Description: Heat waves, which are becoming increasingly frequent as a result of climate change, can have an immediate impact on organisms and ecosystems. In addition to the direct effects, these heat waves can destabilise interactions between hosts and their symbiont micro-organisms, with potentially serious consequences. However, our understanding of the role of symbionts in relation to hosts in the context of exposure to a heat wave is very patchy.

The ArmaWave project proposes to document these relationships by characterising the influence of heat waves on symbiotic interactions between a host organism recognised as a key species in the recycling of soil organic matter and two major groups of symbionts, described as exerting a major influence on the ecology of their host.

This project is divided into three main areas:

1. The first axis will characterise the immediate influence of heat waves on the diversity of symbionts within hosts and the effect of the destabilisation of symbiotic interactions on the extended phenotype of associations.
2. The second axis will establish the medium-term effect of exposure to heat stress on the dynamics of recolonisation of host tissues by symbionts that have survived heat waves.
3. Finally, the last axis will aim to determine whether exposure to a heat wave influences the microbial flora present in the host faeces and whether this may have repercussions on soil health.
   The results of the ArmaWave project will contribute to the debate on policies for managing and preserving biodiversity, by highlighting the importance of considering the organism not as a single individual, but as a link in a chain of interactions between a multitude of organisms.

Director: Romain Pigeault ( UMR CNRS 7267 Laboratory )

Contact: romain.pigeault[at]univ-poitiers.fr

Collaborator: Qualyse Laboratory

Funding: University of Poitiers, and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region

Description: The AVIZONS project aims to provide knowledge for the southern part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the characterisation of marine biodiversity (exploited and non-exploited) in terms of spatial and temporal distribution. It involves locally-based research structures and professional fishing organisations. Collaboration with teams outside the Basque Country is also part of the project in order to benefit from complementary expertise and strengthen a network.

Four areas of study are envisaged:

1. Temporal evolution in an area subject to anthropic and environmental pressures, the coastal strip;
2. Spatial and temporal evolution of species of local fishing interest;
3. Synthesis of new species observed over the last few years and identification of species with economic potential;
4. A ‘Hackaviz’ challenge involving students from a number of courses in the region to devise communication tools for users and managers.

This work on the spatio-temporal evolution of species at different scales (and in response to changes, particularly those linked to climate change) will provide professionals, structures supporting the industry, managers and facilitators with elements to consider one or more adaptation strategies. The project will focus in particular on species exploited by coastal fisheries that are not spatially mobile and will suffer the impact of climate change without many adaptation options.

This project is intended to be scaled up, with the prospect of responding in the medium term (after this methodological development phase) to calls for European projects (notably HORIZON).

Direction: Noëlle Bru & Nathalie Caill-Milly

Contacts: Noëlle Bru Noëlle Bru Noëlle.Bru[at]univ.pau.fr & Nathalie Caill-Milly nathalie.Caill.Milly[at]ifremer.fr

Collaborators: OP Pêcheur de Nouvelle Aquitaine & Comité Interdépartementale des Pêches Maritimes et des Élevages Marins des Pyrénées Atlantique et des Landes

Funding: Communauté d’agglomération Pays Basque, Office français de la biodiversité and Communauté d’agglomération Maremne Adour Côtes Sud.

Description : Current demographic growth and the limited availability of arable land and natural resources are already having an impact on global food security, while climate change is influencing farming practices and requiring crops that are resistant to environmental constraints and respectful of the environment. Maintaining sustainable plant productivity in a fluctuating environment, ensuring the quality of plant production for food, health and the environment while seeking to develop new resources from plants are all responses to today’s major challenges. A plant’s performance, whether in terms of biomass production, stress resistance or quality, depends on its ability to allocate its resources in the right place at the right time. This almost always results in trade-offs in performance, such as defence at the expense of growth, or quality of harvested products at the expense of yield. Although these trade-offs are crucial not only to plant survival but also to plant production, they are still insufficiently studied in the field of plant science.

