Food–Climate Nexus, environmental sensor-based monitoring, irrigation scheduling, climate change impact assessment, and the design and implementation of Nature-based Solutions in agriculture.
He has served as a Researcher at SWRI since May 2017, working within the registered research field of Water Resources Management in Agriculture. From 2003 to 2017, he worked as an on-contract researcher, contributing to fourteen collaborative projects with the Democritus University of Thrace, the University of Patras, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and HAO.
His scientific output includes 46 peer-reviewed journal papers and 82 conference publications, with a Google Scholar h-index of 22 and 1,590 citations. He has participated in more than thirty European and international research projects, serving as Principal or Vice-Principal Investigator for PRIMA NexusLabs, HEurope SpongeWorks, H2020 REXUS, PRIMA LENSES, H2020 ATLAS, and LIFE AgroClimaWater. Since 2015, he has been the Head Scientist of the Pinios Hydrologic Observatory, a long-term research (LTER) site in Greece (https://www.lter-greece.gr/sites/pinios-hydrologic-observatory/).
Nawaz, A., Alfio, M. R., Babakos, K., Chatzi, A., Fiorese, G. D., Panagopoulos, A., Pisinaras, V., & Balacco, G. (2025). Response of Pinios hydrologic observatory (Agia basin-Thessaly, Greece) to storm Daniel. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2025.101528
Pagano, A., Coletta, V. R., Portoghese, I., Panagopoulos, A., Pisinaras, V., Chatzi, A., Malamataris, D., Babakos, K., Lilli, M. A., Nikolaidis, N. P., & Giordano, R. (2025). On the use of Participatory System Dynamics Modelling for WEF Nexus management: Hints from two case studies in the Mediterranean region. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108012
Morianou, G., Karatzas, G. P., Arampatzis, G., Pisinaras, V., & Kourgialas, N. N. (2025). Assessing Soil Water Dynamics in a Drip-Irrigated Grapefruit Orchard Using the HYDRUS 2D/3D Model: A Comparison of Unimodal and Bimodal Hydraulic Functions. Agronomy, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020504
Malamataris, D., Pisinaras, V., Pagano, A., Baratella, V., Vanino, S., Bea, M., Babakos, K., Chatzi, A., Fabiani, S., Giordano, R., Kafkias, P., López-Moya, E., Papadaskalopoulou, C., Portoghese, I., Tassopoulos, D., & Panagopoulos, A. (2025). Managing Water-Ecosystem-Food Nexus using participatory approaches: insights from an innovative methodological approach developed in two Mediterranean areas. Frontiers in Water, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2025.1469762
Coletta, V. R., Pluchinotta, I., Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., Giordano, R., Pagano, A., Fratino, U., & Montanari, A. (2025). Leverage Points and Cascading Impacts Analysis in Nexus Systems Using System Dynamics Modeling. Earth’s Future, 13(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006190
Dombrowski, O., Brogi, C., Hendricks Franssen, H.-J., Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., Swenson, S., & Bogena, H. (2024). Land Surface Modeling as a Tool to Explore Sustainable Irrigation Practices in Mediterranean Fruit Orchards. Water Resources Research, 60(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036139
Babakos, K., Papamichail, D., Pisinaras, V., Tziachris, P., Demertzi, K., & Aschonitis, V. (2024). Using a random cross-validation technique to compare typical regression vs. Random Forests for modelling pan evaporation. Italian Journal of Agrometeorology, 2024(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.36253/ijam-2043
Alfio, M. R., Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., & Balacco, G. (2024). Groundwater level response to precipitation at the hydrological observatory of Pinios (central Greece). Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2024.101081
Vanino, S., Baratella, V., Pirelli, T., Ferrari, D., Di Fonzo, A., Pucci, F., Nikolaidis, N. P., Lilli, M. A., Doğan, Z. A., Topdemir, T., Awabdeh, S., Al-Hadidi, L., Bani Hani, N., Panagopoulos, A., Pisinaras, V., Chatzi, A., López, E., Papadaskalopoulou, C., Tassopoulos, D., … Fabiani, S. (2024). Nature-Based Solutions for Optimizing the Water–Ecosystem–Food Nexus in Mediterranean Countries. Sustainability (Switzerland), 16(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su16104064
