Cécile BRUN

Associate Professor of Plant Ecology, Botany, and Paleoecology

Contact details

Address
Maison de la Recherche at Jean Jaurès University 5, Allées A. Machado 31058 TOULOUSE Cedex 1
Office
C227-A
Email
cecile.brun@univ-tlse2.fr

Taught academic discipline(s)

As an Associate Professor at the University of Nantes, I teach at various levels of the Life and Earth Sciences curriculum (from the second year of undergraduate studies through the second year of graduate studies) in botany, taxonomy, and plant diversity; plant community ecology; phytogeography; paleoecology; and paleoenvironment. My teaching in the M1 and M2 programs allows me to address more specialized topics related to my research activities: anthropization of ecosystems, history of agriculture, Quaternary palynology, impact studies, and field botany internships...

Part of my teaching also takes place in Master’s 2 archaeology programs: the study of the relationship between humans and their environment (M2 Pro, Archaeology Profession, University of Nantes).
More details about my teaching and academic advising activities

Research topics

  • Understanding changes in agroecosystems over the long term (biodiversity, functioning, farming practices)
  • Study of the evolution of human-environment relationships and anthropized landscapes through the lens of introduced plant species from the Neolithic period to the present day
  • Human-environment interactions in mountainous, mining, and metallurgical contexts in Romania
Patterns and Spread of Agricultural Practices in France and Europe Since the Neolithic Period, as Revealed by the Study of Changes in Crop Weed Communities
Weed communities vary depending on soil quality and the disturbances they are subjected to. These communities have constantly evolved over time due to changes in agricultural practices and the repeated introduction of new plant species. These plants possess “functional attributes” or “life traits,” that is, morphological, physiological, or phenological characteristics that enable them to adapt to repeated human interventions that influence local growing conditions: drainage, irrigation, plowing or manual labor, weeding and hoeing, and the application of soil amendments and manure. These attributes are measurable at the individual level without reference to the environment or to another level of organization and constitute the subject of study of functional ecology applied to archaeobotany, or F.I.B.S. (Functional Interpretation of Botanical Surveys) (CHARLES et al. 1997).
Thus, this collaborative work with archaeobotanists (Véronique Zech-Matterne, Julian Wiethold, Françoise Toulemonde, Elsa Neveu...) allows us, by analyzing the plant communities of cultivated fields and certain attributes, to shed light on agricultural practices and their evolution from a carpological perspective.

Inventory of Introduced Plant Species in France: Archaeophytes and Neophytes of France (ANF)
This aspect of my research is supported by a CNRS research group focused on compiling an inventory of plant species introduced to mainland France, whether in the distant past (archaeophytes) or more recently (neophytes). While an increasing number of studies are now being conducted to better understand the mechanisms involved in plant introduction processes, these studies often remain focused on a limited number of taxa (species with the greatest impacts) or habitats. With regard to historical introductions, the scientific community has long limited itself to the study of cultivated species, though there have been recent advances in the integration of crop-associated flora (particularly messicolous species). Finally, botanists at the National Botanical Conservatories conduct numerous regional inventories, the full potential of which has not yet been realized. The aim of this GDR is to bring together all these communities (archaeobotany, history of botany, botany, phytogeography, and the ecology of plant invasions) to break down the barriers between their respective fields of study and provide a broader taxonomic and temporal perspective on the issue of plant introductions. By combining the concepts and tools of all these communities, this project aims to advance research on plant invasions over the long term (several millennia). The shared value added by the inventory will be to address the research priorities of each community while also identifying new ones, thereby integrating France into the broader European-scale synthesis efforts.
 

Research Programs and Groups :

  • 2016-2019 : co-leader of the ANF Research Group : « Inventaire des espèces végétales introduites sur le territoire national : Archéophytes et Néophytes de France » (ed. C. Brun et G. Fried).
  • 2018 : project lead for MSH-Toulouse SAFE NATURE : « CaractériSAtion diachronique des ForEts séculaires et patrimoNiales des CArpaTes roUmaines pour mieux les géRer et les préservEr »
  • 2017-2018 : Member of the OASIC Challenge project: FORETEXIL : « Les vieilles FORETs des Maramures (Carpates orientales) face à l’EXploitation forestière Intensive : plan d'urgence pour une étude gLobale en vue de leur préservation et gestion durable » (ed. V. Py-Saragaglia)
  • 2019-2022, 2014-2018 : member of the CNRS/INEE BIOARCHEODAT research group (2014-2018) - Societies, Biodiversity, and the Environment: Data and Findings from Archaeozoology and Archaeobotany in France (ed. J.-D. Vigne, CNRS, AASPE, Paris)
  • 2015-2019, 2010-2014 : member of the CNRS/INEE Mosaïque research group (2010-2014,2015-2019) - Agroecosystems, Agrobiodiversity, and the Environment: Domestication and Innovation (ed. Y. Thomas, CNRS, CEFE, Montpellier)

Activities / Resume

Curriculum

  • 2009-  : Associate Professor at the University of Nantes
  • 2008-2009 : Postdoctoral positions
  • 2002-2007 : Ph.D. student at the Chronoecology Laboratory (University of Franche-Comté)
  • 2001-2002 : Master’s degree in “Environment and Archaeology,” a joint program offered by the Universities of Paris I, Paris VI, Paris X, Besançon, the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), and the National Institute of Agronomy (Paris-Grignon)
  • 1999-2000 : Bachelor’s degree in Cell Biology and Physiology, with a concentration in General Biology, from Joseph Fourier University (Grenoble 1)

Funding and Awards

  • 2009 Thesis Award from the Botanical Society of France
  • Thesis Award  « Sciences de la nature et de la vie » from the Group for Multidisciplinary Methods Contributing to Archaeology (GMPCA) 2009
  • 2008-2009 : Fyssen Foundation International Postdoctoral Fellowship (Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania) : « La co-évolution agro-écosystèmes/systèmes sociaux et l’amélioration de sa perception par les disciplines paléoenvironnementales. Etude de cas en Roumanie »
  • June–October 2008 : Postdoctoral position (fixed-term contract) at the ArScAn Joint Research Unit (UMR) as part of the ANR Bioarcheodat program – Societies, Practices, and Environment: Data and Findings from Metropolitan Archaeozoology and Archaeobotany.
  • 2005-2007 : Assistant Professor at the University of Rouen (ECODIV Laboratory), first full-time and then part-time
  • 2002-2005 : Franche-Comté Region Doctoral Research Grant and Adjunct Positions

Publications extraites de HAL affiliées à Geode : Géographie de l'environnement

Additional information

Thesis committee, supervision of doctoral and postdoctoral students OR Administrative and academic responsibilities :

  • Co-supervision of Elsa NEVEU’s dissertation (defended on November 22, 2017) with Véronique Zech-Matterne (UMR 7209, MNHN) and Serge Cassen (Director, UMR 6566). "Évolution des agricultures dans le Nord-Ouest de la France de l'âge du Bronze à l'époque romaine". Thesis on carpology completed at the Polen Laboratory at the University of Nantes
  • I supervise or mentor master's theses in the major : « Terre, Planètes et Environnement » completed at the University of Nantes. These theses are directly related to my research topics or to my teaching expertise (plant ecology, botany, invasive species ecology, etc.).