Thursday 7 May 2015
Faculty of Science and Technology

Amphi 8
8h30 -16h00

In the context of actions carried out by the University around the thematic “Equality between women and men”, the Scientific Pole A2F / SF EFABA and the LabEx ARBRE have organized a one-day event entitled: “Being a woman and working in research – The range and diversity of the profession”

The day will begin with special addresses by human resources managers from both the University of Lorraine and INRA, followed by key-note presentations and a round table discussion.

Follow this link for the complete program : Program

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Call for proposals 2015
Submission deadline: June 30, 2015

ARBRE is a French Cluster of Excellence based at Nancy (Lorraine, France) and managed jointly by the University of Lorraine and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Inra), with partnership with AgroParisTech, Office National des Forêts (ONF), Centre National de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF), Centre Régional d’Innovation et de Transfert de Technologies (CRITT) du Bois and European Forest Institute (EFI). ARBRE teams investigate tree biology and forest ecosystem functions at all relevant scales to predict their mid- and long-term responses to global change. ARBRE therefore contributes to the existing international efforts aimed at ensuring the long-term maintenance of forest health and the sustainability of forest productivity. The overarching long-term goal of the consortium is to produce information and models garenteeing forests sustained ability to produce quality goods and services in a changing environment.

WSL is the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. It is concerned with the use, development and protection of natural and urban spaces. The focus of our research is on solving problems to do with the responsible use of landscapes and forests and a prudent approach to natural hazards, especially those common in mountainous countries. WSL occupies a leading position internationally in these research areas. We also provide groundwork for sustainable environmental policies in Switzerland. WSL has, from the start, been active in all regions in Switzerland. In 1888 the first experimental plots were set up across the country to find out more about tree growth and yield. Today WSL maintains more than 6000 experimental and research plots, including large experimental stations for studying rock fall or debris flow, study areas for monitoring the effects of climate change on forests and sites damaged by storms or fires for investigating the impact of these natural hazards.

WSL and ARBRE share many common research interests and devote important efforts to closely related topics in France and Switzerland. Research teams from the two groups already collaborate in many different areas and participate to common European projects. ARBRE and WSL recently agreed to foster cooperation among their research groups and decided to launch a common call for proposals in 2015. Eligible projects imply a very tight cooperation between research groups from ARBRE and from WSL. Matching funds will be allocated by both ARBRE and WSL to selected projects.

All topics dealing with tree biology, forestry and wood sciences and fitting into the main objectives of ARBRE (see Annex 1 in details link provided below) and the focus of forest research of WSL are eligible. Projects should be innovative.

All projects will be submitted to a common review committee nominated by the head of WSL and by the scientific director of ARBRE. The jury will rank the proposals before a final decision is made by the heads of the two institutions.

For more details, please follow this link : ARBRE-WSL Joint call for proposals

Un reportage sur le cinquantenaire de la recherche forestière a été mis en ligne sur le site Eureka Lorraine.

The final round for the academic competition C’Génial took place recently on April 2nd. The participatory research project ‘Survivors’ (supported by LabEx ARBRE, INRA, the Permanent Centre for Environmental Initiatives (CPIE) of Nancy-Champenoux and by the College Duvivier of Einville-au-Jard) received the College-Research Partnership Award. Mrs. Marchal, the earth and life sciences teacher, together with her students prepared a film for the occasion.

To view the film “Survivors” :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB-2sPMwK8g

To watch the awards ceremony, follow this link :  http://videos.univ-lorraine.fr/index.php?act=view&id=2203

Forests in the French territories: challenges and risks
The Agreenium’s International School of Research
Nancy 12-17 April 2015

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The Agreenium’s International School of Research is offering a doctoral course in Forest-Agronomy designed to improve the job prospects of doctoral students by raising their awareness of the major challenges facing society at the international level. This course is accredited under the “EIR-A” label and will be carried out within the framework of France’s Agricultural, Veterinary and Forestry Institute (IAVFF).