Sismani, G., Pisinaras, V., & Arampatzis, G. (2024). Water Governance for Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Mediterranean Countries. Water (Switzerland), 16(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/w16081103
Keramitsoglou, I., Sismanidis, P., Sykioti, O., Pisinaras, V., Tsakmakis, I., Panagopoulos, A., Argyriou, A., & Kiranoudis, C. T. (2023). SENSE-GDD: A Satellite-Derived Temperature Monitoring Service to Provide Growing Degree Days. Agriculture (Switzerland), 13(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13051108
Malamataris, D., Chatzi, A., Babakos, K., Pisinaras, V., Hatzigiannakis, E., Willaarts, B. A., Bea, M., Pagano, A., & Panagopoulos, A. (2023). A Participatory Approach to Exploring Nexus Challenges: A Case Study on the Pinios River Basin, Greece. Water (Switzerland), 15(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/w15223949
Brogi, C., Pisinaras, V., Köhli, M., Dombrowski, O., Hendricks Franssen, H.-J., Babakos, K., Chatzi, A., Panagopoulos, A., & Bogena, H. R. (2023). Monitoring Irrigation in Small Orchards with Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensors. Sensors, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23052378
Pisinaras, V., Herrmann, F., Panagopoulos, A., Tziritis, E., McNamara, I., & Wendland, F. (2023). Fully Distributed Water Balance Modelling in Large Agricultural Areas—The Pinios River Basin (Greece) Case Study. Sustainability (Switzerland), 15(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054343
Alfio, M. R., Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., & Balacco, G. (2023). A comprehensive assessment of RCP4.5 projections and bias-correction techniques in a complex coastal karstic aquifer in the Mediterranean. Frontiers in Earth Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1231296
Bogena, H. R., Schrön, M., Jakobi, J., Ney, P., Zacharias, S., Andreasen, M., Baatz, R., Boorman, D., Duygu, M. B., Eguibar-Galán, M. A., Fersch, B., Franke, T., Geris, J., González Sanchis, M., Kerr, Y., Korf, T., Mengistu, Z., Mialon, A., Nasta, P., … Vereecken, H. (2022). COSMOS-Europe: a European network of cosmic-ray neutron soil moisture sensors. Earth System Science Data, 14(3), 1125–1151. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1125-2022
Kourgialas, N. N., Psarras, G., Morianou, G., Pisinaras, V., Koubouris, G., Digalaki, N., Malliaraki, S., Aggelaki, K., Motakis, G., & Arampatzis, G. (2022). Good Agricultural Practices Related to Water and Soil as a Means of Adaptation of Mediterranean Olive Growing to Extreme Climate-Water Conditions. Sustainability (Switzerland), 14(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013673
Kaffas, K., Pisinaras, V., Al Sayah, M. J., Santopietro, S., & Righetti, M. (2021). A USLE-based model with modified LS-factor combined with sediment delivery module for Alpine basins. Catena, 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105655
Morianou, G., Kourgialas, N. N., Psarras, G., Pisinaras, V., & Arambatzis, G. (2021). Assessing desertification sensitivity map under climate change and agricultural practices scenarios: The island of Crete case study. Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, 21(6), 2916–2934. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2021.132
Skoulikidis, N. T., Nikolaidis, N. P., Panagopoulos, A., Ficher-Kowalski, M., Zogaris, S., Petridis, P., Pisinaras, V., Efstathiou, D., Petanidou, T., Maneas, G., Mihalopoulos, N., & Mimikou, M. (2021). The LTER-Greece environmental observatory network: Design and initial achievements. Water (Switzerland), 13(21). https://doi.org/10.3390/w13212971
Pisinaras, V., Paraskevas, C., & Panagopoulos, A. (2021). Investigating the effects of agricultural water management in a mediterranean coastal aquifer under current and projected climate conditions. Water (Switzerland), 13(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/w13010108
Tziritis, E., Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., & Arampatzis, G. (2021). RIVA: a new proposed method for assessing intrinsic groundwater vulnerability. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(6), 7043–7067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10872-3
Demertzi, K., Pisinaras, V., Lekakis, E., Tziritis, E., Babakos, K., & Aschonitis, V. (2021). Assessing annual actual evapotranspiration based on climate, topography and soil in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Climate, 9(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9020020
