Plant Reserve Dynamics Workshop

PI : Pascale Maillard (UMR 1137 Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestières

Co-applicants :  UR BEF (Nancy) ; UMR ESE (Orsay) ; UMR 547 (Clermont-Ferrand); UR 1115, PSH (Avignon) ; URFM (Avignon) ; UMR IBFA UniCaen.

Collaborations :
Agnès Guilliot (Forest Future,Nancy)
Cécile Barbaroux (LBLGC UPRES EA 1207, Orléans)
Florence Volaire (CNRS CEFE, Montpellier)
Alexia Stokes, Sylvie Sabatier, Pierre Eric Lauri (CIRAD AMAP, Montpellier)

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Context — Perennial agro-ecosystems differ from natural ecosystems in that management and productivity impose repeated polluting disturbances (irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides). Increasingly, societal and environmental issues advocate  their reduction while supporting productivity maintenance. In a changing climate, the productivity impacts of these reductions are not well known, in particular for planted forests and for the forest industry. The study of long term changes on carbon (C), nitrogen (N), water, and sustainable productivity of agro-ecosystems is required in order to develop appropriate management strategies.

Objectives — To further knowledge and understanding of physiological mechanisms that determine stress resistance, survival and stress recovery, and how to stabilize long term productivity and persistence.  A scientific consortium has been created to join forces in ecophysiology and modeling from various French scientific organizations (INRA, CIRAD, CNRS, Universities) to work on forest trees, orchard trees, commercial poplar plantations and perennial forage crops, including those located in Mediterranean and temperate regions.

Approach —Following a consortium meeting in November 2012 at the INRA headquarters in Paris, it was decided that a joint project would be submitted to the National Research Agency (France) in early 2014. The PlantReDyn workshop (scheduled to be held at INRA Nancy in October 2013), will help to advance and finalize work for this second proposed project for 2014 (RESIST project: “Plant Reserve Dynamics: a key for perenniality and productivity of perennial agro-ecosystems under increased stresses”).

Expected results and impacts — PlantReDyn will meet the objectives specified in  WP2 (work package 2) of Labex ARBRE (processes involved in ecosystem responses to a changing environment) and will strengthen ARBRE’s leading national position on these questions. RESIST will refer directly to the Lab of Excellence ARBRE and its support system. The PlantReDyn and RESIST projects will together help the French scientific community to provide solid theories about functioning (C, N, water), storage processes in relation to the architecture of plant species, and to propose management methods to maintain agro-ecosystem productivity under increased environmental stress.