The research of the Laboratory of Soil and Environmental Sciences (LSE) is positioned in a context of increasing anthropisation of soils, which is a consequence of the expansion of urban, industrial and transport infrastructures, as well as of the intensification of agriculture.
The functioning, spatial extension and typology of those soils strongly affected or created by human activity are very poorly known. These knowledge gaps have to be filled in order to control the evolution and any impacts on health, ecosystems and water resources of these soils, which are often enriched with polluting compounds. Some of them are already having a negative impact and must be cleaned up. Phytoremediation is one way of doing this. It consists of cultivating plants which accumulate the pollutants in their harvested parts or which favour their biodegradation.
The research of the LSE falls under two headings:
- - Pedogenesis of strongly anthropised soils ;
- - Phytoremediation of contaminated soils.