Doulgeris, Ch., Pisinaras, V., Argyroudi, A., Tziritis, E., Hatzigiannakis, E., & Panagopoulos, A. (2020). Impacts on water level fluctuation in lake vegoritida: Insights for the historical and projected climate period. Desalination and Water Treatment, 194, 358–368. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2020.25756
Bogena, H. R., Herrmann, F., Jakobi, J., Brogi, C., Ilias, A., Huisman, J. A., Panagopoulos, A., & Pisinaras, V. (2020). Monitoring of Snowpack Dynamics With Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes: A Comparison of Four Conversion Methods. Frontiers in Water, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2020.00019
Babakos, K., Papamichail, D., Tziachris, P., Pisinaras, V., Demertzi, K., & Aschonitis, V. (2020). Assessing the robustness of pan evaporation models for estimating reference crop evapotranspiration during recalibration at local conditions. Hydrology, 7(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology7030062
Georgoulis, I., Giantsis, I. A., Lattos, A., Pisinaras, V., Feidantsis, K., Michaelidis, B., Delis, G. A., & Theodoridis, A. (2020). The influence of climatic-oceanographic changes in aquaculture. A case review concerning mussel farming from Vistonikos Bay, Greece. In V. G & K. S (Eds.), CEUR Workshop Proceedings (Vol. 2761, pp. 51–61). CEUR-WS. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85097541236&partnerID=40&md5=fb204ec0bde38db748794b6293a55f15
Tsakmakis, I. D., Kokkos, N. P., Gikas, G. D., Pisinaras, V., Hatzigiannakis, E., Arampatzis, G., & Sylaios, G. K. (2019). Evaluation of AquaCrop model simulations of cotton growth under deficit irrigation with an emphasis on root growth and water extraction patterns. Agricultural Water Management, 213, 419–432. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.10.029
Arampatzis, G., Pisinaras, V., Doulgeris, C., Tziritis, E., Sismani, G., & Panagopoulos, A. (2019). ESTIMATING EROSION ON TWO MEDITERRANEAN WATERSHEDS OF DIFFERENT HYDROLOGICAL REGIMES. In C. L (Ed.), Proceedings of the IAHR World Congress (pp. 4477–4485). International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research. https://doi.org/10.3850/38WC092019-1292
Kalpakis, V., Kokkos, N., Pisinaras, V., & Sylaios, G. (2019). An integrated coastal zone observatory at municipal level: the case of Kavala Municipality, NE Greece. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 23(1), 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-018-0646-5
Arampatzis, G., Hatzigiannakis, E., Pisinaras, V., Kourgialas, N., Psarras, G., Kinigopoulou, V., Panagopoulos, A., & Koubouris, G. (2018). Soil water content and olive tree yield responses to soil management, irrigation, and precipitation in a hilly mediterranean area. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 9(4), 672–678. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2018.224
Pisinaras, V., Panagopoulos, A., Herrmann, F., Bogena, H. R., Doulgeris, C., Ilias, A., Tziritis, E., & Wendland, F. (2018). Hydrologic and geochemical research at pinios hydrologic observatory: Initial results. Vadose Zone Journal, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2018.05.0102
Arampatzis, G., Panagopoulos, A., Pisinaras, V., Tziritis, E., & Wendland, F. (2018). Identifying potential effects of climate change on the development of water resources in Pinios River Basin, Central Greece. Applied Water Science, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0690-1
Tsakmakis, I., Kokkos, N., Pisinaras, V., Papaevangelou, V., Hatzigiannakis, E., Arampatzis, G., Gikas, G. D., Linker, R., Zoras, S., Evagelopoulos, V., Tsihrintzis, V. A., Battilani, A., & Sylaios, G. (2017). Operational Precise Irrigation for Cotton Cultivation through the Coupling of Meteorological and Crop Growth Models. Water Resources Management, 31(1), 563–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-016-1548-7
Panagopoulos, A., Arampatzis, G., Tziritis, E., Pisinaras, V., Herrmann, F., Kunkel, R., & Wendland, F. (2016). Assessment of climate change impact in the hydrological regime of River Pinios Basin, central Greece. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57(5), 2256–2267. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2014.984926
Pisinaras, V., Polychronis, C., & Gemitzi, A. (2016). Intrinsic groundwater vulnerability determination at the aquifer scale: a methodology coupling travel time estimation and rating methods. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4965-7
