I am an ecologist working on the interactions between soil macrofauna, microorganisms and plants in a multidisciplinary way, mobilizing genetics, physiology, ecology, evolution and soil sciences. Based on this fundamental knowledge, I also develop applied ecological engineering and agroecology projects, such as the establishment of constructed Technosols or the development of alternatives to synthetic inputs in agriculture. My work on species interactions, in particular the emission of signal molecules implicated in the effect of earthworms on plant growth, convinced me that ecological entities like communities and ecosystems could be units of selection. For the past ten years, I have been particularly interested in the natural and artificial selection of microbial communities and ecosystems. My main theoretical influences are Nietzsche, Morin, Latour, Darwin, von Bertalanffy, Odum, Lavelle, Wade, Goodnight and many others.

.

I am teaching approximately teach about 200 hours/year since 2007, in various disciplines such as ecology, evolution, statistics, plant physiology, soil ecology, ecological engineering. Half of this time is devoted to lectures and the other half to practical work and project-based learning. Two-thirds of this teaching is dedicated to students from four different masters and two final-year agricultural engineering courses. My teaching is organized around three objectives: (i) to provide students with solid basic knowledge in academic scientific disciplines such as ecology and evolutionary biology to design new anthropized ecosystems adapted to global changes; (ii) train students in tools and methods such as documentary research, statistics and modeling of ecological functions, etc.; (iii) to develop their expertise in agronomy and environmental management through ecological engineering courses and debates on current issues of agroecology or evolution.

.

2022

Raynaud T., Blouin M., Devers-Lamrani M., Garmyn D., Spor A. (2022) The central role of the interspecific interactions in the evolution of microbial communities. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.17.476584

Jacquiod S., Spor A., Wei S., Munkager V., Bru D., Sørensen S.J., Salon C., Philippot L., Blouin M. (2022) Artificial selection of stable rhizosphere microbiota leads to heritable plant phenotype changes. Ecology Letters 25: 189–201.

2021

Raynaud T., Devers M., Spor A., Blouin M. (2021) Community diversity determines the evolution of synthetic bacterial communities under artificial selection. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.14.460260

Bapteste E., Gérard P., Larose C., Blouin M., Not F., Campos L., Aïdan G., Selosse M.A., Adénis M.S., Bouchard F., Dutreuil S. (2021) The epistemic revolution induced by microbiome studies : an interdisciplinary view. Biology (Basel) 10: 651.

James S.W., Csuzdi C., Chang C.-H., Aspe N.M., Jiménez J.J., Feijoo A., Blouin M., Lavelle P. (2021) Comment on “Global distribution of earthworm diversity.” Science 80: 371.

Raynaud T., Pivato B., Siol M., Spor A., Blouin M. (2021) Soil microbes drive the effect of plant species and genotypic diversity interaction on productivity. Plant and Soil 467: 165–180.

Wei S., Jacquiod S., Philippot L., Sørensen S.J., Blouin M. (2021) Spatial analysis of the root system coupled to microbial community inoculation shed light on rhizosphere bacterial community assembly. Biology and Fertility of Soils 57: 973–989.

2020

Agapit C., Gigon A., Girin T., Leitao L., Blouin M. (2020) Split-root system optimization based on the survival, growth and development of the model Poaceae Brachypodium distachyon. Physiologia Plantarum 168: 227–236.

Aubert M., Banas D., Bernier N., Blouin M., Bolzonella C., Bonneval K., Jj B., Giannini R., Hager H., Katzensteiner K. (2020) Organic Food “ Yes ”, Organic Food “ No ” A Discussion between Specialists with the Italian Parliament in the Fray. Austin Anthropology 4: 1012.

Blouin M., Jacquiod S. (2020) Sampling the control bulk soil for rhizosphere and drilosphere microbial studies. Geoderma 380, 16–19.

Deeb M., Groffman P., Blouin M., Egendorf S.P., Vergnes A., Vasenev V., Cao D.L., Walsh D., Morin T., Séré G. (2020) Using constructed soils for green infrastructure - Challenges and limitations. Soil 6: 413–434.

Jacquiod S., Puga-Freitas R., Spor A., Mounier A., Monard C., Mougel C., Philippot L., Blouin M. (2020) A core microbiota of the plant-earthworm interaction conserved across soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 144: 107754.