The ambition of the BPS-MEDECOPE project is to gain a better understanding of these trade-offs, an essential step in anticipating the challenges of the agriculture of the future. The project focuses on the molecular, metabolic and physiological mechanisms and genetic bases that control these trade-offs. We will be looking at those involved in interactions between stresses, particularly biotic and abiotic, as well as those associated with commensalisms known to improve plant resistance (grafting, mycorrhization). Particular attention will be paid to genetic drift, whose consequences for the adaptation of perennial plants such as vines and trees to climate change could prove problematic. The BPS-MEDECOPE project is intended to complement the funding of the Bordeaux Plant Science Major Research Project (GPR BPS) at the University of Bordeaux. This consortium brings together laboratories active in plant biology and ecology in Bordeaux and affiliated to the Environmental Sciences department of the University of Bordeaux.

Management: Yves Gibon (UMR 1332 Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie) & Jérôme Joubès (UMR 5200 Laboratoire de Biogenèse Membranaire)

Contacts: Yves Gibon yves.gibon[at]u-bordeaux.fr & Jérôme Joubès jerome.joubes[at]u-bordeaux.fr

Collaborators: UMR 1202 BioGeCo, UMR1332 BFP, UMR 1391 ISPA, UMR1287 EGFV, UMR5113 BSE, UMR5200 LBM, UR1264 MycSA, UMR4577 Œnologie, UMR 1065 SAVE, UMS 3420 BIC/PIV

Funding: Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2022)

Description: Climate change is having a significant impact on urban life. Extreme temperatures have an impact on sea level rise and other catastrophic events such as floods, droughts and storms. These events have a costly impact on essential services, infrastructure, housing, livelihoods and health in cities. Cities are responsible for 75% of CO2 emissions, so city stakeholders need to come up with creative solutions to promote innovation and boost urban resilience by limiting the negative impacts of climate change. But to solve a problem, you first have to see and feel it. Visualisation is a potential means of increasing commitment to climate change. Advances in computer technology, such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, offer significant advances that can be transformative and engage the public on climate change issues. This is at the heart of the work of Augmentcity, a company that has developed a revolutionary way of harnessing digital twins of cities, enabling data and hypothetical scenarios to be analysed and visualised in an interactive and immersive visualisation tool, with products designed for policy makers, researchers, businesses and the general public.

This project is based on the technology developed by AugmentCity and offers demonstration, co-creation and stakeholder mobilisation applications to build capacity and collective decision-making in 3 European urban areas in their initiatives to adapt resilient urban infrastructures to climate change (Bordeaux – France, Møre og Romsdal – Norway, Kołobrzeg – Poland).

Supporting organisation(s): Augmentcity AS

Contacts: (Coordination) MAJOR Pierre pierre.major[at]augmentcity.no (France); POUYANNE Guillaume (BSE) guillaume.pouyanne[at]u-bordeaux.fr; DACHARY-BERNARD Jeanne jeanne.dachary-bernard[at]inrae.fr

Partner(s): France: POUYANNE Guillaume & NAHORNA Olha (University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux School of Economics), DACHARY-BERNARD Jeanne & CARAYON David (INRAE, ETTIS), Accent-Sud (Association)
Norway: Augmentcity AS (company); Møre og Romsdal Fylkeskommune (local authority)
Poland: Gmina Kolobrzeg (local authority); INnCREASE Sp. z.o.o (company), Institute of Urban and Regional Development

Funding : JPI Urban Europe

Website: https://crestproject.eu/about

Description: The aim of the project is to study the history of erosion on the sandy coast of Aquitaine and its impact on societies, from the Neolithic period to the present day. The aim is to place this erosive dynamic – at the heart of current debates on climate change – in the context of several millennia of history, to reconstruct the evolution of palaeogeographical transformations and ecosystems, and to understand how societies have behaved in the face of these more or less rapid environmental changes:

• Has this erosion always been so strong?
• How is this reflected in the sedimentary record, and how have the various processes shaped the landscape of today?
• How have people managed these areas?
• What activities have they practised in these specific environments, what was their perception of the risk and what responses have they provided?

