Every Monday in July and August at 5 p.m. The Monday lectures are a series of scientific lectures open to the general public. Admission is free. With a variety of topics and fascinating speakers, some of whom are internationally renowned, the Lautaret Garden lectures are a real opportunity for exchange between the world of science and the general public. For the past three years, this series of lectures has been a convivial event that is sure to pique your curiosity.
July 2, 2018: The remarkable flora and environments of the Col du Lautaret [Rolland Douzet]
Since Dominique Villars' historic botanical surveys, Lautaret has been a mecca for alpine botany. Its strategic location in the heart of the Alps makes it a crossroads of diverse influences, resulting in unparalleled ecological and floristic diversity, with more than a quarter of France's flora. The lecture provides a quick overview of these natural riches and the challenges they face.
Rolland Douzet, a professor of natural sciences, has been the deputy director of the Lautaret Garden since 2005. He teaches plant biology, botany, and evolution atUniversité Grenoble Alpes. He is currently one of the leading experts on the flora of Lautaret.
July 9, 2018: How are the ecosystems and inhabitants of the Pays de la Meije co-evolving in response to changes in society and climate? [Sandra Lavorel]
The functioning of societies and ecosystems are closely linked, particularly in mountain areas, where human activities have shaped landscapes and biodiversity for thousands of years. Today, the ecosystems of the Alps provide multiple benefits for local and more distant populations. Their evolution is closely linked to the combined effects of climate change and changes in society and its expectations of ecosystems. In her presentation, Sandra Lavorel will illustrate these dynamics and how the involvement of mountain stakeholders can drive the adaptation of activities and institutions for sustainable development.
Sandra Lavorel is a research director at the CNRS (Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Savoie Mont-Blanc, CNRS) and a member of the Academy of Sciences. She is interested in changes in landscapes and ecosystem functioning in response to global changes and has been conducting research at the Lautaret site since 2003. Her recent research also focuses on ecosystem services and how they can support adaptation to climate change.
July 16, 2018: Alpine flora in cosmetics [Anthonin Gori]
The benefits of cosmetics have always been closely linked to the plant world and the wealth of active ingredients that plants contain. Over the centuries, humans have observed, researched, and discovered the properties offered by flowers, roots, bark, and other plant parts. What could be better than alpine plants subjected to particular stress conditions (temperature, UV rays, altitude, etc.) as potential sources of new molecules for cosmetics?
Anthonin Gori, CIFRE doctoral student at CHANEL Parfums Beauté in collaboration with the Department of Molecular Pharmacochemistry at the CNRS andUniversité Grenoble Alpes. His research topic is entitled "Alpine flora as a source of bioactive compounds." This thesis focuses on the phytochemistry of plants used in cosmetics.
July 23, 2018: Mollusks in the high mountains? (The case of the French Alps) [Christophe Perrier]
With over 130,000 species, mollusks are the second most diverse group of fauna after insects. Found in almost every environment on the planet, they are also one of the most threatened. This lecture will illustrate the diversity of these high-altitude species, their distribution and adaptations to extreme conditions, and will raise the question of their future in the face of global climate change.
Christophe Perrier, an independent botanist and malacologist, has been studying mollusks in the Hautes-Alpes department for several years, with the aim of cataloging and improving knowledge of this largely unknown group, as well as ensuring they are taken into account in environmental policy.
July 30, 2018: Images of La Meije [Jean-Marc Barféty]
Today, the image of La Meije is familiar to all lovers of the Oisans region. However, it took time for it to emerge from the obscurity that surrounded it. While Mont Blanc had been widely depicted since the 17th century, it was not until the 1830s that the first representations of La Meije appeared, still marked by a romantic vision. It is this gradual unveiling of images of La Meije, as well as some beautiful representations throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, that Jean-Marc Barféty invites you to discover through the history of this legendary mountain range.
Jean-Marc Barféty, an engineer, has always been passionate about mountains and the Hautes-Alpes. A book collector, he has been running the Dauphiné library for ten years now, a website where he presents some of the most interesting works, both from a historical and iconographic point of view, on the region.
August 6, 2018: Evolutionary history of the Sunflower family (Asteraceae) [Oriane Hidalgo]
Arnica, calendula, centaury, edelweiss, etc. belong to the Asteraceae family, the family of flowering plants with the largest number of species (nearly 23,000). From their origins in Latin America, we will trace the conquest of the continents by these plants, which dominate particularly threatened environments such as grasslands and high altitudes due to their biodiversity. We will also discuss the results of ongoing studies aimed at determining the factors responsible for the family's extraordinary evolutionary success.
Oriane Hidalgo, researcher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. She studies the biological processes that have favored the colonization of high-altitude habitats in the Alps by Asteraceae, and the adaptive potential of these plants to environmental changes.
August 13, 2018: Towards better control of vole populations: the example of the Massif Central [Yves Michelin]
For more than thirty years, high-altitude grasslands have been regularly affected by outbreaks of voles, causing major environmental, social, and economic consequences. Using the example of the Massif Central, which has been particularly affected by the problem in recent years, the aim of this conference is to take stock of the situation, present the research currently underway in Auvergne, which complements that already underway in the Alps and Franche-Comté, and show how bringing together the professional and research worlds opens up new prospects for action and new, more peaceful relations between nature and agriculture.
Yves Michelin, agronomist and geographer, deputy scientific director of VetAgro Sup, is a professor at the Clermont agronomy campus. He coordinates a multidisciplinary and collaborative regional research program with INRA aimed at improving knowledge of the phenomenon in order to develop new methods of action that are effective and sustainable on a social and environmental level, in collaboration with farmers and other stakeholders.
August 20, 2018: The main principles of bird migration [Paul Dufour]
Among the migrations of the animal world, that of birds remains the most spectacular: several billion individuals travel twice a year from one hemisphere to the other, and some species are capable of flying more than 10,000 km without stopping. It is primarily because it fascinates humans that bird migration has always been the most studied, but even though the scientific community's interest in this field has grown rapidly in the 21st century, important questions remain and new ones continue to arise. This conference will address several major questions relating to bird migration: Why migrate? How far and by what routes? Etc. We will then focus more specifically on the birdlife around the Col du Lautaret and the migration strategies specific to mountain species.
Paul Dufour is a doctoral student at the Alpine Ecology Laboratory in Grenoble (CNRS, Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Savoie Mont-Blanc), where he studies the evolution of migratory behavior in birds. He has extensive field experience in ornithology in different regions of the world, particularly with bird groups such as Charadriiformes and Passeriformes.
August 27, 2018: Discovering soils: history and memory of mountain soils [Jérôme Poulenard]
Mountain soils, often overlooked, are fundamental to understanding how high-altitude ecosystems function. However, mountain soils are the result of thousands of years of interaction between rock, climate, organisms, and human activities... Jérôme Poulenard will review recent research on the history of mountain soils and how this history affects the functioning of today's high-altitude ecosystems...
Jérôme Poulenard, professor of soil science at the EDYTEM laboratory, Environment DYnamics and Mountain Territory (University of Savoie-Mont Blanc, CNRS, Ministry of Communication). He studies the history and functioning of soils in mountain areas. Using natural archives in particular, he seeks to reveal the memory of ecosystems and reconstruct the history of the relationship between humans and soils.
Discovery and science
