Since childhood, I’ve been closely connected to farming and water management. The passion for both topics eventually brought me to the University of Twente, where I am researching complex cross-disciplinary interactions between global water resources, agrifood systems, climate change, and society. Recent projects include analysing the historical water footprints of humanity with the World Bank Group and contributing to a multi-model assessment of future crop yields under climate change with AgMIP/ISIMIP. Besides research, I also serve as an outreach coordinator at the Water Footprint Network, give awareness-raising talks & interviews, and co-organise the annual Water-Energy-Food Nexus Symposium for early-career scientists.
For more information about my research, projects, and media appearances, please check the corresponding tabs.
Expertise
Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Water Footprint
- Water Scarcity
- Water Consumption
- Crop Production
- Water Use
- Water
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
- Crop Models
- Crops
Organisations
Publications
2026
Water use in Spanish agriculture (2001–2019): Trends and impacts of irrigation intensification (2026)Agricultural water management, 329. Article 110384. Arbonès, G., Mialyk, O., De Stefano, L. & Garrido, A.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110384
2025
A new era of global crop water footprint estimates (2025)Nature Food, 6(10), 916-917. Mialyk, O.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01243-7Data underlying the publication: Water Use in Spanish Agriculture (2001–2019): Trends and Impacts of Irrigation Intensification (2025)[Dataset Types › Dataset]. Zenodo. Arbonès, G., Mialyk, O., Garrido, A. & De Stefano, L.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17144336Nutrient production, water consumption, and stresses of large-scale versus small-scale agriculture: A global comparative analysis based on a gridded crop model (2025)Global Food Security, 45, 100844. Article 100844. Su, H., Foster, T., Hogeboom, R. J., Luna-Gonzalez, D. V., Mialyk, O., Willaarts, B., Wang, Y. & Krol, M. S.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100844Complementary strengths of water footprint and life cycle assessments in analyzing global freshwater appropriation and its local impacts – Recommendations from an Interdisciplinary discussion series (2025)Ecological indicators, 174. Article 113458. Berger, M., Gerbens-Leenes, W., Karandish, F., Aldaya, M. M., Boulay, A. M., Hogeboom, R. J., Link, A., Manzardo, A., Mialyk, O., Motoshita, M., Nuñez, M., Pfister, S., Rosenbaum, R. K., Scherer, L., Su, H. & Wöhler, L.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113458
2024
Evolution of global water footprints of crop production in 1990–2019 (2024)Environmental research letters, 19(11). Article 114015. Mialyk, O., Booij, M. J., Schyns, J. F. & Berger, M.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad78e9Spatial and temporal patterns of global crop water footprints (2024)[Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research UT, graduation UT]. University of Twente. Mialyk, O.https://doi.org/10.3990/1.9789036562058Water footprints and crop water use of 175 individual crops for 1990–2019 simulated with a global crop model (2024)Scientific Data, 11. Article 206. Mialyk, O., Schyns, J. F., Booij, M. J., Su, H., Hogeboom, R. J. & Berger, M.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03051-3Global gridded crop model ACEA (2024)[Dataset Types › Dataset]. Zenodo. Mialyk, O., Su, H., Hogeboom, R. J., Schyns, J. F. & Booij, M. J.https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10510933Data underlying the publication: Small-scale and large-scale agriculture across water-scarce and water-abundant regions (2024)[Dataset Types › Dataset]. 4TU.Centre for Research Data. Su, H., Foster, T., Hogeboom, R. J., Luna-Gonzalez, D. V., Willaarts, B., Mialyk, O., Wang, Y. & Krol , M.https://doi.org/10.4121/de21d6c2-95f7-42e5-a3cf-f5b66b559924
Research profiles
Research projects
- Regional report: Potential for Sustainable Irrigation Development across Europe and Central Asia by the World Bank Group (lead author, 2024 - present)
- Flagship report: State of Global Water Resources by the World Bank Group (contributor, 2023 - 2025)
Co-organisation of events
- Sessions at the EGU conference: Modelling agricultural systems under global change (annual, since 2024)
- Online symposium for early-career scientists: Water-Energy-Food Nexus Symposium (annual, since 2023)
Memberships
- Climate-proof agriculture coalition of the UT Climate Centre (2025 - present)
- European Geoscience Union (EGU) (2022 - present)
In the press
Global food systems and water resources
- Measuring What Matters: Water Footprints for a Sustainable Future (interview, 2025)
- Resilience Reflections #33: Resilience of our food systems (opinion piece, 2024)
- Trillions of cubic meters of water is used to grow crops each year (news, 2024)
- Onderzoek: minder gewassen verbruiken wereldwijd meer water (news, 2024)
- Water consumption of crops rises to nearly 7 trillion cubic metres of water worldwide (press release, 2024)
- New global estimates for water footprints of crops (blog post, 2024)
- Should we eat less meat? with Dr. Claudia Ringler and Oleksandr Mialyk (podcast episode, 2023)
- Climate Change impact on global crop production can be expected within the next decade (press release, 2021)
Other topics
- Op-ed on abolishing cum laude: 'What are we really losing?' (opinion piece, 2025)
- “I’m okay with herring, I am even ok with rain, 365 days a year” (interview, 2025)
- I want to be at the forefront of science (interview, 2024)
- Humanitarian aid to Ukraine on UT campus (news, 2022)
Address
University of Twente
Horst Complex (building no. 20), room W214
De Horst 2
7522 LW Enschede
Netherlands
University of Twente
Horst Complex W214
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede
Netherlands
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