Dr. sc. Ivica Samarđić rođen je 16. kolovoza 1968. god u Požegi, gdje je završio osnovnu školu i matematičku gimnaziju. Daljnje školovanje nastavlja na Šumarskom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, gdje je magistrirao na temu „Vrtna, parkovna i pejzažna ostavština Požeške kotline“ te je doktorirao na temu „Vaskularna flora PP Papuk“.
Radni vijek započeo je u Hrvatskim šumama 1992. godine gdje istražuje Slavonsko gorje vezano za floru i faunu Slavonskih šuma. Prvi je ravnatelj Parka prirode Papuk od 2001. do 2013. godine, pod čijim upravljanjem je vrlo brzo Papuk dobio status UNESCO Geoparka. Od 2013. godine ravnatelj je Javne ustanove za upravljanje zaštićenim područjem Požeško-slavonske županije.
Autor je i koautor više znanstvenih i stručnih radova te brojnih prirodoslovnih publikacija iz područja fitocenologije, botanike, dendrologije, ekologije, te parkovne arhitekture. Posljednjih 10 ak godina publicira 15 ak knjiga i brošura vezano za Požešku kotlinu u Slavonsko gorje a odnose se na floru, vegetaciju, gljive, vretenca, orhideje, invazivne vrste, ribe, vodozemce, gmazove, ptice, sisavce, podzemne gljive te špilje i podzemna staništa Slavonskog gorja.
Član je EADSVE-a (Eastern Alpine and Dinaric Society for Vegetation Ecology), Hrvatskog botaničkog društva te predsjednik Gljivarskog društva Požega. Dugogodišnji je suradnik Gradskom muzeju Požega na izradi i održavanju prirodoslovnih zbirki.
Ivica Samarđić was born on August 16, 1968 in Požega, where he completed elementary school and mathematic gymnasium. He continued his further education at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of the University of Zagreb, where he obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degree on the topics “Garden, park and landscape heritage of the Požega basin” and “Vascular flora of PP Papuk”.
His first employment was in the Croatian Forests in 1992, where he researched the flora and fauna of the Slavonian Highlands. He was the first director of the Papuk Nature Park from 2001 to 2013, under whose management NP Papuk very quickly gained the status of a UNESCO Geopark. Since 2013, he has been the director of the Public Institution for the Management of the Protected Area of Požega-slavonia County.
He is the author and co-author of several scientific and professional papers and numerous natural history publications in the fields of phytocenology, botany, dendrology, ecology, and park architecture. Most of the books have been published over the last 10 years and refer to flora, vegetation, mycology of underground and above-ground habitats, dragonflies, orchids, invasive species, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and underground habitats of the Slavonian Highlands.
He is a member of EADSVE (Eastern Alpine and Dinaric Society for Vegetation Ecology), the Croatian Botanical Society, and the president of the Mycological Society of Požega. He has been a longtime associate of the City Museum of Požega on the creation and maintenance of natural history collections.