Pruvost C., Mathieu J., Nunan N., Gigon A., Pando A., Lerch T.Z., Blouin M. (2020) Tree growth and macrofauna colonization in Technosols constructed from recycled urban wastes. Ecological Engineering 153: 105886.

Articles in peer-reviewed journals :

2019
Blouin M., Barrêre J., Meyer N., Lartigue S., Barot S., Mathieu J. (2019) Vermicompost significantly affects plant growth. A meta-analysis. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 39:34.
Medina-sauza R.M., Álvarez-Jiménez M., Delhal A., Reverchon F., Blouin M., Guerrero-Analco J.A., Cerdán C.R., Guevara  R., Villain L., Barois I. (2019) Earthworms building up soil microbiota, a review. Frontiers in Environmental Science 7:article 81.
Raynaud T., Devers M., Spor A., Blouin M. (2019) Effect of the reproduction method in an artificial selection experiment at the community level. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7:416.
Agapit C., Gigon A., Girin T., Leitao L., Blouin M. (2019) Split-root system optimization based on the survival, growth and development of the model Poaceae Brachypodium distachyon. Physiologia Plantarum, doi:10.1111/ppl.12971.
2018
Milcu A., Puga-freitas R., Ellison A.M., Blouin M., Scheu S., Freschet G.T., Rose L., Barot S., Cesarz S., Eisenhauer N., Girin T., Assandri D., Bonkowski M., Buchmann N., Butenschoen O., Devidal S., Gleixner G., Gessler A., Gigon A., Greiner A., Grignani C., Hansart A., Kayler Z., Lange M., Lata J.-C., Le Galliard J.-F., Lukac M., Mannerheim N., Müller M.E.H., Pando A., Rotter P., Scherer-Lorenzen M., Seyhun R., Urban-Mead K., Weigelt A., Zavattaro L., Roy J. (2018) Genotypic variability enhances the reproducibility of an ecological study. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3194:279–287.
Blouin M. (2018) Chemical communication: An evidence for co-evolution between plants and soil organisms. Applied Soil Ecology 123: 409-415.
Agapit C., Gigon A., Puga-Freitas R., Zeller B., Blouin M. (2018) Plant-earthworm interactions: influence of age and proportion of casts in the soil on plant growth, morphology and nitrogen uptake. Plant & Soil 424:49–61
Zanella A., Bolzonella C., Ponge J., Bouché M., Saha D., Singh S., Fritz I., Savory A., Blouin M., Sartori L., Tatti D., Anna L., Trachsel P., Burgos S., Minasny B. (2018) Humusica 2 , article 19 : Techno humus systems and global change – conservation agriculture and 4/1000 proposal. Applied Soil Ecology 122:271–296.
2017
Lemanceau P., Blouin M., Muller D., Moënne-Loccoz Y. (2017) Let the core microbiota be functional. Trends in Plant Science, 22, 583–595.
Agapit C., Gigon A., Blouin M. (2017) Earthworm effect on root morphology in a split root system. Plant Biosystems, 3504, 1–7.
Barot S., Yé L., Abbadie L., Blouin M., Frascaria N. (2017) Ecosystem services must tackle anthropized ecosystems and ecological engineering. Ecological Engineering, 99, 486–495.
Deeb M., Desjardins T., Podwojewski P., Pando A., Blouin M., Lerch T.Z. (2017) Interactive effects of compost, plants and earthworms on the aggregation of constructed Technosols. Geoderma, 305, 305–313.
Vergnes A., Blouin M., Muratet A., Lerch T.Z., Mendez-millan M., Rouelle-castrec M., Dubs F. (2017) Initial conditions during Technosol implementation shape earthworms and ants diversity. Landscape and Urban Planning, 159, 32–41.
Zanella A., Ponge J., Gobat J., Juilleret J., Blouin M., Aubert M., Chertov O., Luis J. (2017) Humusica 1 , article 1 : Essential bases – Vocabulary. Applied Soil Ecology 122:10–21.
2016
Deeb M., Grimaldi M., Lerch T.Z., Pando A., Gigon A., Blouin M. (2016) Interactions between organisms and parent materials of a constructed Technosol shape its hydrostructural properties. Soil, 2, 163–174.
Deeb M., Grimaldi M., Lerch T.Z., Pando A., Podwojewski P., Blouin M. (2016) Influence of organic matter content on hydro-structural properties of constructed Technosols. Pedosphere, 26, 486–498.