To answer these questions, we have chosen to focus on three geographical areas:

1. The north of the Médoc
2. The Dune du Pilat, because of its rich cultural and natural heritage, which makes it possible to retrace the cycle of erosion over several millennia, since the appearance of the first sedentary communities.
3. A third window will focus on the right bank of the estuary and the Ile d’Oléron, where archaeological and historical documentation is also extensive.

The research is being developed along three lines:

1) geoarchaeology (understanding erosion processes over the long term, reconstructing palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental changes), for which a PhD grant has been requested,

2) archaeology (study of settlement dynamics and adaptation to hazards),

3) archival research (history of the impact of erosion on modern and contemporary societies).

The doctorate will also aim to provide a link between these different approaches in order to cross-reference and synthesise the results.
The project will be promoted through regular workshops between the participants, study days and meetings with decision-makers and coastal managers. The final objective of the project is to produce a historical atlas of the sandy coastline of Aquitaine, presenting a corpus of chronological and/or thematic maps, accompanied by summary articles.

Leader: Florence Verdin (CNRS/U. Bordeaux Montaigne; Ausonius Institut de recherche antiquité et moyen âge UMR 507)

Contact: florence.verdin[at]u-bordeaux-montaigne.fr

Funding: Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2020-2021)

Description: Forest fires are becoming a major issue in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region as a result of climate change, as illustrated by the devastating summer of 2022. Their economic, environmental and social impact justifies priority investment in the fight against these forest fires. When considering forest species, we need to take into account their resistance to pests and drought, but above all their behaviour in the face of fire. A great deal of research has been carried out, but the mechanisms involved are not fully understood because of the interdisciplinary nature of the problem.

The FeuXtrM project brings together complementary expertise in the study of fire propagation: plant physiology (EBI laboratory), thermal/combustion (Institut P’) and chemistry (IC2MP).

The aim is to gain a better understanding, through a combined field/experimental/modelling approach, of the biothermochemical causes of fire propagation. It is planned to study two pine species present in the region that have been involved in the spread of these fires: maritime pine and taeda pine, which is set to expand in the future.

The final part of this regional project will involve the development of a numerical model for the dispersion of smoke from a fire front. The aim of this model is to identify the configurations in which an accumulation of these gases could explain the extreme and dangerous changes in behaviour known as eruptive fires or flashover.

This project is complementary to the multi-risk approach developed in the PSGAR GRIFON; the aim is to specifically document the biothermochemical causes of fire propagation with a targeted approach on 2 pine species that have been involved in the spread of recent fires.

Leader: Bruno Coudour (UMR CNRS 7267 EBI)

Contact: bruno.coudour[at]ensma.fr

Collaborators: EBI Laboratory (UMR CNRS 7267), IC2MP Laboratory (UMR CNRS 7285) and Institut P’ (UPR CNRS 3346)

Funding: Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Description: This project assesses the potential effects of climate change on the recruitment success of various species of fish of high commercial interest (sole, sea bass, flounder, plaice, Senegal sole) by looking at the location of spawning grounds, larval life span, seasonality of spawning, growth, and environmental conditions (temperature, precipitation, currentology). By comparing several regions (from the Iberian Peninsula to the North Sea), and several species, the thesis will highlight for which species and in which areas recruitment, a key process in the renewal of populations, will potentially be most impacted by climate change. The project is particularly interested in species that use estuaries such as the Gironde, or coastal areas, as nurseries for their juveniles. Many species of interest to the fishing industry use these areas to promote the growth and survival of their young stages, and these ecosystems are among the most sensitive to global change. The consequences in terms of population dynamics and spatial management of species will then be explored.

The project will also focus on interaction with regional players involved in various fields: water management, biodiversity, fisheries, coastal management, protected areas and the dissemination of results to the general public.

The project will also focus on interaction with regional players involved in various fields: water management, biodiversity, fisheries, coastal management, protected areas and the dissemination of results to the general public.

