Annual-Report-2019

UNITÉ INFOSOL - CENTRE NATIONAL DE RESSOURCES SUR
LES SOLS - US 1106 - CENTRE INRAE VAL DE LOIRE
The general mission of the INRAE InfoSol unit is to set up and manage national information systems on soils, their spatial
distribution, their properties and the evolution of their qualities. The unit carries out or coordinates the acquisition of
the necessary data and ensures quality control. It creates and feeds the databases for archiving and processing the
information. It ensures access of applicants in compliance with the rules of deontology and the agreements signed with
the partners of the programmes it carries out. It contributes to their dissemination and development by ensuring in
particular the linkage with the knowledge bases on soils and the thematic exploitation tools produced by the Institute’s
research. The unit manages a national conservatory of soil samples. The unit’s activity is carried out within the framework
of INRAE’s participation in a «Soil» Scientific Interest Grouping that includes the Ministry of Regional Planning and the
Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, ADEME, Ifen and INRAE.
INSTITUT DES SCIENCES DE LA TERRE D’ORLÉANS (ISTO)
UMR 7327 - UNIVERSITÉ D’ORLÉANS, CNRS, BRGM
The ISTO is a research laboratory in earth sciences, studying the external envelopes of the
Earth (upper mantle, continental crust, atmosphere) and the exchange processes between
interfaces. The research subjects in the institute include primary mineral, energy and water
resources, volcanic hazard, as well as the environmental impacts of anthropogenic activity affecting the critical zone and
aquifers. The ISTO was born in January 2000 from the regrouping of three specific units with some subsequent additions
that conformed a joint research unit (UMR), with three bodies to date: University of Orleans (UO), Centre National de
Recherches Scientifiques (CNRS) and Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM); and it is attached to the
Observatory of Sciences of the Universe in the Centre-Val de Loire region (OSUC). The Peatlands Group is part of the
Biogeosystems Team, one of the research teams at the institute, which is aimed to understand the physical, chemical
and biological processes that govern the functioning and evolution of continental biogeosystems, in order to modelling
the interactions between Climate, People, Environment, past, present and future.
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE SUR LA BIOLOGIE DE L’INSECTE (IRBI)
UMR 7261 - UNIVERSITÉ DE TOURS, CNRS
The laboratory is devoted to the analysis of biological processes using insects as model organisms.
This is developed at all levels of biological organization, studying aspects ranging from sub-cellular
signaling to ecosystemic properties. Since its founding 50 years ago, work at the IRBI has been
characterised by an integrative approach in which methods from multiple disciplines are applied
to tackle study targets. The scientific staff of the institute includes specialists in molecular biology,
chemistry, biochemistry, physiology, behaviour, biophysics, mathematics, ecology and evolutionary
biology, as well as technicians whose specific skills support projects in these various fields. This integrative approach is
mainly oriented towards the understanding of interactions between insects and their environment, both for its biotic and
abiotic components. While the main focus of the institute is on basic research, several projects also address problems
through applied research. The latter including sustainable agriculture and the biological control of insect pests; the
development of control strategies for pests, invasive species and insect vectors of human disease, and use of basic
knowledge towards bioinspired engineering.
Earth, Ecology & Environment Sciences 2019
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