Pisinaras, V., Wei, Y., Bärring, L., & Gemitzi, A. (2014). Conceptualizing and assessing the effects of installation and operation of photovoltaic power plants on major hydrologic budget constituents. Science of the Total Environment, 493, 239–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.132
Groenendijk, P., Heinen, M., Klammler, G., Fank, J., Kupfersberger, H., Pisinaras, V., Gemitzi, A., Peña-Haro, S., García-Prats, A., Pulido-Velazquez, M., Perego, A., Acutis, M., & Trevisan, M. (2014). Performance assessment of nitrate leaching models for highly vulnerable soils used in low-input farming based on lysimeter data. Science of the Total Environment, 499, 463–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.07.002
Pisinaras, V., Petalas, C., Tsihrintzis, V. A., & Karatzas, G. P. (2013). Integrated modeling as a decision-aiding tool for groundwater management in a Mediterranean agricultural watershed. Hydrological Processes, 27(14), 1973–1987. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9331
Boskidis, I., Pisinaras, V., Petalas, C., & Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2012). Monitoring and modeling of two alluvial aquifers in lower Nestos river basin, Northern Greece. Journal of Environmental Science and Health - Part A Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering, 47(12), 1849–1868. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2012.689552
Pisinaras, V., Tsihrintzis, V. A., Petalas, C., & Ouzounis, K. (2010). Erratum: Soil salinization in the agricultural lands of Rhodope District, northeastern Greece (Environmental Monitoring and Assessment DOI: 10.1007/s10661-009-0986-6). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 166(1–4), 689. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1253-6
Boskidis, I., Gikas, G. D., Pisinaras, V., & Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2010). Spatial and temporal changes of water quality, and SWAT modeling of Vosvozis river basin, North Greece. Journal of Environmental Science and Health - Part A Toxic/Hazardous Substances and Environmental Engineering, 45(11), 1421–1440. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2010.500936
Pisinaras, V., Tsihrintzis, V. A., Petalas, C., & Ouzounis, K. (2010). Soil salinization in the agricultural lands of Rhodope District, northeastern Greece. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 166(1–4), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-0986-6
Pisinaras, V., Petalas, C., Gikas, G. D., Gemitzi, A., & Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2010). Hydrological and water quality modeling in a medium-sized basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Desalination, 250(1), 274–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2009.09.044
Gemitzi, A., Petalas, C., Pisinaras, V., & Tsihrintzis, V. A. (2009). Spatial prediction of nitrate pollution in groundwaters using neural networks and GIS: An application to South Rhodope aquifer (Thrace, Greece). Hydrological Processes, 23(3), 372–383. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7143
Petalas, C., Pisinaras, V., Gemitzi, A., Tsihrintzis, V. A., & Ouzounis, K. (2009). Current conditions of saltwater intrusion in the coastal Rhodope aquifer system, northeastern Greece. Desalination, 237(1–3), 22–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.12.020
Pisinaras, V., Petalas, C., Tsihrintzis, V. A., & Zagana, E. (2007). A groundwater flow model for water resources management in the Ismarida plain, North Greece. Environmental Modeling and Assessment, 12(2), 75–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10666-006-9040-z
Gemitzi, A., Petalas, C., Tsihrintzis, V. A., & Pisinaras, V. (2006). Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution: A combination of GIS, fuzzy logic and decision making techniques. Environmental Geology, 49(5), 653–673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0104-1
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95 publications
As Principal Investigator
NexusLabs
PI
International
Nexus Living Labs for Multi-Level Innovation in Mediterranean Irrigated Agriculture
Apr 2025 → Mar 2028
As Team Member
CRONUS
Team Member
International
Capture and Reuse Of biogenic gases for Negative-emission - sustainable biofUelS
Dec 2022 → Aug 2026