Violette Silve will write her thesis on the impact of climate change on the recruitment of estuary fish: from spawning areas to the colonisation of estuaries.

Supporting organisation: INRAE – EABX

Contact: Henrique CABRAL (Coordination) henrique.cabral[at]inrae.fr

Partners: OFB – Parc naturel marin de l’estuaire de la Gironde et mer des Pertuis, CRPMEM, Agence de l’Eau Adour-Garonne, AGLIA

Website: https://www6.bordeaux-aquitaine.inrae.fr/eabx

Description: The aim of this project is to support the work already carried out in the New Aquitaine ESTRAN research project to trace the retrospective evolution of a particularly vulnerable maritime area, the Bas-Médoc peninsula. On the coastal section, our aim is to define the environmental trajectories that have shaped it in terms of natural dynamics (fragmentation/aggradation) and settlements (decline/encroachment of habitats, exploitation). The geomorphology of the beaches in this sector reveals recent geological formations (within the last 10,000 years) that are full of evidence of human occupation over several millennia and their adaptation to the variability of the land during the period when we first settled (i.e. the Neolithic period). In the context of global change in the 21st century, which in the short term will see sea levels rise at a rate of around 10 mm/year (the rate experienced by our ancestors during the Neolithic transition period), our work is being used to provide scenarios for the future by supplementing current observations of changes in the coastline.

As a complement to our scientific work, and with a view to transferring the knowledge acquired by those involved in coastal management, both institutional and associative, the ICONOPASTT project is specifically involved in a participatory science approach, with citizen contributions at the heart of its documentary input. The participatory contribution of users, with the aim of collecting images that bear witness to beach conditions or discoveries with archaeological potential, will feed into a ‘memory of the inhabitants’ dynamic, serving the collective understanding of ongoing environmental change and the erosion of our natural and cultural coastal heritage.

Link to the website

Contact: contact[at]iconopastt.fr

Coordinator: Frédérique Eynaud (UMR EPOC) – frederique.eynaud@u-bordeaux.fr

Collaborators: AUSONIUS and PASSAGE laboratories (U. Bordeaux Montaigne), PRODIG (Université Paris- Diderot), LETG Brest (Université de Bretagne occidentale), UMS POREA (OASU), Instituto de Arqueología (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura), Communauté de Communes Médoc-Atlantique, Service du Patrimoine et de l’Inventaire (Bordeaux site), BRGM Direction Nouvelle-Aquitaine /Observatoire de la côte de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Association CPIE Médoc/ Curuma

Funding : CNRS call for MITI projects (Mission pour les initiatives transverses et interdisciplinaires, https://miti.cnrs.fr/) / Action Sciences participatives en situation d’interdisciplinarité (Participatory science in an interdisciplinary context)

Description: Current changes in climatic conditions are leading to significant changes in urban landscapes, in particular the intensification of heat islands, the consequences of which need to be identified (chronic stress for living organisms) and, in a context where this consequence is set to increase, guidelines for planning policies still need to be identified. The specific objectives of the ILOVIE project are to (i) identify urban heat islands (UHIs) and study their spatio-temporal evolution between 1993 and 2020, (ii) identify the vulnerability and feelings of populations of living organisms (including humans). The project will focus on a ‘pilot experimental zone’: Grand Poitiers Communauté urbaine (GPCu) and will mobilise an interdisciplinary community: human and social sciences and environmental sciences.

Co-directors: Nicolas BECH and Sophie BELTRAN-BECH (UMR 7267 Laboratoire d’Écologie et Biologie des Interactions – EBI)

Contacts: Nicolas BECH Nicolas BECH nicolas.bec[at]univ-poitiers.fr and Sophie BELTRAN-BECH sophie.beltran.bech[at]univ-poitiers.fr

Collaborators: Jean-Louis YENGUE, Thibault PREUX (RURALITES Laboratory (EA 2252/University of Poitiers))

Co-funded by Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2022) and Grand Poitiers Communauté urbaine (GPCu)

Date: Letter of support from Futurs-ACT in November 2021, project start in October 2022, project end in October 2025

Description: Adaptation to climate change is accelerating in countries around the world thanks to increased knowledge and capacity, building on long-established links between scientists and decision-makers, and closer collaboration between the organisations that foster these relationships.
This international network aims to create a dynamic new space for adaptation-focused frontier organisations to learn from each other, in order to strengthen their influence, support their development and enrich their collective contribution to global adaptation.

