Pre-existing forests as sources of pathogens? The emergence of Armillaria ostoyae in a recently planted pine forest

To meet increasing demand for wood around the world, land dedicated to forest plantations are on the rise. These new plantings, usually carried out over large areas, use a single tree species, and sometimes single tree clones. Such highly homogeneous ecosystems, from an ecological and genetic point of view, have proved to be more vulnerable and particularly susceptible to attack by a number of bio-aggressors, both endemic and introduced (bacteria, fungi, insects, nematodes, etc.). In a publication published on December 1, 2015 in Forest Ecology and Management, researchers at INRA Bordeaux-Aquitaine (UMR BIOGECO) and INRA Nancy-Lorraine (UMR EEF and IAM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (Department of the Forest Health), describe how they used maps from the 18th century to highlight the role formerly forested areas play as sources of disease, specifically in maritime-pine plantations in the Landes forest in France planted at the end of the 19th century, the largest maritime-mine forest in Europe.

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For more information ..

Read the INRA press release (in French)
Read the abstract on Science Direct 

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In Bogor, Indonesia on September 15 of this year, a new project was launched within the BIO-Asia 2015 framework. Supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI) and by LabEx ARBRE, this project entitled “Extraction, characterization and exploitation of bio-molecules from Asian wood sector by-products”, brings together partners across Asia including the Department of Forestry Products at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia (IPB), the Forest Biotechnology Laboratory at the University Putra in Malaysia (UPM), and the joint research unit UMR 241 EOI at the University of French Polynesia. Two key partners from the Lorraine region are the Joint Research Unit for Tress/Microorganism Interactions (UMR 1136 – IAM) and as project lead, the Research Unit for the Study and Research of Wood Materials (EA 4370 – LERMAB).

BIO-Asia is a regional program and a French initiative directed at Asia aimed at strengthening high-level scientific collaboration and developing a research network for French and regional academic communities in the fields of biodiversity and biotechnology studies, ranging from the study of natural substances to their applications in agronomy, forestry, health, etc.

The annual ARBRE PhD & Postdoc Day is designed to highlight the work of young and upcoming researchers; doctoral and postdoctoral students working within eight LabEx partner research units. The range of subjects fall under the four ARBRE thematic areas; integrative biology, functional ecology, wood material and forest economy. Organized by the PhD and postdoctoral students themselves, this event aims to give those working in different disciplines and research areas a chance to share the focus and dynamics of their own projects and to learn about projects happening in other labs — the challenge lies in how to bring that all together for a one-day event.

This year’s team of organizers, representing three different labs were Pierre-Antoine Chuste (EEF), Erwin Sentausa (IAM), Yohann Daguerre (IAM), Joël Hamada (LERMAB), succeeded with flying colors. They managed to plan a full and engaging day including project presentations, a poster exhibit and a key-note speaker (Joey Spatafora) who presented his work on the international ‘1000 Fungal Genomes Project’ — all started off with something new : Science Speed Dating. With the help of Nathalie Carol (who initiated and animated this brilliant idea), participants were each given a short “Pick up My Project” questionnaire form, asked to pair off with a partner and at the sound of the gong, explain their projects in 3 minutes. The gong sounds again and they switch roles, the partner explains their own project — each then has one minute to fill out the questionnaire. Everyone then switches partners and meets someone new and learns about a new project.  At the end of the day, questions and responses for each ‘project’ were posted in large format for everyone to see the results. Not only did it break the ice for the day, it proved to be an interesting tool to illustrate, in a fun way, the importance (and challenge) of explaining research projects to non-specialists.  And how collaborative research projects might begin to take shape.

Feedback from the day was universally positive. We want to congratulate the organizers for their initiative, creativity and professionalism. And above all, for their good sense of fun — Bravo!

The organizing team : Joël Hamada (LERMAB), Yohann Daguerre (IAM), Pierre-Antoine Chuste (EEF) and Erwin Sentausa (IAM).

“Pick up my project”
Science Speed Dating
An effective and fun tool for explaining and learning about ongoing projects in neighboring labs. The challenge? Explaining your science to non-specialists .. and fast.

Keynote speaker Joey Spatafora
Professor with the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University currently on sabbatical working with Francis Martin and the IAM team at INRA, Champenoux. Learn more about the Joey Spatafora Lab and the ‘1000 Fungal Genomes Project’.

