C-BASC research projects
The research and innovation strategy of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies on Biodiversity, Agroecology, Society and Climate (C-BASC) is structured in 4 axes. Our research projects are presented below (click on them to learn more). They come from calls for projects that C-BASC regularly launches. The results will be posted at the closing date which varies from one project to another. See also our innovation projects, which often include an important research dimension.
Reinforcing landscape structures conducive to the presence of declining vertebrate predators
In peri-urban agricultural environments, human activities and changes in land use have a particularly strong impact on local biodiversity.
Designing insecticide-free cropping systems
How can the diagnostic approach to semi-natural habitats and practices (current and potential) provide useful knowledge for designing insecticide-free cropping systems? This is the research question of this project.
Biodiversity: a heritage to be managed by rural stakeholders?
Biodiversity management is a complex issue, and some research projects need to adopt a resolutely transdisciplinary approach, combining ecology, agronomy, political science, sociology and economics.
Understanding fungicide resistance in soft wheat
Zymoseptoria tritici is the fungus responsible for wheat septoria, the disease with the greatest economic impact on soft wheat in Western Europe. Control of this disease relies largely on the application of synthetic fungicides, the use of which has been greatly optimized in recent years to reduce inputs. The effectiveness of these treatments is regularly threatened by the emergence and spread of fungicide-resistant strains.
Monitoring cats and foxes
The presence of mesopredators such as cats and foxes could have an impact on the presence and vigilance of certain crop-eating bird species.
How do social influences modify the effects of nutritional or environmental food information policies?
The aim of this thesis project is to understand how social influences amplify or attenuate the effects of information policies on the nutritional or environmental aspects of food.
Invasive species and international trade: what policy for the preservation of biodiversity?
Biological invasions introduced through international trade are a growing threat to the preservation of biodiversity and to the benefits that humans derive from nature, to human and animal health and to agricultural production..
Collective catering: a vector for the diffusion of more sustainable practices in food systems?
In this thesis project, we hypothesize that collective catering establishments (daycare centers, schools, retirement homes, professional dining halls, etc.), because of their purchasing power, can play a catalytic role in facilitating the transition to sustainable food systems by orienting practices on both the supply and demand sides of sustainable products.
How does a wheat fungal pathogen adapt to climate change?
Environmental changes, including climate change, affect organisms and agro-ecosystems, which must adapt to them. This adaptation is also taking place in pest species; their ability to evolve rapidly may even increase their impact on crops.
How to manage Cirsium arvense, a plant feared by farmers?
The agro-ecological transition requires a rethinking of agricultural systems as a whole, particularly with regard to the place and interactions of cultivated species and other species in agricultural landscapes.
Adapting vegetable production in Ile de France to climate change: what availability and use of water resources?
Although of little concern until now because of their low weight in relation to total regional water consumption, agricultural water consumption, and particularly that of vegetable and market gardening systems, is likely to increase sharply as a result of the combined effect of climate change and a strong increase in demand for local products in Île-de-France.
Genetic diversity of wheat on a landscape and resilience of its production
Data on the commercial success of varieties in different French geographical areas are increasingly available. The use of variety deployment data is strategic for two types of analysis: it allows us to i) reveal the genes and traits that are critical for adaptation to certain regions, production systems or markets; ii) characterize the genetic diversity deployed on a landscape, and anticipate the resilience of the landscape to environmental hazards (pathogen pressures).
The effects of flower strips and different cropping systems on pest control
The emergence of a multifunctional agriculture based on services rendered by nature requires the implementation of combinations of agroecological levers that can be managed by farmers.
Gardens, an opportunity for biodiversity conservation in peri-urban areas
In France, while urban development has slowed considerably since the late 1960s, the proportion of the population living in peri-urban areas continues to increase.
How do fruit trees respond to climate change?
Because of their long-term cultivation, fruit trees are sensitive to changing environments due to climate change.
Methanization: what agronomic and environmental performances?
This project aims to understand the changes induced by methanization, as much on fertilization as on crop successions or the maintenance of grasslands.
Evaluating the potential of a rust as a biocontrol agent
In the corn plots of the GQE laboratory on the Saclay plateau, balck bindwheat proliferate from May onwards, requiring repeated weeding.