Governance: The network was created and is jointly managed by the participating organisations. Initially, Ouranos will manage the network and provide some logistical support. This situation, which should eventually evolve towards shared management between members, currently relies on around twenty structures, including Futurs-ACT. The INBOA network will adapt its structure and governance as it evolves.

Find out more about the members of this network and what a border organisation is.

Contact : inboa[at]ouranos.ca

Description: Policy responses to pressing global crises, such as the pandemic and climate change, have reaffirmed that the legitimacy of experts cannot be taken for granted. It is therefore urgent to understand this destabilization of scientific credibility. Yet current sociological theories on the role of experts, particularly those who speak as scientists in controversial political debates, are limited. Existing research tends to attribute this credibility problem to a lack of scientific culture on the part of the public and politicians, suggesting that more popularization and a decompartmentalization of the scientific world will make it possible to better inform public policies. While such efforts are undoubtedly helpful, a less often asked question is the effect that increased interactions with the public and policymakers have on experts and scientists themselves. It is generally assumed that they unequivocally want to share their knowledge, that these interactions are positive, and that both science and policy-making benefit from these processes.

By focusing on the case of climate change, a high-stakes global problem for which expert input is constantly sought, this project challenges this assumption. He studies scientists working on climate change in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, but also in France, with the institutions of the European Union and those of the United Nations. He asks the following questions: 

1) How and why do scientists working on climate change decide to interact (or not) with decision-makers? 

2) How do these interactions impact their work as scientists and their perspective as citizens? 

3) What resources, tools and training might they need to improve their participation in political decision-making, if any?

To answer these questions, this project will mobilize archival analysis, interviews, focus groups and participant observations of scientists who interacted with decision-makers. To facilitate this empirical work, the project will rely on the networks of its socio-economic partners (DREAL, Ecocène, and Futurs-ACT) to create a place of interdisciplinary reflection allowing scientists from the region to meet alternately in Bordeaux, Pau and Limoges to discuss their experiences and to share strategies for participation in policy development processes regarding ecological transition. In addition, meetings with the general public and workshops with partners will be organized in order to use the results of the project to improve their missions in the fight against climate change.

Supporting organization(s): Bordeaux Montaigne University, Cultures and Literatures of the English-Speaking Worlds Laboratory (CLIMAS), Sciences, Philosophy, Humanities Laboratory (SPH), Anglo-Saxon Cultures Laboratory (CAS)

Contact:Michael Stambolis-Ruhstorfer, mstambolis@gmail.com

Partner(s): 

• Christine Bouisset, UPPA | TREE UMR 6031
• Émilie Chevalier, University of Limoges | OMIJ UR 3177
• Andy Smith, Sciences Po Bordeaux | CED UMR 5116
• DREAL New Aquitaine
• Ecocene Association
• Futurs-ACT

Website: http://www.michaelstambolis.com/interclim.html

Funding: Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council, calls for research projects (2021-2022)

