PhD Offer on acoustic analysis in trees

• Context: 

Abiotic stresses (e.g. frost, drought, wind) cause significant damage to natural and cultivated plants, which is expected to increase in the future with increasing climate variability (extreme climatic events). The detection of acoustic emissions is a promising way to measure continuously and non-invasively the damage affecting plants. Different sources of acoustic emissions have been identified (e.g. air bubble formation in conductive tissues, cell lysis, mechanical rupture, see references below) generating acoustic
signals with their own characteristics. The analysis of the waveforms (amplitude, frequency, etc.) allows them to be discriminated under single stress conditions. However, to date, no study on a set of stresses (succession or interaction) has been carried out, and since plants are permanently subjected to different stresses, the use of this technique remains limited (in time, e.g. period of water stress, or in space, e.g. altitudinal limit). This case study therefore aims to better characterize the acoustic emissions generated by a single constraint and by their interactions, in order to ultimately develop a tool capable of measuring damage under natural conditions.
 

• Objectives:

This case study will focus on two complementary parts: (i) analysis of acoustic signals to extract relevant information from it (signal quality), (ii) comparison of classified acoustic measurements with ecophysiological reference measurements in cultivated sites with different stress modalities (e.g. agroecological orchards and vineyards along natural gradients).
The characterization of the acoustic signature will make it possible to measure the damage generated by different climatic hazards and to better understand the physiological mechanisms of resistance to abiotic constraints. The acoustic signature, integrated into the algorithm controlling the autonomous acoustic sensors, will make it possible to trigger alerts and an adapted response to these different climatic constraints. The design of a tool capable of measuring damage and, ideally, mitigating its consequences
before it becomes irreversible is key to mitigate consequences of climatic stress. By providing a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms that plants develop to resist abiotic stress and, above all, their interactions, it fits to the challenge agroforestry and agro-ecology will face in the future.
 

All the mentioned objectives can be listed as follow:
1. Investigate the potential of using acoustic emissions to detect and measure damage caused by abiotic stresses (drought, frost, etc.) in plants;
2. Develop a non-invasive method for continuous plant health monitoring based on reliable acoustic signatures;
3. Analyse the unique acoustic signatures of different abiotic stresses on plants by means of advanced analytics methods.
This is a novel approach as previous research focused on single stresses, while in nature plants experience multiple or interacting stresses. These objectives will be achieved using the following work planning to grant their feasibility.

The PhD student will be supervised by Prof. Tahar Kechadi (University of Dublin, Ireland) and Dr. Guillaume Charrier (INRAE, France).

See here for comprehensive information:  (https://www.eu4greenfielddata.eu/content/download/201/2097?version=3)  

Application details are available at : https://www.eu4greenfielddata.eu/phd-positions-application/how-to-apply

Deadline April 15 2026