EECAR News
EECAR - Team news!
This page contains the latest news about the team.
28 July 2026 – Lison Défossé and Marina Reis won second and third prizes for the best student oral presentation at the SERE 2026 international conference in Brest
Lison Défossé and Marina Reis, both PhD students at the University of Avignon, working within the team EECAR of the’IMBE at the Avignon University Institute of Technology (IUT), won second and third prize respectively for the best oral presentation for their paper entitled " »Can sealed soils recover? Effects of decompaction on soil biodiversity after 50 years of soil sealing and prospects for nature-based restoration« and »Functional strategies for the establishment of native graminoids: insights from a BEF experiment in the Cerrado’ during the «15th European Conference on Ecological Restoration »which took place from 24 to 28 August 2026 in Brest.".
We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to them, as this conference attracted around 600 participants, including more than 100 oral presentations by students competing for this award!
4 June 2026 – Ecological Restoration Day in La Crau as part of Ecology, Environment and Biodiversity Week
The day dedicated to the ecological restoration of the Crau Plain’s ecosystems, held as part of Ecology, Environment and Biodiversity Week, was a resounding success SEEB organised by the CNRS Institute of Ecology and Environment INEE.
Sixty-three people took part in the event dedicated to the sustainable ecological restoration of the Crau Plain’s ecosystems on Thursday 4 June, representing a diverse and balanced mix of partner companies, engineering consultancies, local authorities, conservation organisations, regional government departments and researchers.
Following a morning visit to the Natural Compensation, Restoration and Renaturation Site at the former Cossure orchard with CDC Biodiversité, the afternoon visits focused on restoration work at the La Ménudelle quarry and renaturation following the removal of a concrete slab on the site of the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille. Participants were able to appreciate not only the diversity of objectives and innovative techniques for sustainable restoration, but also the very diverse socio-economic contexts in which these operations were carried out.
24/05/2026 - Threats posed by photovoltaic power plant projects to biodiversity and landscapes
A project to install 20,000 photovoltaic panels has been under study for six years on the Roquerousse hill in Lambesc, Provence.
Faced with this project, a collective to defend the hills has been formed to make the voices of those who wish to preserve the biodiversity and protected species present on the site heard.
To raise public awareness of the area's natural wealth and ecological challenges, the group called on Thierry Dutoit, Director of Research at the CNRS and member of the IMBE's EECAR team, to organise a nature walk on Sunday 24 May.
More on Radio France
22/05/2026 - Best poster award!
A big congratulations to Camila Hernandez Murillo, supervised by Matthieu Ménager, who won a prize for the best poster (“Honorable Mention for the R.E. Taylor poster award“) at the 45ᵗʰ International Symposium on Archaeometry - ISA 2026 held in Turin.
30/04/2026 - Article in Le Monde
An experiment to bring weapon-polluted soil back to life
Article in Le Monde by Nicolas Guillas (Plaine de la Crau (Bouches-du-Rhône), special correspondent for Le Monde) - As part of Emma Léone's thesis.
Near Arles, scientists are restoring soil contaminated by munitions.
This research could help reduce pollution on battlefields as far away as Ukraine....
13 and 14/01/2026 - REVER14 conference
The 14th REVER - Réseau d'Echanges et de Valorisation en Ecologie de la Restauration, REVER ET PLANIFIER, will be organised by the Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et Ecologie (EECAR team) on 13 and 14 May 2010. 14 January 2026 at Avignon University (Campus Hanna Arendt, in the city centre).
The website is now open for submissions and registrations. All the information is there:
https://rever14.sciencesconf.org.
13 and 14/01/2026 - REVER14 conference
The 14th REVER - Réseau d'Echanges et de Valorisation en Ecologie de la Restauration, REVER ET PLANIFIER, will be organised by the Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et Ecologie (EECAR team) on 13 and 14 May 2010. 14 January 2026 at Avignon University (Campus Hanna Arendt, in the city centre).
The website is now open for submissions and registrations. All the information is there:
https://rever14.sciencesconf.org.
2024–2025 – EECAR, past news
