Host laboratory:

You will be based at the UMR Eco&Sols, located in Montpellier, France, which comprises 70 permanent staff and brings together INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro Montpellier (formerly SupAgro) and CIRAD. The overall aim of the UMR’s work is to improve our understanding of soil and plant functions, particularly biogeochemical cycles within soils and agro-ecosystems. Our main areas of study are low-input agro-ecosystems comprising perennial, annual, or both types of plants, in tropical and Mediterranean climates.

Scientific context:

The distribution of net primary productivity (NPP) varies considerably across terrestrial ecosystems. For example, in intensive Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil, NPP favours stem growth, with exports concentrated at the end of the rotation. Conversely, coconut plantations in Oceania allocate a significant proportion of NPP to rapidly turning over parts (fruits, leaves, inflorescences, fine roots), with continuous exports and regular incorporation of organic matter into the soil.

These differences in carbon allocation raise key questions: what are the impacts on the residence time of carbon in plant compartments, dead biomass and soil? Do systems that prioritise litter store more carbon in the soil, and is this storage more long-lasting?

Main tasks:

You will conduct a comparative analysis of carbon fluxes and partitioning in different ecosystems (forests, plantations, agroforestry systems, savannahs, pastures, croplands) equipped with eddy covariance measurements and compartment-specific NPP monitoring.

Your activities will include:

•          Collecting and organising data from PEPR FairCarboN/PC3-RIFT workshop sites and other voluntary networks, as well as international databases (FLUXNET, AMMA-CATCH, SOERE, ICOS)

•          Developing a tool to assess the quality and diversity of available data, enabling the filtering of datasets

•          Analysis of short-term effects (intra-rotation dynamics, age effects) and long-term effects (inter-rotation dynamics, impacts of exports) on the productivity and sustainability of the systems

•          Organisation of seminars and webinars to facilitate data sharing with partner sites

•          Close collaboration with the postdoctoral researcher working on water use efficiency (WUE)

Required skills:

·        PhD in terrestrial ecosystem ecology or environmental sciences. Applications from recent graduates are welcome.

·        Proficiency in the physical and biological processes related to the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems

·        Extensive programming skills

·        Fluency in spoken and written English

Skills that would be an advantage:

·        Skills in data mining, database management and analysis

·        Skills in flux towers and the eddy covariance method for measuring carbon flux, including partitioning and gap-filling methods and models

·        Skills in meta-analyses

·        Proven ability to work in a team and to bring together research groups around a cross-disciplinary publication objective

·        Fluency in spoken and written French

Please include in your CV references from previous employers whom we may contact

Our strengths
 

For scientific management roles:

Employee benefits: You will receive a 13th month’s salary, plus, for those willing to relocate, specific allowances depending on location and family circumstances. You will also benefit from comprehensive social insurance cover regardless of location.

LOCATION : Montpellier France