Missions

We are announcing a postdoctoral position on the study of microbial community structure and functions to work on a field experiment established on techno-soil in the Paris region. The employment is full-time for two years. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2025 and the position is expected to start in September 2025, or according to agreement (this is flexible!). Welcome with your application!

Research description
In a sustainable development perspective, the cities of tomorrow must be more resilient and more adaptable. It is therefore urgent to find operational solutions to face climate change and to reduce anthropogenic pressure on natural resources. In such a perspective, urban green spaces constitute a key element of the cities of tomorrow via the production of green waste - in particular wood waste - and the ecosystem services they provide. At present, recycling by biomethanization and composting are only poorly adapted to wood waste. The production of biochar (carbonization in the absence of oxygen) constitutes a way of ecological and economic recovery of this waste. Indeed, the incorporation of biochar in soils is now identified as an operational solution for storing carbon while improving soil properties such as water retention and underground biodiversity. Biochar can thus constitute a lever for the recovery of wood waste promoting both a new bioeconomic sector as well as the ecosystem services provided by degraded urban soils of green spaces. However, the nitrogen deficit induced by biochar cannot promote soil fertility on its own. Plants that fix atmospheric nitrogen have the capacity to provide this limit by improving soil fertility.

The postdoctoral fellow will be involved in the OPTISOIL project funded by the ANR. They will work on identifying the effects of the addition of biochar and nitrogen-fixing plants on microbial communities (bacteria, fungi and protists). An in situ experiment was set up at the end of 2024 on a technosol in the Paris region. The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for microbial monitoring on this experiment. Microcosm experiments may also be set up to test specific questions related to the project.

OPTISOIL is a multidisciplinary project and will therefore involve research work that brings together the interests of different scientific disciplines (organic geochemistry, geophysics, microbiology and economics) and public and private stakeholders in green space management.

Activités

- DNA/RNA extractions and amplicon sequencing of the bacterial, fungal and protists communities and profiling to understand the role of microbes in driving carbon cycling and sequestration
- Quantification of absolute microbial abundances and biomasses via dPCR, flow cytometry, flow imaging and HPLC approaches.
- Quantification of microbial activity (soil enzymes, microbial respiration, etc.)
- Management of sampling campaigns
- Data analysis, writing scientific articles

Compétences

To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree. PhD students finishing their thesis by the end of 2025 are encouraged to apply.

The successful candidate should have a PhD in microbial or molecular ecology including bioinformatics. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to conceive, execute and complete research projects, the ability to think independently and creatively as well as ability to work in a team and independently are expected.

Some of the skills required:
- Microbial ecology, molecular biology, bioinformatics
- Expertise in uni- and multivariate data analysis under R
- Expertise in the field of plant-microorganism interactions
- Appetite for field work
- Ease in writing reports and scientific articles
- Scientific curiosity, dynamism, enthusiasm and autonomy
- Ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively, within the team and with external partners.
- Mobile person

Contexte de travail

This postdoctoral contract is proposed as part of a project aiming to document the combined impact of biochar and nitrogen-fixing plants on the functions of a degraded soil (e.g. a techno soil) and to consider the ecological footprint and economic prospects associated with these nature-based solutions. The postdoctoral contract is a full-time position lasting 24 months. Several trips to the Paris region for field missions of a few are to be expected.

The successful candidate will work on this collaborative project involving several research groups at the crossroads of microbiology, plant biology, geochemistry and economics. He/she joins the CIRCE team within the Center for Research on Biodiversity and the Environment (CRBE, UMR 5300) in Toulouse. The CIRCE team is recognized for its expertise in interactions between environmental factors, microorganisms and plants at all organizational scales. More details on https://crbe.cnrs.fr/departement-ecologie-des-communautes/circe/.
The person recruited will work in direct contact with Vincent Jassey (WorkPackage leader) and Frédéric Delarue (project manager).

Contraintes et risques

Nothing to report

Informations complémentaires

How to apply
The application should contain the following, written in French or English:

A personal cover letter motivating your application and how you can contribute to the research (max one page),
CV including full list of publications,
A copy of the doctoral degree certificate or documentation that clarifies when the degree of doctor is expected to be obtained,
Contact information for two reference persons,
Other documents that the applicant wishes to submit.