LUSES - An International Joint Laboratory on the impacts of rapid Land Use Change on Soil Ecosystem Services

STUDENT’S NATURE DISCOVERY DAY

Introduction to soil and plant ecology issues to students from the French International school of Bangkok (LFIB)

Philippe Thaler from CIRAD HRPP and Alain Brauman from IRD, LMI LUSES with the help of Celine Venot (Master student from SupAgro) contributed on Monday 25^th January to a “Nature Discovery Class” in a rubber experimental plantation located in the CRRC station (Chachoengsao Rubber Research Center). 

The objectives were to introduce to 30 students (final year, 16-18 year old), the main ecological and agronomical issues linked to rubber plantations and soil conservation. 

The “discovery day” began in the morning by these presentations;

Presentation by Alain Brauman download here>>

Presentation by Phillippe Thaler>>

which made by Philippe Thaler on Rubber main issues, Alain Brauman on soil biodiversity and Celine Venot on some results of her internship respectively. We also showed 2 movies related to soil conservation and to the 4 per mille initiative linked to climate change 

In the afternoon 4 field activities were organized:

1. CO2: measurement of soil CO2 respiration 

2. Flux tower: introduction to the measurements of gas fluxes done at the canopy level

3. Soil biodiversity: measurements of soil macrofauna density and diversity

4. Litter index: measurements of different level of litter degradation due to the soil macrofauna

In the evening, the students made a short presentation of their activities of the day.

This action towards high school students contributed to raise their awareness to some environmental key issues (how to tackle climate change with agricultural practice, why and how we need to preserve our soil, the importance of tree plantations in the social and economic context of SEA)