[Distinction] Elise Buisson, lecturer in the Biological Engineering department of the Avignon IUT and member of the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Ecology (IMBE), appointed Chevalier de l'ordre national du mérite by the French Minister for Ecological Transition.

We are delighted to announce that our colleague Elise Buisson, a senior lecturer at Avignon University within the UMR CNRS-IRD IMBE (Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Écologie), and a member of the team Ingénieries de la Restauration des Patrimoines Naturel et Culturel, has just been named "Chevalier de l'ordre national du mérite" by the French Minister for Ecological Transition. This is a well-deserved recognition of her exceptional contributions to scientific research in ecology.

Elise Buisson is a senior lecturer (HDR) at Avignon University, where she is a member of the Natural and Cultural Heritage Restoration Engineering team based at the Avignon IUT. Her research focuses on understanding the assembly theories of plant species communities, with practical applications in the conservation management and ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems.

To date, Elise has published 102 articles in indexed international scientific journals, including 3 in the prestigious journal Science. Her work has had a global impact on IUCN practice regarding the relevance of reforestation operations to combat climate change without damaging the biodiversity of ancient grassland ecosystems. We are proud to highlight the importance of his publications, in particular the article entitled "Ancient grasslands guide ambitious goals in grassland restoration" published in Science, which can be downloaded here : [download link].

Elise has also played a key role in training the next generation of researchers. To date, she has co-supervised 13 PhD students, 2 of whom are still in progress, and has coordinated more than 25 research programmes. In France, she was behind the creation of REVER (Réseau d'Echanges et de Valorisation en Écologie de la Restauration), a network that brings together hundreds of participants every year and has made a major contribution to strengthening the links between research and the practice of ecological restoration in France.

We would like to warmly congratulate Elise on this prestigious award and on her remarkable achievements. Her dedication and expertise have greatly contributed to the advancement of research in ecology and ecosystem restoration. We wish her every success in her future projects.

To find out more about Elise Buisson's career and research, visit the following links:

>> Elise Buisson's profile on the IMBE website

>> Portrait of Elise Buisson

>> Article on the IMBE website

Once again, congratulations to Elise on this well-deserved accolade!