Description: The project aims to contribute to a better understanding of the physico-chemical processes responsible for climate change. In particular, it will focus on biogenic secondary organic aerosol (BSAO)-water interactions and the main physical and/or chemical factors involved in atmospheric ageing and cloud formation.
The study of atmospheric aerosols is now recognised as one of the top research priorities in the atmospheric sciences, both nationally (CNRS, ADEME priorities, etc.) and internationally (COP26, Paris Agreements, IPCC Climate Report, European networks ACTRIS, IGAC, etc.). Submicron atmospheric particles have very significant direct and indirect effects on the climate (optical effects, cloud formation and lifespan, etc.), strongly dependent on their chemical composition and associated properties.
Secondary aerosols, formed directly in the atmosphere as a result of the transformation of compounds emitted in the gaseous phase (e.g. secondary organic aerosols (SOA)), account for a large proportion of aerosols measured at global level. Their formation and ageing are two central processes that have a direct impact on the climate, through their optical and hygroscopic properties, but also on human health, by inducing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Using an original experimental set-up dedicated to the study of gas-particle interactions and the microphysical properties of micron-sized objects in the air, the project will enable physico-chemical markers linked to AOSB-water interaction processes to be identified, providing a better understanding of the direct effect of AOS on climate change and air quality.
The LEVIAERO project is a highly interdisciplinary project based on collaboration between three laboratories at the University of Bordeaux with recognised expertise and available only on the Bordeaux site: the Molecular Spectroscopy Group (GSM) of the ISM; the Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology Group (LPTC) of the EPOC laboratory; and the Physical Acoustics Department (APY) of the I2M laboratory.

The programme is organised into four workshops:

– Knowledge of local sheep breeds and associated knowledge: genetics and history

– Water and livestock farming in the context of climate change

– Adding value to the sheep industry – local breeds and short distribution channels; impact on the landscape and water management

– Ancient uses of water

Leader: Dominique Taurisson-Mouret (CNRS-Geolab Limoges) and Anne Da Silva (E2LIM, University of Limoges)

Direct collaborators: Marius Chevallier (MCF Geolab), Julien Dellier (MCF Geolab), Edwige Garnier (MCF Geolab), James Linton (MCF, Geolab) ; Anaïs Binet (M2) and Adèle Beaufils (PhD student)

Contact: Dominique Taurisson-Mouret[at]unilim.fr ; anne_dasilva[at]hotmail.com

Website: https://geolab.uca.fr/geolab/actualites/pasteaural#/admin

Funding: Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2020-2021)

Description: The aim of the project is to provide solutions to a number of economic, environmental and social issues relating to protein crops, with a view to achieving regional and national protein autonomy, combating the impact of global warming on pea crops in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and limiting the use of inputs for this crop. This project represents an opportunity to provide systemic solutions for managing climate risks, adapting cropping techniques and limiting greenhouse gases, and providing healthy animal feed that will have a positive impact on the added value of processed products.

Description: The project aims to

• study the use of estuarine habitats and the estuary/sea exchanges of the reintroduced population of the European sturgeon Acipenser sturio in the Gironde Garonne Dordogne system (cradle of the last wild individuals observed),
• use this knowledge to identify the potential for recolonisation of other estuary systems along the Atlantic, Channel and North Sea coast.

The results of the detailed analysis of habitat use in this ‘model ecosystem’ will be transposed to 2 other European estuaries (Seine and Elbe) in order to refine the identification of future potential for the recolonisation of the species in Europe. This potential will be analysed on the basis of the quality of the habitats in the 2 estuaries, in addition to the projections made on the basis of climate change scenarios. This inter-regional and European transposition is based on collaboration with the UR HYCAR INRAE (Ile de France Region), the GIP Seine Aval, and the IGB (Berlin, Germany).

By combining landscape ecology approaches and various environmental tracers in an innovative way, the REVE project is of a multi-disciplinary nature, bringing together the UMR EPOC (U. Bordeaux/CNRS), the UMR LIENSs, Littoral, Environnements et Sociétés (U. La Rochelle/CNRS) and the UMR IPREM (U. Pau et Pays de l’Adour/CNRS).

In terms of deliverables, in addition to publications, a thematic day on the restoration of migratory fish populations will be organised mid-way through the project (to be held in conjunction with the international conference on the results of the Interreg Atlantic Area DiadES project (Assessing and enhancing ecosystem services provided by diadromous fish in a climate change context: Bordeaux, autumn 2021). At the end of the project, a visual of the main results will be produced for communication purposes for the general public and schoolchildren, and made available to the PNA (National Action Plan).

