Section: New Results

Applications to environmental microbiology

Participants : Céline Casenave, Jérôme Harmand, Alain Rapaport.

We have several ongoing works on the modeling of soil microbial ecosystems. The main characteristics of the models we develop with these partners, compared to aquatic microbial ecosystems, concern the availability of the resources, in terms of:

• spatial distribution and transfer of resources, using simple space representations, with the UMR Eco & Sols (Cirad, Inra, IRD, SupAgro – Montpellier) and the UMR Géosciences (Rennes). See Section 6.1.3 and references [28] , [19] ;

• consideration of recalcitrant forms and recycling of nutrients, with UMR Eco & Sols (Cirad, Inra, IRD, SupAgro – Montpellier) and Inra UREP (Clermont). See Section 6.1.3 and [27] , [71] .

We have also proposed, together with the UMR Eco & Sols (Cirad, Inra, IRD, SupAgro – Montpellier), a new methodology to deduce from the observation of the performances of several assembling of reconstituted ecosystems, the number and the nature of species interactions (see Section 6.3.3 and [34] , [25] ).

The organization of a “research school” dedicated to the biologists of the marine research station of Banyuls (see Section 9.1 ) has led to a primary work about variable yield in marine microbial populations.