This year’s PhD & Postdoc Day will take place on 16 November 2015 at the INRA center in Champenoux.

The annual ARBRE PhD & Postdoc Day is designed to highlight the work of young and upcoming researchers; doctoral and postdoctoral students currently working within eight LabEx partner research units. Organized by the PhD and postdoctoral students themselves, this event aims to give those working in different disciplines and research areas a chance to share the focus and dynamics of their own projects and to learn about projects happening in other labs — to set the stage for a constructive and creative exchange of ideas via a series of presentations, discussions, and a scientific poster exhibit!

For the detailed program, please visit the ARBRE PhD & Postdoc Day homepage.

Henri Cuny, a post-doc in the D-Clim group at WSL, received word recently that an article of his had been accepted in Nature Plants.  His paper is based on his PhD research at INRA Nancy quantifying the intra-annual dynamics of carbon allocation in tree stems. This work was subsequently extended to include Northern Hemisphere analysis, and has clearly demonstrated significant and widespread differences between increases in wood tissue size and mass. This finding poses significant consequences with regard to our understanding of the global carbon cycle, in particular its quantification using external tree measurements.

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Trees may grow and put on weight — but not necessarily at the same time

An international consortium led by scientists of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), in collaboration with AgroParisTech, has shown that mechanisms involved in tree growth are in action at different times. First, the tree gets bigger due to the production and enlargement of woody cells; then the cell walls are reinforced, which increases the tree’s mass. These results, published in Nature Plants on 26 October 2015, suggest that the effects of climate change may alter the second phase and in turn modify carbon sequestration in wood, a climate change issue.

Follow this link to read more —  the full INRA press release

On Tuesday, 3 November, Nate McDowell, professor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (US) will present his research on the survival mechanisms of trees subjected to drought. More specifically, he will address the following question: « Why do some trees survive drought will others die? ». The title of his conference is:

“Accelerating global forest mortality”
Tuesday 3 November
13h00 — main conference room
INRA Nancy-Lorraine Center
Champenoux

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McDowell Lab Research — Our group is focused on quantifying mechanisms that control the balance between carbon uptake and water lost at the leaf, whole plant, and ecosystem scales.  This theme is applied to numerous questions that are of national and international consequence, including climate change and climate variability, forest management and disturbance impacts on ecosystems.  We use numerous tools from the plant physiology and ecosystem ecology backgrounds, including water relations tools such as continuous sap flow and water potential measurements, hand-held photosynthesis measurements, and stable isotope measurements.

Read more about Nate McDowell’s research — Vegetation Dynamics Research Lab at LANL

AgroParisTech
Friday, 30 October
11h00 — Jacomon Hall

Jean-Pierre Saucier, D. Sc., Director of Forest Research (DRF) with the Quebec Ministry of Forests will give a lecture this coming Friday, 30 October at AgroParisTech in Nancy. His presentation will focus on the structure, mandates and thematic research currently being addressed by the Quebec Ministry of Forests. Mr. Saucier will discuss how ecological classification in Quebec has contributed to current knowledge about forests, growth models and impacts on policy decision making related to public forests. Join us for this special event.

A train is making its way across France this month in an effort to raise public awareness about climate change and to present issues that will be addressed during December’s climate summit in Paris. Starting with a grand send-off from Paris’ Gare de Lyon, the climate train pulled in to Nancy this Sunday, 24 October.

To mark the occasion, partner institutions from the Lorraine region gathered for a day to create a Climate Village. Participants included INRA, CNRS, the University of Lorraine as well as science centers (the Nancy Museum-Aquarium and Nancy Conservatory and Botanical Gardens), and associations (La Vigie l’Eau, Epinal Planetarium). The village was installed inside the Nancy trains station and consisted of interactive exhibits, animations, demonstrations and film projections. Several LabEx ARBRE laboratories also took part in this event where researchers were available on site to share their science with the public, and discuss issues related to climate change which affect us all.

A special feature during the day was a Survivors project presentation, which described work carried out by 80 middle-school students from the college of Einville-au-Jard who participated in an experiment together with project researchers. Another highlight were presentations by Pierre-Antoine Chuste and Maxime Burst, two doctoral students who presented their research in interactive workshops to the public, just as they did for the Experimentarium project.

To learn more, follow this link — Climate Village and the Climate Train, Nancy