Studying biogeochemical cycles in natural and anthropogenic systems requires both the understanding of mechanisms at microscopic or even molecular levels, and the estimation of element budgets at more global levels. This back and forth between different scales raises the question of how to take into account climatic and/or edaphic parameters in experimental systems and observatories, in addition to our ability to measure or estimate their importance on the fluxes and stocks of elements such as carbon or nitrogen. Depending on the scale related boundary conditions, measurements of processes such as photosynthesis, respiration or quantities such as organic matter stocks in a soil will be considered differently, depending on whether we have access to a leaf, a canopy or a complex ecosystem. Understanding these experimental techniques and their suitability for the object of study is essential for connecting these different scales and ultimately understanding and modelling biogeochemical cycles. 

The AnaEE France network has a very large number of platforms where these flow and stock measurement issues are at the heart of data collection. Taken together, these platforms represent a rich array of structures for studies under controlled conditions at micro and meso scales, as well as field trials and manipulative experiments at the ecosystem scale. These sites are instrumented to monitor both climatic and edaphic parameters and to measure fluxes and stocks, particularly of carbon. The researchers involved in these structures are therefore ideal contact to brainstorm on the measurement of biogeochemical cycles at different scales of space and time.

Who can participate to AnaEE France summer school 2022?

We propose here a summer school for young researchers (in priority PhD candidates and post-doctoral fellows < 2 years after thesis) around these questions of flux and stock measurements at different experimental scales. This school, organised by Prof. Samuel Abiven (scientific director of the CEREEP Ecotron Ile-de-France and professor at the ENS, Geology Laboratory, Geosciences Department), has the following objectives: i) to train the next generation of researchers on these issues of measurements at different scales, from a theoretical and practical point of view; ii) to highlight the existing structures and the AnaEE staff linked to these structures; iii) to stimulate reflection on the use of experimental structures and their use to improve our knowledge on fundamental subjects with an applied aim; iv) to learn how to use methodological tools and experimental approaches adapted to the scientific questions.

Organisation of the summer school

This summer school will take place from 26 to 30 September, on the site of the Lautaret garden, a AnaEE platform which objective is the study of alpine ecosystems. It will consist of theoretical seminars covering topics such as the carbon and nitrogen cycle at different scales, measurement of fluxes at different scales, change of scale, database management, connection between measured data and modelling, experimental design and instrumentation at different scales, etc., and practical work (experimental, data analysis, preparation of research projects). The seminars will be given by experts from the AnaEE network and beyond (notably Université Grenoble Alpes).

Participants will be accommodated on site for the duration of the graduate school.

Participants will be expected to participate actively in group work, visits and, if necessary, in publications of all kinds (grey literature, presentations, research projects, etc.). At the end of the week, participants will be asked to write a short research project in the framework of the questions developed and the experimental devices visited, which could be proposed in subsequent calls for projects.