Lavelle P., Spain A., Blouin M., Brown G., Decaëns T., Grimaldi M., Jiménez J.J., McKey D., Mathieu J., Velasquez E., Zangerlé A. (2016) Ecosystem engineers in a self-organized soil. Soil Science, 181, 91–109.
Puga-freitas R., Belkacem L., Barot S., Bertrand M., Roger-estrade J., Blouin M. (2016) Transcriptional profiling of wheat in response to take-all disease and mechanisms involved in earthworm’s biocontrol effect. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 144, 155–165.
2015
Blouin M., Karimi B., Mathieu J., Lerch T. (2015) Levels and limits in artificial selection of communities. Ecology Letters, 18, 1040–1048.
Bertrand M., Barot S., Blouin M., Whalen J., de Oliveira T., Roger-Estrade J. (2015) Earthworm services for cropping systems. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35, 553–567.
Bertrand M., Blouin M., Barot S., Charlier A., Marchand D., Roger-Estrade J. (2015) Biocontrol of eyespot disease on two winter wheat cultivars by an anecic earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris). Applied Soil Ecology, 96, 33–41.
Faure D., Bonin P., Duran R., the EC2CO Microbial Ecology Consortium (2015) Environmental microbiology as a mosaic of explored ecosystems and issues. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 13577–13598.
Puga-Freitas R., Blouin M. (2015) A review of the effects of soil organisms on plant hormone signalling pathways. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 114, 104–116
2014
Castellanos Suarez D.E., Gigon A., Puga-freitas R., Lavelle P., Velasquez E., Blouin M. (2014) Combined effects of earthworms and IAA-producing rhizobacteria on plant growth and development. Applied Soil Ecology, 80, 100–107.
Zangerlé A., Hissler C., Blouin M., Lavelle P. (2014) Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to estimate earthworm cast age. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 70, 47–53.
2013
Blouin M., Hodson M.E., Delgado E.A., Baker G., Brussaard L., Butt K.R., Dai J., Dendooven L., Peres G., Tondoh J.E., Cluzeau D., Brun J.J. (2013) A review of earthworm impact on soil function and ecosystem services. European Journal of Soil Science, 64, 161–182.
Blouin M., Sery N., Cluzeau D., Brun J.-J., Bédécarrats A. (2013) Balkanized research in ecological engineering revealed by a bibliometric analysis of earthworms and ecosystem services. Environmental Management, 52, 309–320.
2012
Blouin, M., Mathieu, J., & Leadley, P. W. (2012). Plant homeostasis, growth and development in natural and artificial soils. Ecological Complexity, 9, 10–15.
Boudsocq, S., Niboyet, A., Lata, J. C., Raynaud, X., Loeuille, N., Mathieu, J., Blouin, M., Abbadie, L., Barot, S. (2012). Plant preference for ammonium versus nitrate: a neglected determinant of ecosystem functioning? The American Naturalist, 180(1), 60–69.
Jusselme, M. D., Poly, F., Miambi, E., Mora, P., Blouin, M., Pando, A., & Rouland‐Lefèvre, C. (2012). Effect of earthworms on plant Lantana camara Pb‐uptake and on bacterial communities in root‐adhering soil. Science of the Total Environment, 416, 200–207.
Puga‐Freitas, R., Abbad, S., Gigon, A., Garnier‐Zarli, E., & Blouin, M. (2012). Control of cultivable IAA‐producing bacteria by the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa. Applied and Environmental Soil Science, vol. 2012, Article ID 307415.
Puga‐Freitas, R., Barot, S., Taconnat, L., Renou, J.‐P., & Blouin, M. (2012). Signal molecules mediate the impact of the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa on growth, development and defence of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS ONE, 7(12), e49504.
2011
