Zan’Micro – The impacts of desealing on soil microbial community using different treatments

Zan’Micro – The impacts of desealing on soil microbial community using different treatments

Context
The European Union sets a zero net land take objective for 2050. The transcription of this objective in the French regulation must be implemented by city planners through a reduction of sealed areas. While sealing effects on soil are well-known, desealing effects are less characterized. The « Zanette » project studies soils desealed at different dates (space for time approach, Rennella 2020) and with different management practices (Veillard 2024). The aim is to characterise the soil ecological functionality depending on time.

Zanette experimental design is composed of ten sites in France (Parisian region and Grand-Est). These sites were desealed between the beginning of 2023 and the end of 2026. At each site, a sealed area was maintained as a negative a control, and two areas were desealed: once without any other intervention, the other one with organic amendment. Several analyses will be conducted in spring 2027: physico-chemical analyses as well as floristic, fauna and microbial community analysis.

The intern for Zan’Micro will work on this last part about understanding the functional response of microbial communities (Campbell et aL, 2003) after desealing. The aim is to assess the consequences of desealing on microbial biomass, and functional and taxonomic diversity of microorganism. To do so, multiple substrates induced respiration as well as DNA extraction and amplification will be used.

This study will improve our understanding of soil microbial community restoration after a desealing. As soil desealing is increasing, this knowledge will allow us to advices stakeholders about desealing relevance.

Intern mission
The intern will participate in the filedwork in spring 2027: soil sampling, plant inventories, water infiltration, soil respiration. On the samples, the intern will make the catabolic profils of the mcirobial community and will extract and amplify fungi, bacteria and archae DNA.

The intern Zan’Micro will work with the intern Zan’Fauna, which topic is about soil fauna after desealing. The intern may participate to other fieldworks.
Calendar: Bibliography: February-March 2027. || Molecular biology formation: March-April 2027. ||Soil sampling, fieldwork: beginning of May 2027 || Laboratory analysis: middle of May 2027 to middle of June 2027. || Data analyses and writing: June to July 2027.

Deliverable: internship report || Oral presentation.

Requested qualifications
This internship requires a highly rigorous candidate, comfortable with field and lab work but also in statisical analysis with R. Master students in ecology (second year) or equivalent are welcomed. Knowledge in molecular biology, pedology and/or Technosols are appreciated.
Where, when, duration

The internship will take place in the laboratory Ecology Society Evolution of the universty of Paris-Saclay. They will work under the supervision of Lisa Le Moller (contractual researcher in charge of the Zanette Project) and Stéphane Bazot (Professor). The internship will last from 4 to 6 months and starts in February 2027 (January possible). The salary will be based on the national regulation for interns.

To apply
Send CV and cover letter to Lisa Le Moller (lisa.lemoller@sagroparistech.fr) and to Stephane Bazot (stephane.bazot@universite-paris-sacaly.fr) before the 15th of October 2026. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

References
Adobati F., Garda E., Soil releasing as key to rethink water spaces in urban planning, City, Terrritory and Architecture (7), 2020.
Campbell C.D. et al., A rapid microtiter plate method to measure carbon dioxide evolved from carbon substrate amendments so as to determine the physiological profiles of soil microbial communities by using whole soil, Applied and Environnemental microbiology (69, 3593-3599), 2003.
Lerch T.Z., Sensitivity of soil microbial catabolic profiles to a gradient of carbon inputs : do the soil organic matter matter ?, Soil Biology & Biochemistry (57, 911-915), 2013.
Maienza A., Ungaro F., Baronti S., Colzi I., Giagnoni L., Gonelli C., Renella G., Ugolini F., Calzolari C., Biological Restoration of Urban soils after De-Sealing Interventions, Agriculture (11), 2021.
Renella G., Evolution of Physico-Chemical Properties, Microbial Biomass and Microbial Activity of an Urban Soil after De-sealing, Agriculture (10 :12, 596), 2020.
Ugolini, F. et al. Assessing the influence of topsoil and technosol characteristics on plant growth for the green regeneration of urban built sites. J. Environ. Manage. 273, 111168 (2020).
Vieillard C. Désimperméabilisation des sols urbains: états des lieux des pratiques et mises en oeuvre de génie pédologique pour restaurer des services écosystémiques. Institut Agro Rennes Angers, 2024.