Junior research scientist in agronomy to assess service bundles in fruit tree production

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will carry out your work in the Plants and Horticultural Crop Systems (PSH) unit. Within this unit, you will controbute the Methods, Concepts, and Assessment of Multi-performance Horticultural Systems (MESH) axis. You will strengthen the unit’s skills in agronomy and the existing links between the Biological Control through Conservation (CBC) and MESH axes on the topic of the multifunctionality of agroecosystems and ecosystemic services in horticulture. You will collaborate primarily with an agricultural engineer and an ecologist working within the MESH axis, and researchers and engineers working on the CBC axis. You will also have support from researchers in ecophysiology. In the field, you will be able to use the Lower Durance Valley site workshop, a major horticultural production area. This site is coordinated by PSH, and ecological and sociotechnical monitoring of producers has been undertaken for around ten years.

You will develop a research project aimed at clarifying the links between combinations of horticultural practices and bundles of ecosystem services at plot level, taking into account the landscape context of the plots studied (in terms of soil use and agricultural practices). 

Your work will aim to answer the following three questions: (i) What are the relationships between combinations of practices and service bundles at horticultural plot level?; (ii) Do landscape determinants (composition and layout of the landscape mosaic) affect these relationships?; (iii) Which landscape contexts provide the best compromise between services? 

You will clarify these questions on well-studied horticultural systems within the unit (apple and peach trees). To limit the complexity, you will firstly target three services or functions (production, pest control, and carbon storage) and four agricultural practices (phytoprotection strategies, fertilisation, irrigation, and cover crop and agro-ecological infrastructure management). You will use a multi-local monitoring approach on commercial plots, supplemented with experiments and the use of models. This research project will provide inputs for the assessment and design of agroecological systems for the horticultural sector, one of the major themes of the PSH unit.

To characterise the services and practices, and develop service indicators, you will draw on ecological and agronomical monitoring of commercial (particularly the lower Durance valley site) and experimental plots (system experiment). You will use crop models developed by PSH, including QualiTree (on apple and peach trees). This model provides direct quantification of ecosystem service indicators at plot level; it simulates and assesses scenarios of agricultural practices according to different sustainability criteria. 

You will develop a collaborative network for the successful completion of your activities. You will join the unit’s scientific networks on the functioning of horticultural systems and the multifunctionality of cultivated systems. You will strengthen collaborations with the EMMAH unit in Avignon and the Eco&Sols unit in Montpellier to improve the characterisation of fertilisation practices and cover crop management, the functions of the soil fauna and microfauna, and their link with carbon storage capacity. You can take advantage of the current dynamic around sensors at PSH to strengthen existing collaborations, especially with the EMMAH unit for the use of proxy or remote sensing tools (for example, counting the number of fruit per tree). For your data analysis, in addition to local support from PSH, you will benefit from existing collaborations with researchers within the BioSP (statistical analyses), Agronomy (link between practices and services for arable farming in a region), and HortSys (link between practices and services in tropical crops) units. Lastly, you will join national (MP Biosefair) and European (Ecosystem Service Partnership) scientific communities addressing ecosystem services in agricultural areas.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent).
Sound skills in agronomy or agroecology are highly recommended.
Knowledge and skills in the analysis of agroecosystem functioning and statistical analyses of agroecological data would be highly desirable. Experience in the use of models would be appreciated. Furthermore, the ability to develop new collaborations with researchers in various disciplines, a taste for teamwork, as well as sound experience in promoting your work through writing scientific articles, would also be highly recommended.
Candidates should have a good command of English, and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

Your future role explained in video

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Guide for applicants 2026 pdf - 1.41 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR26-AgroEcoSystem-7
3. I apply GO