Blouin, M., & Puga‐Freitas, R. (2011). Combined effects of contrast between poor and rich patches and overall nitrate concentration on Arabidopsis thaliana root system structure. Functional Plant Biology, 38(5), 364–371.
2010
Jana, U., Barot, S., Blouin, M., Lavelle, P., Laffray, D., & Repellin, A. (2010). Earthworms influence the production of above‐ and belowground biomass and the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and stress responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(2), 244–252.
Laossi, K. R., Ginot, A., Noguera, D. C., Blouin, M., & Barot, S. (2010). Earthworm effects on plant growth do not necessarily decrease with soil fertility. Plant and Soil, 328(1), 109–118.
Mathieu, J., Barot, S., Blouin, M., Caro, G., Decaëns, T., Dubs, F., … Nai, P. (2010). Habitat quality, conspecific density, and habitat pre‐use affect the dispersal behaviour of two earthworm species, Aporrectodea icterica and Dendrobaena veneta, in a mesocosm experiment. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42(2), 203–209.
2009
Laossi, K. R., Noguera, D. C., Bartolomé‐Lasa, A., Mathieu, J., Blouin, M., & Barot, S. (2009). Effects of an endogeic and an anecic earthworm on the competition between four annual plants and their relative fecundity. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41(8), 1668–1673.
2007
Barot, S., Blouin, M., Fontaine, S., Jouquet, P., Lata, J. C., & Mathieu, J. (2007). A tale of four stories: Soil ecology, theory, evolution and the publication system. PLoS ONE, 2(11).
Blouin, M., Lavelle, P., & Laffray, D. (2007). Drought stress in rice (Oryza sativa L.) is enhanced in the presence of the compacting earthworm Millsonia anomala. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 60(3), 352–359.
Blouin, M., S. Barot, and C. Roumet. (2007). A quick method to determine root biomass distribution in diameter classes. Plant and Soil 290:371–381.
2006
Blouin, M., Barot, S., & Lavelle, P. (2006). Earthworms (Millsonia anomala, Megascolecidae) do not increase rice growth through enhanced nitrogen mineralization. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 38(8), 2063–2068.
Lavelle, P., Decaens, T., Aubert, M., Barot, S., Blouin, M., Bureau, F., … Rossi, J.‐P. (2006). Soil invertebrates and ecosystem services. European Journal of Soil Biology, 42(1), 3–15.
2005
Blouin, M., Zuily‐Fodil, Y., Pham‐Thi, A. T., Laffray, D., Reversat, G., Pando, A., … Lavelle, P. (2005). Belowground organism activities affect plant aboveground phenotype, inducing plant tolerance to parasites. Ecology Letters, 8(2), 202–208.
2004
Lavelle, P., Blouin, M., Boyer, J., Cadet, P., Laffray, D., Pham‐Thi, A. T., … Zuily, Y. (2004). Plant parasite control and soil fauna diversity. Comptes Rendus de l’Académie Des Sciences Série Biologies, 327(7), 629–638.
Other publications
2018
Lemanceau P., Blouin M. (2018) Soils as a key component of the critical zone 6, ecology. ISTE Edition, London.
Gaba S., Alignier A., Barot S., Blouin M., Jabot F., Vergnes A., Bonis A., Bonthoux S., Bourgeois B., Bretagnolle V., Catarino R., Coux C., Gardarin A., Giffard B., Le Gal A., Lecomte J., Miguet P., Piutti S., Rusch A., Zwicke M., Couvet D. (2018) Ecology for Sustainable and Multifunctional Agriculture. In: Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 28.pp 1–46.
Barot S., Blouin M., Lemanceau P. (2018) Actions and feedback: consequences for soil management. In: Lemanceau P, Blouin M (eds) Soils as a key component of the critical zone 6, ecology. ISTE Edition, London, pp 163–171.
Blouin M. (2018) Diversity of mechanisms involved in soil ecological interactions. In: Lemanceau P, Blouin M (eds) Soils as a key component of the critical zone 6, ecology. ISTE Edition, London
Blouin M., Hinsinger P., Lavelle P., Lemanceau P. (2018) Life in the soil: from taxonomy to ecological integration. In: Lemanceau P, Blouin M (eds) Soils as a key component of the critical zone 6, ecology. ISTE Edition, London, pp 5–18.