The residential seminar of 2015 will be held from 12 to 17 April to Nancy in the Museum-Aquarium Amphitheatre and at AgroParis Tech. It is organized by INRA Nancy Lorraine Center , the University of Lorraine and AgroParis Tech, Nancy. In the framework of this seminar, various conferences will be open to all PhD students in Lorraine: On Monday, 13 April (9h45-13h), ecosystem services and challenges posed by climate change affecting the evolution of forests will be addressed, Tuesday 14 April (9h-13h) will be devoted to issues related to tropical forests and/or management of temperate forests. Finally, on Wednesday 15, guests will be encouraged to attend a round table discussion on “integrity and ethics in research”, from 9h to 12h.

For more information, follow this link — Seminar program 2015

Climate change impacts on forest ecosystems

24 – 28 August 2015
Fafleralp, Lötschental (Valais) Switzerland ___________________________

Real world solutions in climate change adaptation and mitigation often ask for interdisciplinary approaches. The NFZ – Summer School FORESCALE addresses challenges at the interface between different forest research disciplines at varying spatial scales.

NFZ.forestnet is a European research and higher education network which gathers French, German and Swiss institutions working on forestry, forest ecosystem and forest-related products. It aims at creating and developing collaborative research and education projects.

The goal of the NFZ Summer School 2015 is to identify research gaps at the interface between research disciplines at varying spatial levels in the context of climate change impacts on forest ecosystems. Experienced researchers in forest science will explore the possibilities and limits of disciplinary and interdisciplinary concepts in their field and will discuss possible approaches to overcoming barriers in implementing scientific know-how in forest management and policy.

This Summer School program is open to all PhD students and young scientists in forest research — The deadline for applications is 1 May 2015

For more information: NFZ Summer School 2015 — FORESCALE
Follow this link to apply: NFZ Summer School 2015 — Application Form

Jonathan Plett is a molecular biologist who recently spent one month working with Francis Martin and his team on site at the INRA Nancy-Lorraine Center in Champenoux with the LabEx joint research unit IAM (Tree-Microorganism Interactions) furthering the study of symbiotic plant/microbe interactions.  Jonathan holds a PhD in biology from Queen’s University (Canada) and is currently a research fellow at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment housed within the University of Western Sydney (Australia) where he is studying how symbiotic fungi ‘talk’ with plants while colonizing their tissues.

Jonathan is an accomplished early career researcher with 28 publications/book chapters published in leading scientific journals including Nature Genetics, PNAS, Current Biology, Trends in Genetics and New Phytologist. The broad aim of Jonathan’s research is ‘to understand how plants are able to differentiate between symbiotic and disease-causing microbes…and how microbes try to influence the outcome of these plant/microbe interactions by using proteins to alter plant cellular function.’  The ultimate goal of his work is to ‘genetically identify new plant varieties that can ignore disease-causing organisms and that can enhance relationships with symbiotic organisms.  These plants will grow faster, produce more food and rely less on pesticides and fertilizers thus leading to more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural and forestry practices.’

Jonathan was kind enough to talk with us recently about his science and his path as a researcher. To read the full interview, please follow this link :
ARBRE Interview — Jonathan Plett

Christine Strullu-Derrien is a visiting researcher from the Museum of Natural History in London working for 6 months with the IAM research unit with support from LabEx ARBRE. Her research focuses on the origin and evolution of Fungi and fungi-like microorganisms (oomycetes) associated with plants. She is interested in developing a multidisciplinary approach to bridge palaeomycology (study of fossil fungi), phylogenetics and genomics. Another focus of her research is the evolution of the various components of the vascular system in plants. Through this coupling of paleobotany and phylogenomics, Christine brings a modern vision to a discipline which is in the process of redefining itself thanks to developments in laser microscopy and synchrotron microtomography.

Christine will present her work on Wednesday, 8 April at 13h30 in the conference room at the INRA center in Champenoux.

All are welcome!