Project life

Diving into the heart of the Alpine forests

Alpine forests will be at the heart of the next 1 hour – 1 researcher conference proposed by the Grenoble Alpes University Foundation on October1, 2024, with the presentation of a research project carried out within Labex ITTEM.

One forest can hide another… For many people, the forest is the ideal place for recreation and rejuvenation, and in the collective imagination, it’s a place where biodiversity thrives and flourishes freely.

However, behind the surface, the Alpine forest is not something to be taken for granted. It is managed and planned within the framework of the “forest-wood” industry, which provides a wide range of jobs: forestry technicians, forest workers, lumberjacks, skidders…

As the climate heats up, the Alpine forests are feeling the effects (forest fires, storms, pest attacks), which are also having an impact on the industry’s professions. Alpine forests have become both the focus of attention and the object of criticism, and are now at the heart of public debate on transition issues.

Mikaël Chambru, lecturer in social sciences and scientific coordinator of Labex ITTEM, is interested in these issues. Head of the Forêts alpines en transition research project , he explains: ” Our aim is to study and analyze the adaptations to current socio-environmental changes of the ‘workers of nature’ involved in the public management of Alpine forest socio-ecosystems “.

Together with Raphaël Lachello, a doctoral student in environmental history and a research engineer at Labex ITTEM, they will present the initial results of their research in a talk entitled Comprendre et accompagner les défis socio-écologiques des forêts de montagne, as part of the online lecture series organized by the Fondation Université Grenoble Alpes. They will also share the scientific popularization approach that accompanies their research.

This 6th episode of “1 heure 1 chercheur”, renamed “1 heure 2 chercheurs” for the occasion, will take place on Tuesday, October1, 2024, from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, and will be broadcast live on YouTube.

More information on the UGA Foundation website.