You will be welcomed in the Joint Research Unit Eco&Sols in Montpellier (France), which has 70 permanent staff from INRAE, IRD, Institut Agro Montpellier and Cirad. You will join the ALAMOD project, which aims to compare and improve models of carbon dynamics at the ecosystem level.Your mission will be to evaluate and improve the STICS model in simulating the soil organic matter dynamics. STICS is a soil-crop model that simulates crop growth, as well as the water, carbon, and nitrogen balances at the plot level. It is being developed by a community of scientists from different disciplines.You will be more specifically in charge of:Evaluating the STICS model’s ability to simulate the long-term dynamics of soil organic matter (carbon and nitrogen stocks) in a variety of agricultural situations, soils and climates. You will use a dataset from long-term experiments, which is under development in the ALAMOD project, and you will also help to complete it.Evaluating and improving the simulation of plant litter decomposition in the short and long term using the STICS model. You will modify and calibrate the decomposition module of STICS it to improve the model’s genericity and better account for certain situations (e.g. crop residues left on the soil surface, soil with a low mineral nitrogen availability, etc.). You will use a dataset gathering data on the decomposition of various plant litters under controlled (laboratory incubations) and field conditions. Modifications to the model formalisms will be carried out in collaboration with the IT pole of the STICS team.Writing publications.

Announcing a new program, called STEPS, to simulate the dynamics of evolving microbial populations.

Abstract. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) is a powerful tool for visualising the spatial organisation of microbial communities. However, traditio

We could be producing concrete that's 30 percent stronger by processing and adding charred coffee grounds to the mix, researchers in Australia found.

In this Consensus Statement, the authors outline strategies for processing, analysing and interpreting low-biomass microbiome samples, and provide recommendations to minimize contaminants.

Dairy processing waste (DPW) is one of the largest agro-industrial residues globally and has the potential of reducing the dependency on mineral phosp…