Montpellier Scientific Community



Functional Ecology & Soil Biogeochemistry (ECO&SOLS)

Director: Jean-Luc Chotte

 
Research area
Our central objective is to elucidate the role of plants and soil organisms in the functioning of agro-ecosystems and especially in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients (with a special focus on nitrogen and phosphorus) in the context of low input agriculture and forest plantations of Mediterranean and tropical areas. The ultimate aim of our research is to translate this knowledge into innovative strategies of ecological engineering of such agroecosystems, while accounting for the major drivers that relate to global changes (climate and land use changes).
Research highlights
Unique, internationally recognized expertise in :
  • soil functional ecology
  • the biogeochemistry of hot spots of biological activities in soils, such as the rhizosphere, the drilosphere, the termitosphere
  • the sequestration of carbon in soils at various scales (from molecular, processes of protection of soil organic matter, to regional balances of soil C)
  • the cycles of nutrients and measuring/modelling of fluxes at the ecosystem level, as well as at the levels of a single plant or a single root
Staff profile
Total permanent staff Total Scientists Scientists with "HDR" [1] Post-doc fellows PhD
49
45
19
4
20
[1]French university degree for confirmed thesis supervisor
Research teams
  • Networks of biological interactions (ca 7 permanent staff)
  • Reactivity and fate of soil organic matter (ca 12 permanent staff)
  • Soil-plant fluxes of nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus) (ca 9 permanent staff)
  • Cycle of carbon and vulnerability (ca 8 permanent staff)
  • Ecological engineering and indicators of soil quality (ca 9 permanent)
Platforms and other tools
  • L2-Tropical Soils Platform: laboratory dedicated to manipulating live soils imported from third countries, including tropical countries (only two labs in France have the official agreement to conduct such research)
  • P2-Protein and soil biochemistry Platform: laboratory dedicated to measuring organic matter reactivity and soil-protein (incl. prions, Bt) interactions
  • Infra red (near and mid) spectroscopy expertise for the investigation of soil chemical, biological and physical properties
  • Mesocosm-Microcosm Platform: growth chambers and greenhouse facilities to conduct plant-based experiments in controlled conditions (however not suitable for manipulating live tropical soils)
  • Soil biology and molecular ecology Platform
  • Soil physico-chemistry Platform
Most important international partnerships
  • GSF, München, Germany (J.C. Munch et al.)
  • Univ. Western Australia, Perth (H. Lambers and Z. Rengel)
  • BOKU, Vienna, Austria (W.W. Wenzel)
  • Univ. Wales, Bangor, UK (D.L. Jones and D. Godbold)
  • University of Dakar (Sénégal), Biology department
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2008: 44
2007: 49
2006: 40
2005: 32
Representative publications
Chapuis-Lardy L., Wrage N., Metay A., Chotte J.L., Bernoux M. 2007. Soils, a sink for N2O ? A review. Global Change Biology, 13, 1-17.

Faye A., Sall S., Chotte J-L., Lesueur D. 2007. Soil bio-functioning under Acacia nilotica var. tomentosa protected forest along the Senegal River. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 79, 1, 35-44.

Gobert A., Plassard C. 2007. [NO3-]-dependant kinetics of NO3- net fluxes in Pinus pinaster, Rhizopogon roseolus and their ectomycorrhizal association, as affected by the presence of NO3- and NH4+. Plant Cell Environ. 30: 1309-1319.

Hinsinger P., Plassard C., Tang C. & Jaillard B. 2003. Origins of root-induced pH changes in the rhizosphere and their responses to environmental constraints: A review. Plant and Soil 248:43-59.

Li H., Shen J., Zhang F., Clairotte M., Drevon J.J., Le Cadre E., Hinsinger P. 2008. Dynamics of phosphorus fractions in the rhizosphere of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and durum wheat (Triticum turgidum durum L.) grown in monocropping and intercropping systems. Plant Soil (in press).

Metay A., Oliver R.; Scopel E., Douzet J-M, Alves Moreira J.A., Maraux F., Feigl B., Feller C. 2007. N2O and CH4 emissions from soils under conventional and direct seeding cropping systems in Goiânia (Cerrados, Brazil).Geoderma, 141: 78-88.

Raynaud X., Jaillard B., Leadley P.W. 2007. Can the change of nutrient bioavailability by plants in rhizosphere alter competition for resources? A modeling approach. American Naturalist, 171: 44-58.

Sall S. N., Masse D., Bernhard-Reversat F., Guisse A., Chotte J.L. 2003. Microbial activities during the early stage of laboratory decomposition in tropical leaf litters: the effect of interactions between litter quality and exogenous inorganic nitrogen. Biology & Fertility of Soil, 39:103-111

Schulze J., Drevon J.J. 2005. P-deficiency increases the O2 uptake per N2 reduced in alfalfa. Journal of Experimental Botany 56: 1779-1784.

Van Aarle I., Viennois G., Amenc L., Tatry M-V., Luu D.T., Plassard C. 2007. Fluorescent in situ RT-PCR to localise gene expression in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum. Mycorrhiza, 17: 487-494.
Total annual budget (2009)
Total annual budget (k€- excluding salaries)
732
External contracts (k€)
415