Amélie CANTAREL

University of Lyon 1

Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) at the “Ecologie microbienne” (LEM), équipe “Diversité fonctionnelle et Cycle de l’azote” (DIVE-N) team, in Lyon.

Amélie Cantarel studies interactions between microorganisms to better understand the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, particularly the dynamics of the nitrogen cycle in soils. Her work explores how plants, by developing specific nitrogen resource acquisition strategies, optimize their performance while influencing soil structure and functioning as well as associated microbial communities. This integrative approach allows her to address biodiversity issues from multiple perspectives—plant, microbial, and functional—and contributes to the development of nature-based solutions (NBS) for sustainable soil nitrogen management.

 

 

Other roles

In addition to her research activities, Amélie Cantarel is actively involved in teaching and knowledge transfer. She is a deputy elected member of the CNU (Section 67 – Population Biology and Ecology) and co-leads the Plant Sciences programme at Université Lyon 1. Since 2014, she has coordinated the analytical chemistry platform “Microbial Activities in the Environment” developed at LEM. She is a member of the Living Lab ANTHARES Lyon network within the PEPR SoluBiod framework. As of 2027, she will serve as Deputy Director of LEM (2027–2032 term).

 

 

Selected scientific publications

• Béraud C., Piola F., Gervaix J., Meiffren G., Creuzé des Châtelliers C., Delort A., Boisselet C., Poussineau S., Lacroix E., Cantarel A.A.M. 2024. Performance of the BDI strategy in Fallopia japonica on nine contrasted soils: an unexpected link with the initial denitrifying soil community. Soil Biol. Biochem. 188: 109188.
• Cantarel A.A.M., Andrieu B., Allard V., Enjalbert J., Gervaix J., Saint Jean S., Pommier T., Pope C., Wheatamix Consortium & Le Roux X. 2021. Plant functional trait variability and trait syndromes among wheat varieties versus between Poaceae species: the footprint of agronomic selection. Journal of Experimental Botany 72(4):1166-1180.
• Cantarel A.A.M., Dumont M., Lainé P., Lemauviel-Lavenant S., Personeni E., Pommier T., Kastl E.-M., Diquelou S., Desclos-Theveniau M., Grassein F., Schloter M., Lavorel S., Poly F. 2015. Using plant functional traits to explain plant-microorganisms relationships for N-resources acquisition. Ecology, 96, 788–799.