PhD Position in Earth Sciences: (F/M) : Standardization and enhancement of the assessment of soil organic carbon dynamics models within the MRV framework: advancing towards more rigorous selection criteria

Back to jobs listing

INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

In the context of climate change, soils play a central role in mitigation strategies through their capacity to sequester carbon. Governments are supporting sequestration projects and defining certification frameworks. To support these initiatives, models of soil organic carbon dynamics (SOC) are essential tools, as they estimate storage potential and monitor progress towards targets.

At present, the absence of standardized evaluation procedures makes it difficult to assess the scope of applicability of these models and to quantify the uncertainties linked to specific combinations of site, model, and data. This PhD project will address these challenges using multi-site and multi-scale datasets (experimental sites, workshops, and national soil monitoring networks), as well as recent standards for ecosystem model evaluation.

The research will build on European projects (e.g., MARVIC, CAFAMORE) and national initiatives (PEPR FAIRCarboN) to carry out comparative simulations across multiple models and scales, focusing on arable cropping systems and grasslands. A key part of the work will be to examine the balance between model cost and accuracy, where cost is largely determined by the data required as input.

Operational objective

To develop methodological tools and reference frameworks that can guide model selection for carbon certification schemes and national inventories.

Work environment

The PhD candidate will join the Info&Sols Research Unit (INRAE Orléans), under the supervision of Manuel Martin and Hocine Bourennane. The unit’s scientific activities are structured around three main themes: (1) state, functioning, and monitoring of soils; (2) soil quality, health, ecosystem services, and impacts; and (3) management of environmental data.

Main missions

The candidate will work on developing a robust methodological framework for evaluating and selecting SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) models applied to carbon sequestration projects and MRV systems. Tasks will include:

- Designing a methodological protocol based on a critical literature review.

- Defining approaches to characterize and model errors and uncertainties.

- Identifying model validity domains and applicability limits.

- Building and sharing an evaluation dataset in line with FAIR data principles.

- Testing and validating the proposed framework using real-world case studies from national and European projects.

Application process

Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed between October 18 and October 30, 2025.

The PhD candidate will be enrolled at the University of Orléans, within the EMSTU Doctoral School.

Additional information

Some travel, including international, will be required as part of the associated projects.

Training and skills

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- up to 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.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter