Internship Offer – Experimentation and Data Analysis

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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

You will be welcomed within the laboratory “Fractionation of AgroRessources and Environment” (FARE lab) of INRAE and the University of Reims‑Champagne Ardenne (URCA). The study of the uses of plant biomass to produce biomaterials and biomolecules, and the recycling of plant residues in soils and agroecosystems, is at the core of the lab’s research. This internship fits within that theme, linked to agricultural practices such as organic or mineral fertilization or the introduction of legumes into production systems.

Nitrogen (N) fertilization of cultivated systems with synthetic fertilizers has increased productivity, but faces many environmental, energy and geopolitical issues. One opportunity for substituting synthetic fertilizers relies on better management of N stocks contained in soil organic matter and their dynamics (Grandy et al., 2022). These dynamics are partly controlled by microbial communities, interacting with the soil and abiotic conditions (Recous et al., 2017). Microbial communities secrete extracellular enzymes that depolymerize complex organic substrates containing N (e.g., proteins) into smaller molecules (e.g., amino acids) until they are mineralized as ammonium (NH₄⁺) and nitrate (NO₃⁻). Understanding microbial use of N in soils will support the substitution of synthetic mineral fertilizers.

The aim of this internship is to acquire and exploit descriptors of how soil microorganisms use the N in organic matter under two N‑management modalities across different ecosystems.

Soil incubations for 2–3 days after adding ¹⁵N‑enriched ammonium (NH₄⁺) will allow the determination of gross mineralization (ammonification) rates, nitrification and immobilization (Zhang et al., 2019). These fluxes can be compared with existing descriptors of potential net mineralization of organic matter (Sauvadet et al., 2018), protein depolymerization rates and amino‑acid assimilation by microorganisms (Noll et al., 2019), enzymatic activities linked to the N cycle, and microbial biomass.

This work is part of the CANETE research project coordinated by UMR FARE and funded by the France 2030 FairCarboN program. The project examines the effects of N‑management practices on soil microbial functioning and biogeochemical cycles. It involves nine French experimental sites covering crops, grasslands, agroforestry and forest plantations. At each site, two contrasting N‑management treatments (e.g., mineral fertilization vs reduced fertilization with legume introduction) applied for about ten years are compared. Soil samples from the 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm layers will be collected in spring 2025, and for three sites also in autumn 2025 and winter 2026. Existing data come from incubations performed under similar conditions by partner laboratories (SilvaTetch analytical platform, EcoSys and ISPA labs).

You will be mainly responsible for:

• Carrying out soil incubations with ¹⁵N‑NH₄⁺ solution to measure gross ammonification and nitrification fluxes by isotopic dilution, preparing samples for NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ concentration and stable‑isotope ratio analyses (extraction, micro‑diffusion). 
• Comparing and analyzing all descriptors of microbial N use with appropriate statistical methods and assessing the consistency of the results with the literature. 
• Analyzing microbial variable responses to soil use as well as N‑management practices, evaluating potential effects of pedoclimatic conditions and seasons, and writing a synthesis. 
• Regularly presenting progress to collaborators for discussion.

The intern will be supervised by Gwenaëlle Lashermes and Guillaume Humbert, and will also work with Gonzague Alavoine, Olivier Delfosse (research engineers) and Perle Bressan (technician) in the laboratory. The internship will take place on the Moulin de la Housse campus of URCA in Reims.

Training and skills

Master (Bac+5) 

• Recommended background: Agricultural/Agro‑engineering or equivalent, Master 2 in soil sciences, environmental sciences, functional ecology, microbial ecology, biogeochemistry. 
• Desired knowledge: Soil science, general agronomy, basics of microbial metabolism and C or N biogeochemical cycles, soil functions and ecosystem services. 
• Desired aptitudes: Interest in laboratory work and collaborative scientific approaches.

Expected competencies

• Rigor in following laboratory protocols.
• Rigor in data analysis and reporting.
• Ability to question and critically assess results.
• Ability to work in a team (share ideas, present results, discuss problems, seek solutions).
• Good written comprehension of English.

INRAE's life quality

By joining INRAE, you can benefit from, depending on the type and duration of your contract:

- up to 30 days of annual leave + up to 15 additional days off (for full-time employees);
- access to the French public healthcare system;
- 50% of the cost of your supplementary health insurance covered by INRAE;
- childcare and parenting support;
- training and career guidance;
- social assistance and financial support;
- holiday vouchers and accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- subsidised staff restaurants.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter