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Call for proposals 2015
Submission deadline: June 30, 2015
ARBRE is a French Cluster of Excellence based at Nancy (Lorraine, France) and managed jointly by the University of Lorraine and Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Inra), with partnership with AgroParisTech, Office National des Forêts (ONF), Centre National de la Propriété Forestière (CNPF), Centre Régional d’Innovation et de Transfert de Technologies (CRITT) du Bois and European Forest Institute (EFI). ARBRE teams investigate tree biology and forest ecosystem functions at all relevant scales to predict their mid- and long-term responses to global change. ARBRE therefore contributes to the existing international efforts aimed at ensuring the long-term maintenance of forest health and the sustainability of forest productivity. The overarching long-term goal of the consortium is to produce information and models garenteeing forests sustained ability to produce quality goods and services in a changing environment.
ARBRE has developed the following specific scientific and technical objectives:
- Develop a comprehensive molecular-level understanding of the forest soil microbiome, tree-microbe interactions and tree resilience to environmental stresses. This is to be achieved by the application of genomics and cutting edge molecular biology, and by integration of genetic regulatory networks into systems biology models.
- Generate functional and mechanistic insights into the complex interactions between biogeochemical cycles (water, carbon, energy, mineral elements) and biodiversity, including the impact of inter- and intraspecific genetic variability.
- Provide biochemistry- and biophysics-based knowledge and technologies to produce timber with wood properties tailored for ‘green’ end-products and to develop new wood based products.
- Contribute to the broader development of social, economic, and regulatory policies related to forest science innovation in France, focusing on biodiversity.
- Train highly qualified personnel for careers in France’s R&D-driven industries and institutions, offer training for Masters students and PhD candidates, and cooperate with companies on emerging novel research questions.
- Promote public awareness and understanding of forest and wood sciences and contribute to science education.
WSL is the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. It is concerned with the use, development and protection of natural and urban spaces. The focus of our research is on solving problems to do with the responsible use of landscapes and forests and a prudent approach to natural hazards, especially those common in mountainous countries. WSL occupies a leading position internationally in these research areas. We also provide groundwork for sustainable environmental policies in Switzerland. WSL has, from the start, been active in all regions in Switzerland. In 1888 the first experimental plots were set up across the country to find out more about tree growth and yield. Today WSL maintains more than 6000 experimental and research plots, including large experimental stations for studying rock fall or debris flow, study areas for monitoring the effects of climate change on forests and sites damaged by storms or fires for investigating the impact of these natural hazards.
The specific scientific and technical objectives of ARBRE are in line with the strategic focus of forest research of WSL (see above and Annex 1).
1. Priorities of the present ARBRE-WSL Call for Proposals
WSL and ARBRE share many common research interests and devote important efforts to closely related topics in France and Switzerland. Research teams from the two groups already collaborate in many different areas and participate to common European projects. ARBRE and WSL recently agreed to foster cooperation among their research groups and decided to launch a common call for proposals in 2015. Eligible projects imply a very tight cooperation between research groups from ARBRE and from WSL. Matching funds will be allocated by both ARBRE and WSL to selected projects.
All topics dealing with tree biology, forestry and wood sciences and fitting into the main objectives of ARBRE (see Annex 1) and the focus of forest research of WSL are eligible. Projects should be innovative.
All projects will be submitted to a common review committee nominated by the head of WSL and by the scientific director of ARBRE. The jury will rank the proposals before a final decision is made by the heads of the two institutions.
2. Funding and eligible costs
The selected projects will be funded for one year with up to 100 000 Euros (matching funds allocated by both ARBRE and WSL). Projects may include a shared post-doctoral fellow and additional funds for travel and laboratory expenses.
The proposals should be jointly submitted by two scientists, one from WSL and one from ARBRE, and each partner (ARBRE or WSL) will support his own costs. Only research groups from ARBRE and from WSL are eligible for financial support. Additional research teams will need to mobilize third party funding.
ARBRE, as well as WSL, seek to enhance the visibility and attractivity of research groups in Lorraine and Switzerland. The funded research groups commit themselves to attract to Lorraine and Switzerland the best young researchers at international level.
In the case a project plans to hire an international early career researcher, Labex ARBRE will help the researcher to prepare an additional application to Agreenskills, the COFUND activity of Inra (see: (http://www.agreenskills.eu/). Agreenskills may bring additional funding for accommodation, travels and other activities, but is a highly competitive programme.
3. Schedule and practicalities
One to two projects will be funded this year. Hence to save time and optimize our resources a two-step procedure is envisaged. Joint ARBRE/WSL-teams should write a letter of intention (LOI) including a summary (max. 1 page) of the planned project. The two institutions will jointly select 3-4 proposals to be prepared for a full proposal.
- Launch of the call: end of April 2015.
- Deadline for submission of the letters of intention: May 20, 2015. They should be submitted to Pascale Frey-Klett (klett@nancy.inra.fr) and Rosmarie Bürgi (rosmarie.buechi@wsl.ch) simultaneously.
- Decision on the proposals to be prepared for full proposals: May 29, 2015.
- Deadline for submission of the full proposals: June 30, 2015. They should be submitted electronically as pdf files to Pascale Frey-Klett (klett@nancy.inra.fr) and Rosmarie Bürgi (rosmarie.buechi@wsl.ch) simultaneously.
- Results of the reviewing and selection processes: September 2015.
- Project will start in November 2015.
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Annex 1 — ARBRE Work Packages
WP1: Tree-Microbe Interfaces and Integrative Tree Biology
Long-term Objectives. WP1 will integrate genomics know-how and toolkits to identify major gene networks controlling the soil-microbe-tree interactions, and tree development and functioning. This includes (i) comparative genomics of model trees (poplars) and forest soil micro-organisms, (ii) population and landscape genomics to identify genes involved in environmental adaptation, (iii) knowledge of the spatial and temporal expression of gene networks, and (iv) a better understanding of the mechanisms determining resilience of trees to abiotic and biotic stresses thanks to their associated microbes and to an improved understanding of their redox detoxication systems and responses to drought stress. The proposed project will determine which circuits affect the ability of trees and interacting microbes to adapt to an ever-changing, frequently challenging environment.
WP2: Forest Ecosystem function and dysfunction in a changing environment
Long-term Objectives. Forest research is assailed by requests from stakeholders working on public policies or on forest management to come up with methods to produce more wood while preserving ecological potential and biodiversity of forest ecosystems. To cope with this seemingly contradictory requests, ARBRE, will concentrate its skills and strengths to understand: (i) the processess involved in ecosystem responses to a changing environment; (ii) the variability of these processes considering internal (soil properties, composition of microbial communities) and external factors (climate, water stress, forest management); (iii) the role of species diversity and its spatial variability in the resilience of forest ecosystems; and (iv) the conditions for up-scaling these processes from molecule to ecosystem, landscape and country.
WP3: Increasing the competitiveness of the wood sector
Long-Term Objectives: The aims of WP3 are: (i) a better understanding of microbial wood decay machinery, (ii) an improved control of the natural resistance of wood to microorganisms, as a key property for durability without chemical preservatives, (iii) new tailored innovative green products from the wood biomass and (iv) decision support tools for analyzing environmental and economic impacts of changes in forest-wood production chains. The added value of ARBRE will be to stimulate interdisciplinary research between wood scientists, biologists and economists, in order to promote interactions between wood and forest scientists, engineers and stakeholders, and enhance the competitiveness of the French forest sector, taking into account the diversity of forest production systems and hardwood species.
WP4: Economic valuation of forest ecosystem services
Long Term Objectives: WP4 aims at designing innovative economic procedures for the valorisation of biodiversity as an environmental service, based on robust biotechnical indicators at various spatial scales. WP4 builds on a dialogue between research in economic and ecology.WP4 concentrates on biodiversity because it is representative, and demand for concrete methods to value this service is mounting. However, the methods developed in WP4 could be extended to other services such as carbon storage (in relation to WP2, Task 2), with the view of discussing issues related to forest multifunctionality (in relation to WP3).
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Annex 2 — Form to submit an application to the
Joint Call for Proposals 2015 of Labex ARBRE and WSL
Click on the following link for the application form in word format
Submission deadline: June 30, 2015
