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SHEN,Zehao

Title:Professor

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RESEARCH INTERESTS

Landscape ecology, focusing on the role of topography and geomorphological processes on ecological patterns and dynamics at multiple scales, and
application topics on forest fire management, sustainable land use planning and green-development.

Plant community ecology, focusing on environmental constraints of community assembly, biodiversity maintenance, and biological strategies (fecundity
and seed dispersal), in addition to the application topics of ecological restoration of degraded vegetation; biological invasion control, and endemic species
conservation

Macroecology and plant biogeography, specifically in the mountain context, and the applications in natural reserve planning, etc.


Education experience

Ph.D. Ecology 1998 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science, China

M.S. Geography 1992 East China Normal University, China

B.S. Geography 1989 East China Normal University, China


Work experience

2016/9  –   Professor

2012/10 – 2013/7 Visiting professor, University of California at Irvine.

2006/ 1 – 2007/2 Visiting scholar sponsored by the Chinese Scholarship Foundation, Nicholas School of Environmental Sciences, Duke University

2005/ 2 – 2006/1 Visiting scholar sponsored by the Chinese Scholarship Foundation, Department of Geography, University of Iowa

2000/ 8 – 2016/8 Assistant professor, Associate professor, Peking University

1998/ 8 – 2000/8 Postdoc, College of Environmental Science, Peking University

1992/ 7 – 1995/9 Assistant research scientist, Wuhan Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences


The academic office

2017 – present Vice president, Council of the Chinese Branch of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE-China)

2016 – present Vice chairman of the Committee of Landscape Ecology, the Chinese Society of Ecology.

2010 – present Member, the International Society of Biogeography.

2009 – 2017 Vice secretary in general, the Chinese Society of Ecology.

2009 – present Board member, the Chinese National Steering Committee of the Small Grant Program (SGP), the Global Environmental Facility(GEF).

2007 – present  Member, the Ecology Society of America.

2019 – 2022    Editorial board member, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (IF=4.92)

2017 – present  Editorial board member, Annals of the American Association of Geographers (IF=2.799)

2017 – present Editorial board member, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (IF=2.660)

2014 – present Editorial board member, Forest Ecosystems (IF=2.426)

2013 – present Editorial board member, Biodiversity Science.(In Chinese)


Undergraduate level: Quantitative Methods in Ecology; Applied Ecology

Graduate level: Landscape Ecology; Ecosystem Management



RECENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

2018 – 2022 The adaptation and response strategies of sensitive ecosystems to climate changes in the arid and semi-arid regions in northern China. Key
project of the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (NSFC, 41790425), PI.

2014 – 2017 Spatiotemporal patterns and causal factors of the altitudinal treelines in the Three Parallel Rivers region of Yunnan, and the responses to climate
change. NSFC (No.41371190). 800,000 RMB. PI.

2012 – 2015 The altitudinal patterns and climatic mechanisms of plant species range size. The National NSFC (No.31170449), 650,000 RMB. PI.

2012 – 2013 The indicator system for the interactions between biodiversity and climate change in China. The Project of Sino-Norwegian International
Cooperation. 1.26 Million NOK, PI.

2010 – 2013 The pattern and evolutionary mechanisms for the floristic relationship between Eastern Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and Taiwan. National
NSFC (31061160184/C020203). 320,000 RMB, Co-PI.

2010 – 2016 The spatiotemporal patterns and ecological functions of the terrestrial vegetation in China. National NSFC (No.31021001; 31321061). Core
member.

2014 – 2015 Small Grant Program of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF-SGP). Country Programme Strategy Development (SGP 6th Operational Phase).
UNDP project, $25,000, PI.

2012 – 2013 Development of Indicator system for the assessment of interactions between biodiversity and climate change in China. Sino-Norway International
Cooperative Project, 1.42 million NOK, PI.

2008 – 2013 Enhancing American Chestnut Breeding Program by Better Understanding Chinese Chestnut Species and Chestnut Blight in Their Native Range.
Chestnut Foundation of America, $16,000. Co-PI on China side.

1999 – 2000 Planning of biodiversity conservation based on ecological regionalization and related basic research.WWF Project, Team member

1997 – 1998 Remote sensing study on the forest vegetation classification and land cover spatial patterns in the national natural reserve of Mountain
Shennongjia.GEF Project, Co-PI.



Overall published more than 120 papers and chapters, and two books, including more than 40 papers published in the SCI journals like Nature, Ecology, Ecological Monographs, Ecography, Geophysical Research Letters, PLoS ONE, Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, and Forest Ecology and Management. [* corresponding author]

Shen ZH, Yang K, Chen LF. 2018. Landscape ecology and biodiversity studies: frontiers across two disciplines and recent  progresses in China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, accepted

Chen LF, Zhang ZM, Shen ZH*. 2018. Moisture content variations in soil and plants of post-fire regenerating forests in central Yunnan Plateau, Southwest China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, accepted.

Xu Y, Shen ZH*, Jiang YX, 2018. Relative roles of current climate, paleoclimate and habitat heterogeneity in determining biogeographical patterns of evergreen broad-leaved woody plants in China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, accepted.

Li J#, Shen ZH#, Li CN, Kou YP, Iannone III BV, Knott J, Chown SL., 2018. AStare-step pattern of soil bacterial diversity mainly driven by pH and vegetation types along the elevation gradient of Gongga Mountain, China. Frontiers in Microbiology - Terrestrial Microbiology, doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00569

Ying LX, Han J, Du YS, Shen ZH*, 2018. Forest fire characteristics in China: Spatial patterns and determinants with thresholds.Forest Ecology and Management, 424: 345-354

Han J, Shen ZH*, Li YY, Luo CF, