Emmanuel Bourguignon – Keynote Speaker

Emmanuel Bourguignon has been working as the director of development at the Laboratoire d’Analyses Microbiologiques des Sols (LAMS). This independent laboratory was founded in 1990 by his parents, the Dr Claude Bourguignon and his wife Lydia Bourguignon which are recognised authorities on soil health and protection. For over 20 years, they have been raising awareness that soil is a living medium which is being destroyed on an unprecedented scale by human activities, especially intensive agriculture.

It is easy to see why early on Emmanuel was interested by the complexity and fragility of soil and its role in the health and stability of all terrestrial ecosystems. In 1998, he integrated the University of Aberdeen (UK) and in 2002, he completed his B.Sc. in Soil Science under the guidance of Prof. Ken Killham one of UK’s foremost authorities on soil ecology. He then, joined the LIMOS at the University of Nancy (France) and completed his Master in soil microbiology in 2003. Motivated by the interactions between plants and soil microorganisms with applications to agriculture, he decided to apply for a Ph.D. at the Bio-Protection Research Centre (Lincoln University, NZ). The research focused on the ecology of soil fungi (Trichoderma) in vegetable cropping systems and their ability to naturally reduce pathogens pressure.

In 2008, after successfully defending his thesis, Emmanuel came back to France to join the LAMS as a consultant in soil microbiology, ecology and agronomy for vineyards, farmers, golf course, city councils, botanic gardens. His aim is to help them set up sustainable agricultural practices which respect soils, their biodiversity and the environment. Researches at the LAMS have focused on studying biological activity of agricultural soils by measuring the activity of alkaline phosphatase and studying the biodiversity of the micro-fauna of agricultural soil (collembola, acaria, myriapodes, etc) enabling to quantify soil health. In parallel to his consulting, Emmanuel completed in 2009 a degree of oenology technician at the Université de Bourgogne enabling him to become the chief soil consultant and winemaker for an up and coming vineyard in Turkey. He also gives conferences and training for different types of audiences (vineyard managers, farmers, green keepers, general public).

Emmanuel lives in Dijon (France) and travels between most wine producing countries. When not consulting or speaking, he will most likely be found fly fishing for trout or salmon.