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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@institut-agro.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

• EJPSOIL: Towards climate-smart sustainable management of agricultural soils (2020-2025)
• SERENA : Modelling soil functions and soil threats for mapping soil functions and ecosystems services (2021-2025)
• EVA_SEQUES: Assessment of carbon sequestration scenarios in soils and vegetation in support of territorial public policies (2024-2026)

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

Peer-reviewed articles since 2020

• Veenstra J., Coquet Y., Melot R., Walter C. (2024) A European stakeholder survey on soil science skills for sustainable agriculture. European Journal of Soil Science, e13449, https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.13449
• Merlet H., Moussa I., Michot D., Pichelin P., Ado N., Adam I., Guéro Y., Walter C. (2024) Apport de la télédétection multi-temporelle à l’identification de zones potentiellement salées dans les périmètres irrigués du Niger. Etude et Gestion des Sols, sous presse
• Senga Kiesse T., Lemercier B., Corson M., Ellili-Bargaoui Y., Afassi J,; Walter C. (2024) Assessing dependence between soil ecosystem services as a function of weather and soil: Application of vine copula modelling. Environmental Modelling and Software 172, 105920, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105920
• Ellili-Bargaoui Y., Walter C., Lemercier B., Armand R., Sameh S., Michot D. (2023) The accuracy of soil information influences assessment of soil ecosystem services in Brittany, France. Geoderma Regional, vol.31, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2023.e00704
• Zayani, H., Fouad, Y., Michot, D., Kassouk, Z., Baghdadi, N., Vaudour, E., Lili-Chabaane, Z., Walter, C. (2023) Using Machine-Learning Algorithms to Predict Soil Organic Carbon Content from Combined Remote Sensing Imagery and Laboratory Vis-NIR Spectral Datasets. Remote Sensing, 15, 4264. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15174264
• Zayani, H., Fouad, Y., Michot, D., Kassouk, Z., Lili-Chabaane, Z., Walter, C. (2023) Detecting the temporal trend of cultivated soil organic carbon content using visible near infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy,   vol.31 (5), 241-255, https://doi.org/10.1177/09670335231193113
•   Kiessé, T. S., Lemercier, B., Corson, M. S., Ellili-Bargaoui, Y., & Walter, C. (2023). Analysis of extreme values of soil ecosystem services predicted from associated soil properties and weather conditions. European Journal of Soil Science, 74(1), e13342. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss. 13342
•   Ma, Y.; Minasny, B.; Viaud, V.; Walter, C.; Malone, B.; McBratney, A. 2023 Modelling the Whole Profile Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics Considering Soil Redistribution under Future Climate Change and Landscape Projections over the Lower Hunter Valley, Australia. Land. 12, 255. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010255
•   Richard C., Lemercier B., Michot D., Pascal Pichelin, Rémy A., Berthier L., Walter C. 2023 End- user- oriented pedotransfer functions to estimate soil bulk density and available water capacity at horizon and profile scales. Soil Use and Management, 39, 270–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/sum.12851
• Zarai, B; Walter, C; Michot, D; Montoroi, JP; Hachicha, M. 2022 - Integrating multiple electromagnetic data to map spatiotemporal variability of soil salinity in Kairouan region, Central Tunisia. J. of Arid Land, voL. 14,2, 186-202, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-022-0052-6
• Ado, M.N.; Michot, D.; Guero, Y.; Thomas, Z.; Walter, C. 2022  - Monitoring and Modeling of Saline-Sodic Vertisol Reclamation by Echinochloa stagnina. Soil Syst. 2022, 6, 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems6010004
• Chen, SC; Arrouays, D; Mulder, VL; Poggio, L; Minasny, B; Roudier, P; Libohova, Z; Lagacherie, P; Shi, Z; Hannam, J; Meersmans, J; Richer-de-Forges, AC; Walter, C. 2022 - Digital mapping of GlobalSoilMap soil properties at a broad scale: A review. Geoderma, vol. 409, 115567, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.115567
• Fossey M., Martin R., Besse C., Von Fisher C., Ducommun C. et Walter C. , 2021 - Évaluation des services écosystémiques fournis par les sols agricoles en appui à la planification territoriale : cas des systèmes prairiaux du territoire de Nantes Saint-Nazaire. Etude et Gestion des Sols, 28, 113-142
• Matteau JP, Célicourt P., Létourneau G, Gumiere T., Walter C & Gumiere S. 2021 - Association between irrigation thresholds and promotion of soil organic carbon decomposition in sandy soil. Scientific Reports. 11:6733 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86106-4
•   Ellili-Bargaoui Y, Walter C., Lemercier B., Michot, D. 2021 - Assessment of six soil ecosystem services by coupling simulation modelling and field measurement of soil properties, Ecological Indicators, Volume 121, 2021, 107211, doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107211.
• Aïchi H, Y. Fouad, D. Causeur & C. Walter (2020) Organic Carbon and Total Iron Effect on Soil Vis-SWNIR Spectra and Quantification of Their Contents Using PLS R Models, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 51:9, 1253-1267, DOI: 10.1080/00103624.2020.1751187
• Chen S., Mulder VL,Heuvelink G.B.M, Poggio L., Caubet M., Román Dobarco M., Walter C., Arrouays D., 2020 -Model averaging for mapping topsoil organic carbon in France, Geoderma, Volume 366, 114237, ISSN 0016-7061, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2020.114237.
• Ellili-Bargaoui Y., Walter C., Michot D., Lemercier B., 2020 - Mapping soil properties at multiple depths from disaggregated legacy soil maps in the Brittany region, France, Geoderma Regional, Volume 23, e00342, ISSN 2352-0094, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geodrs.2020.e00342.
• Moussa I., Walter C., Michot D., Adam I., Nicolas H., Pichelin P., Guero Y. 2020 – Soil salinity assessment in irrigated paddy fields of the Niger valley using a Four-Year time series of Sentinel-2 satellite images. Remote sensing, 12, 3999, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12203399
• 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. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00028
• Ellili-Bargaoui Y. Malone B., Michot D., Minasny B., Vincent S., Walter C., Lemercier B. 2020 - Comparing three approaches of spatial disaggregation of legacy soil maps based on the Disaggregation and Harmonisation of Soil Map Units Through Resampled Classification Trees (DSMART) algorithm. SOIL, 6, 371-388, https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-6-371-2020