Lemanceau P., Barret M., Blouin M., Mazurier S., Pivato B. (2018) Plant-micro-organism interactions in the rhizosphere. In: Lemanceau P, Blouin M (eds) Soils as a key component of the critical zone 6, ecology. ISTE Edition, London
2017
Hedde M., Blanchart E., Blouin M., Boulanger-Joime S., Capowiez Y., Decaëns T., Jouquet P., Pérès G., Zwicke M. (2017) Impact des invertébrés sur les fonctions des sols et leurs applications dans les systèmes sol‑plante. In: Briat J-F, Job D (eds) Les sols et la vie souterraine, des enjeux majeurs en agroécologie. QUAE, Versailles, pp 89–131.
2015
Courtonne J.-Y., Chatzimpiros P., Perrotti D., Vernay A.-L., Blouin M. (2015) Le métabolisme énergétique d’un territoire. In: Buclet N (ed) Essai d’écologie territoriale L’exemple d’Aussois en Savoie, CNRS Editi. CNRS Editions, Paris, France, pp 183–208.
Barataud F., Barles S., Billen G., Blouin M., Bognon S., Bonaudo T., Buclet N., Chatzimpiros P., Cerceau J., Courtonne J.-Y., Debuisson M., Dupre D., Garnier J., Herbelin A., Maillefert M., Marty P., Metereau R., Pech P., Perrotti D., Talandier M., Vernay A. (2015) Conclusion : Quel avenir pour l’écologie territoriale? In: Buclet N (ed) Essai d’écologie territoriale. L’exemple d’Aussois en Savoie, CNRS Alpha. CNRS Editions, Paris, p 218.
2014
Blouin M. (2014) Définir l’ingénierie écologique: quels enjeux? In: Rey F, Gosselin F, Doré A (eds) Ingénierie écologique: action par et/ou pour le vivant ? Quae, Talloires, pp 15–28.
2013
Blouin M. (2013). Interactions entre plantes, vers de terre et microorganismes et conséquences sur le fonctionnement du sol », Mémoire d’Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, soutenue le 25 octobre à l’Université Paris Est Créteil
2011
Comité scientifique du Programme Ingénierie écologique (CNRS/CEMAGREF) et Responsables des réseaux AGEBIO, REVER et GAIE (2011), Pour une amplification de la recherche en Ingénierie Ecologique. Le Courrier de la Nature 261:6–8.
Comité scientifique du Programme Ingénierie écologique (CNRS/CEMAGREF) et Responsables des réseaux AGEBIO, REVER et GAIE (2011). Une ambition pour la recherche en ingénierie écologique. Sciences, Eaux et Territoires, vol. 5.
2007
Lavelle P., Barot S., Blouin M., Decaens T., Jimenez J.J., Jouquet P. (2007). Earthworms as key actors in self-organized soil systems. In: Cuddington K, Byers JE, Wilson GWT, Hastings A eds. Ecosystem engineers: plants to protists. Burlington, USA: Academic Press, 77-106.
2005
Blouin M. (2005). Réponses écophysiologiques du riz à la présence de vers de terre dans sa rhizosphère, Mémoire de thèse de doctorat, soutenue le 29 novembre à l’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Bondy).

.

Projects as coordinator: - CNRS program Ecological Engineering (2008-2009): Heterogeneity of plant resources- CNRS program IngécoTech (2009-2010): Earthworms and ecosystem services- Region Ile-de-France R2DS (2009): Platform for the study of plant-soil organisms interactions- Val-de-Marne department council (2014-2016): Constructed Technosols and role of plants and fauna- CNRS program EC2CO (2014-2016): Auxin and nitrates emissions by bacteria from earthworms casts and consequences for plant growth- Entreprise Enviro Conseil et Travaux and Seine-Saint-Denis department council (2013-2017): funds for a postdoctoral fellow, a Ph-D student and functioning for implementation and follow-up of constructed Technosols- PARI FABER, région Bourgogne (2016-2018): Artificial selection of microbial communities

.

Ecology and Evolution ; Soil ecology ; Biodiversity; Plant sciences; Ecological engineering; Artificial slection.

.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Manuel_Blouin https://scholar.google.fr/citations?user=yMcd2NoAAAAJ&hl=fr