Professor at l'Institut Agro, Director of SAS research unit, Corresponding member of the French Academy of Agriculture Phone: (+33) 2 23 48 54 39 Email: christian.walter@agrocampus-ouest.fr Address: Institut Agro, UMR SAS, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France Fields of expertise: soil science, spatial analysis, agronomy Keywords: soil quality, soil mapping, digital soil mapping, spatial analysis, ecosystem services

Activities

Research

Since 2019, I have served as the Director of the Soil, Agro-hydrosystems and Spatialisation research unit.

My personal research is focused on spatial and temporal variations of soils and analysis of impacts of agricultural production systems on soil quality. I now perform research activities through supervision of Ph.D. and Master’s students or through daily collaboration with members of the research unit.

Current research topics

• Quantitative methods of spatial soil analysis
• Soil quality in agrosystems
• Carbon dynamics in soils
• Environmental assessment

Current Projects

• SOILSERV: Multiscale assessment of ecosystem services within agroecosystems (2016-2021)
• PHC Utique IPASS: Identification of agricultural practices and soilmonitoring using remote sensing in temperate and semi-arid conditions (2020-2023)
• EJPSOIL: Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils (2020-2025)

Participation in networks

• International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS)
• Pedometrics commission and Digital Soil Mapping Working Group of the IUSS, French National Society of Soil Science (AFES)
• French Academy of Agriculture

Teaching experience

I provide a full teaching service from the L3 level to the M2 level in the agricultural engineering course, the master of Water Sciences, co-accredited with Rennes University, and a professional “licence” degree.
My teaching themes focus on fundamentals of soil, soil as a medium for agricultural production and interface in the environment and soil spatial-analysis approaches.
I am also involved in continuing education and coordinate a doctoral school on assessment of ecosystem services provided by soils.

Productions

Ado, M.N., Michot, D., Guero, Y., Walter C. (2019) - Echinochloa stagnina improves soil structure and phytodesalinization of irrigated saline sodic Vertisols. Plant soil (2019) 434: 413. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3853-9

Aichi H., Fouad Y., Chabaane Zl, Sanaa M, Walter C. 2018 – Prediction accuracy of local and regional soil total carbon models, calibrated based on visible -near infrared spectra, in Djerid arid region. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy, https://doi.org/10.1177/0967033518799518.

Arrouays, D., Richer de Forges, A., McBratney, A. B., Hartemink, A. E., Minasny, B., Savin, I. Grundy, M., Leenaars, J. G. B., L. Poggio, Roudier, P., Libohova, Z., McKenzie, N. J., van den Bosch, H., B. Kempen, Mulder, V. L., Lacoste, M., Chen, S., Saby, N., Martin, M., Roman Dobarco, M., Cousin, I., Loiseau, T., Lehmann, S., Caubet, M., Lemercier, B., Walter, C., Vaudour, E., Gomez, C., Martelet, G., Krasilnikov, P., Lagacherie, P. (2018). The globalsoilmap project; past, present, future, and national examples from France. Bulletin of Soil Science Institute (Russie), 95, 22 p. , DOI : 10.19047/0136-1694-2018-95-3-23

CHEN S., MARTIN M., SABY N,, WALTER C., ANGERS D., ARROUAYS. 2018 - Fine resolution map of top- and subsoil carbon sequestration potential in France. Science of the Total Environment, vol. 630,  p. 389-400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.209

Chen, S., Arrouays, D., Angers, D., Chenu, C., Barré, P., Martin, M., Saby, N., Walter, C. (2019). National estimation of soil organic carbon storage potential for arable soils: A data-driven approach coupled with carbon-landscape zones. Science of the Total Environment, 666, 355-367., DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.249

Ellili Y., C. Walter, B. Lemercier, D. Michot, P. Pichelin 2019 - Mapping soil organic carbon stock change by soil monitoring and digital soil mapping at the landscape scale. Geoderma, 351(1-8), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.03.005

Félix-Faure J., C. Walter, J. Balesdent, V. Chanudet, J. Avrillier, C. Hossann, E. Dambrine. (2019) - Soils drowned in water impoundments: a new frontier. Frontiers in Environmental Sciences, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00053

Fossey M, Angers D, Bustany C, Cudennec C, Durand P, Gascuel-Odoux C, Jaffrezic A, Pérès G, Besse C and Walter C (2020) - A Framework to Consider Soil Ecosystem Services in Territorial Planning. Front. Environ. Sci. 8:28. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00028

Lacoste M; Viaud V., Michot D., Walter C. 2016 - Model-based evaluation of impact of soil redistribution on soil organic carbon stocks in a hedgerow landscape under temperate hedgerow landscape. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41, 1536–1549, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3925

Nitschelm L, Aubin J., Corson M., Viaud V., Walter C.  2016 - Spatial differentiation in LCA applied to an agricultural territory: current practices and method development. Journal of Cleaner Development, 112, 2472-2484. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.138

R.A. Viscarra Rossel, T. Behrens, E. Ben-Dor, D.J. Brown, J.A.M., Dematte, K.D. Shepherd , Z. Shi, B. Stenberg, A. Stevens, V., Adamchuk, H. Aichi, B.G. Barthes, H.M. Bartholomeus, A.D. Bayer, M. Bernoux, K. Bottcher, L. Brodsky, D. Changwen, A. Chappell, Y. Fouad, V. Genot, C. Gomez, S. Grunwald, A. Gubler, C. Guerrero Maestre, C. B. Hedley, M. Knadel, H.J.M. Morras, M. Nocitaa, L. Ramirez-Lopez, P. Roudier, E.M. Rufasto Camposa, P. Sanborna, V.M. Sellittoa, K.A. Suddutha, B.G. Rawlinsa, C. Walter, L.A. Winowieckia, S. Young Honga, W. J. 2016 - A global spectroscopic library to characterize the world's soil. Earth Science Reviews, 1,55, 198-230, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.01.012 (elected Best paper in Pedometrics, 2016 by the Pedomettrics Commission of the International Union of Soil Science)

Tete E., Viaud V., Walter C. 2015 -  Organic carbon and nitrogen mineralization in a poorly-drained mineral soil under transient waterlogged conditions: an incubation experiment. European Journal of Soil Science, 66, 427–437, https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.12234