TREEHOPE – Leveraging TREE benefits in socio-ecosystems under extreme weatHer events with local knowledge: a modelling aPproach

Job title:

TREEHOPE – Leveraging TREE benefits in socio-ecosystems under extreme weatHer events with local knowledge: a modelling aPproach

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Job description

Offer DescriptionCall for expression of interest descriptionThe is a highly prestigious renowned EU-funded scheme. It offers talented scientists a unique chance to set up 2-year research and training projects with the support of a supervising team. Besides providing an attractive grant, it represents a major opportunity to boost the career of promising researchers. Research laboratories in Brittany arethus looking for excellent postdoctoral researchers with an international profile to write a persuasive proposal to apply for a Marie S. Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship grant in 2024 (deadline of the EU call set on 11 September 2024). The topic and research team presented below have been identified in this regard.Main Research Field

• Environment and Geosciences (ENV)

Research sub-field(s)

• Life Sciences (LIF)
• Mathematics (MAT)

KeywordsNature-based solutions, urban forestry, agroforestry, structural equation modelling, beliefs, values, functional ecologyResearch project descriptionNature-based solutions, solutions that involve coexisting with nature, have recently gained attention by many international organizations (FAO, IUCN, IPCC) because they can address the impacts of dramatic extreme weather events in urban and agricultural lands while supporting sustainable development1. To achieve resilience towards extreme weather events, human-nature relationships have to be recoupled within the whole nexus of socio-ecosystems (ecological-governance-society). Faced with this challenge, the interfaces between cities and rural areas are crucial because of the interdependencies between socio-economic and ecological systems for educational, food, transport and equity. Moreover, nowadays people have limited experience with nature (“shifting baseline syndrome” and “extinction of experience”), which in turn could limits sympoietic2 relationships to gain new alliances between human and non-human, especially in the urban milieu. Due to many functions related to ecosystem services, these alliances must preserve the soil functioning for climate adaptation and attenuation. Our research question is to evaluate how trees, as a symbol and recurrent feature in urban and agricultural lands, and conveyor of beliefs and values3, could lever nature-based solutions in socio-ecosystems. We hypothesize that the presence of trees and their role in the resilience of the soil microbial community and its functioning could be a trigger (or an indicator) of the importance of biodiversity by various stakeholders Our approach is based on functional ecology and microbial ecology. Along with an experimental determination of the role of tree and understorey vegetation and their traits in the functioning of urban and agricultural environments, structural equation modelling will be used to (i) capture the local knowledge of various stakeholders, and (ii) explore the different causal patterns linking soil microbial resilience to functional diversity. This approach will also include a group discussion to reconnect people with the need to protect soils and biodiversity by co-learning based on a data-driven approach. . This project is supported by the POPSU project head, Prof. Dr Romain Pasquier (political sciences) and local political authorities and stake-holders * Seddon N, Smith A, Smith P, Key I, Chausson A, Girardin C, House J, Srivastava S, Turner B (2021) Getting the message right on nature-based solutions to climate change. Global Change Biology 27 (8):1518-1546.

• Petersmann M-C (2021) Sympoietic thinking and Earth System Law: The Earth, its subjects and the law. Earth System Governance 9:100114.
• Djoudi, H. et al. (2022) Trees as brokers in social networks: Cascades of rights and benefits from a Cultural Keystone Species. Ambio 51 (10), 2137-2154.

Supervisor(s)The Postdoctoral Fellow will be supervised by Edith Le Cadre as main supervisor (full professor of agronomy) at Institut agro Rennes Angers and by secondary international supervisors (see secondments). This project is supported by the POPSU project head, Prof. Dr Romain Pasquier (political sciences) and local political authorities and stake-holders, and applied statistics experts (Pr Mathieu Emily) providing a nurturing environment for transdisciplinary approaches of Nature-based solutions.Main publications in relation to the project :

• Mettauer R, Beule L, Bednar Z, Malige M, Godinot O, Le Cadre E (2023) Influence of two agroforestry systems on the nitrification potential in temperate pastures in Brittany, France. Plant and Soil. doi:10.1007/s11104-023-06309-8
• Mira S, Emily M, Mougel C, Ourry M, Le Cadre E (2022) A field indicator for rhizosphere effect monitoring in arable soils. Plant and Soil. doi:10.1007/s11104-021-05284-2

Department/ResearchSAS joint research unit (Soil AgrohydroSystem Spatialisation) focuses on interactions between agriculture and the environment, from the scale of a field or livestock building to that of a watershed or agricultural landscape (of a few thousand hectares). Our research focuses mainly on agricultural contexts with livestock systems. For more informations :LocationRennes and Brittany (North west France), with mobility to the University of Helsinki, FinlandSuggestion for interdisciplinary / intersectoral secondments and placementsSecondments (6 months/24 months). Johan Kotze and Heikki Setälä, University of Helinski, Finland (co supervisors). Dr Kotze and Prof. Setälä are worldwide experts in urban ecology. Along with their scientific expertise complementary to French supervisors, the secondment will add a positive value to the project and will expand the professional network of the candidate.RequirementsResearch Field Environmental science » Ecology Education Level PhD or equivalentSkills/Qualifications

• Specific Skill Requirements: functional ecology or soil microbial ecology,
• Required Languages of the Post doc candidate: English, French will be appreciated
• Other skills: Statistics, such as structural equation modelling, path analysis, Bayesian statistics, GIS will be appreciate
• Publications: 1 per year since since the completion of the PhD

Languages ENGLISH Level ExcellentResearch Field Environmental science » EcologyAdditional InformationEligibility criteriaAcademic qualification: By 11 September 2024, applicants must bein possession of a doctoral degree, defined as a successfully defended doctoral thesis, even if the doctoral degree has yet to be awarded.Research experience: Applicants must have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research, measured from the date applicants were in possession of a doctoral degree. Years of experience outside research and career breaks (e.g. due to parental leave), will not be taken into account.Nationality & Mobility rules:Applicants can be of any nationality but must not have resided more than 12 months in France in the 36 months immediately prior to the MSCA-PF call deadline on 11 September 2024.Selection processWe encourage all motivated and eligible postdoctoral researchers to send their expressions of interest through the EU Survey application form ( ), before 5th of May 2024. Your application shall include:

• a CV specifying: (i) the exact dates for each position and its location (country) and (ii) a list of publications;

• a cover letter including a research outline (up to 2 pages) identifying the research synergies with the project supervisor(s) and proposed research topics described above.

Estimated timetableDeadline for sending an expression of interest5th May 2024Selection of the most promising application(s)May – June 2024Writing the MSCA-PF proposal with the support of the above-mentioned supervisor(s)June – September 2024MSCA-PF 2024 call deadline11th September 2024Publication of the MSCA-PF evaluation resultsFebruary 2025Start of the MSCA-PF project (if funded)May 2025 (at the earliest)Website for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute SAS -Soils, Agricultural and hydrological systems, Spatialization – UMR 1069 Country France State/Province Brittany City Rennes Postal Code 35000 Rennes Street 65 Rue de Saint-Brieuc GeofieldWhere to apply WebsiteContact CityParis WebsiteStreet42 Rue Scheffer Postal Code75116 E-Mail[email protected]STATUS: EXPIRED

Expected salary

Location

Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine

Job date

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 23:26:06 GMT

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