Director: Marie-Laure Acolas (marie-laure.acolas@inrae.fr)

Contact: Marie-Laure Acolas: marie-laure.acolas[at]inrae.fr or Céline Le Pichon celine.lepichon@inrae.fr

Funding: Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2020-2021)

Description : Faced with major societal and environmental challenges, the production, transmission and dissemination of knowledge are crucial for the University of Bordeaux. Its mission is not only to think about and teach the knowledge needed to understand the issues of our time, but also to design and experiment collectively with practical solutions, in direct collaboration with local stakeholders.

The Sciences avec et pour la société (SAPS) project at the University of Bordeaux has two main strategic objectives: 

1. to promote knowledge of the scientific method and its value in terms of knowledge production, as widely and as closely as possible to the general public, with a view to inclusion and democratisation, targeting in particular those groups and regions that are furthest removed from the academic world;
2. to co-construct the conditions for an open debate to make informed choices on a regional scale regarding the major issues of transition, through the joint experimentation of solutions and the sharing of scientific expertise.

Director: Philippe Moretto (University of Bordeaux)

Funding: French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI) as part of the ‘Science with and for Society’ (SAPS) label.

Further information: https://www.u-bordeaux.fr/universite/notre-strategie/projets-institutionnels/SUNSET

Description: Soil stability and carbon content depend on the physical characteristics and biological activity of the soil. Earthworms, the real engineers of the soil ecosystem, help to maintain and develop these characteristics through their soil-structuring activity. Against a backdrop of current trends in soil carbon content, showing a global decline that is a cause for concern for the future (reduction in soil carbon stocks and soil fertility), the VDT-CARB project aims to characterise :

1. the location of soil organic matter in aggregates produced by earthworms, in relation to porosity,
2. its fate (stabilisation vs mineralisation) in relation to the biological richness/diversity of the soil and its fertility,
3. the relationship between the physical (porosity, water flow) and ecological (microbial activity) qualities of the soil.
   The issue of the overall loss of quality of agricultural soils and their restoration is one of the problems of the agricultural environment and of the transition towards agro-ecology, which will be developed in an ‘ecological engineering’ section to identify new ways of modifying agricultural practices to restore the biological activity of soils in agro-ecosystems.

Director: Laurent CANER (UMR 7285 Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers) & Arnaud Mazurier (UMR 7285 Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux de Poitiers)

Contact: laurent.caner[at]univ-poitiers.fr

Collaborators: Cornelia Rumpel (IEES Paris) & Abad Chabbi (INRAE Lusignan)

Funding : Conseil régional de la Nouvelle-Aquitaine, calls for research projects (2022) & ANR U2WORM co-funding coordinated by Cornelia Rumpel

Description: The impact of environmental changes (including those linked to climate change) on marine resources and the fishing activities that depend on them is generally little studied on a regional scale.

Based on the typology of fleets (fishing boats) established jointly by scientists and professionals during the study of the socio-economic weight of the fishing industry in the Bayonne maritime district (Gallet et al., 2019), the project will look at the issues of exposure and sensitivity of fleets to changing maritime climatic and economic conditions.

The objectives are to:

– to identify the weather conditions that are favourable or unfavourable for fleets to go out to sea, as well as their impact on yields (tonnage and/or value) ;

– and to observe changes in these variables under different scenarios.

The project aims to continue the collaboration between scientists and stakeholders (integration and development of knowledge, sharing of results, discussions) in order to provide useful information for the governance of activities (results of projections of fishing effort and catchability of fleets according to different co-constructed scenarios).

Management: Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour – Laboratoire de Mathématiques et de leurs Applications de Pau – UMR CNRS 5142

Contact: Noëlle Bru (UPPA) noelle.bru[at]univ-pau.fr,

Nathalie Caill Milly (IFREMER) Nathalie.Caill.Milly[at]ifremer.fr

Partner(s): Ifremer LERAR (Anglet), CIDPMEM64-40 (Comité Interdépartemental des Pêches Maritimes et des Élevages Marins 64-40)

Funding: Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour

Dates: Letter of support from Futurs-ACT in January 2021, project start in May 2021, project end in January 2023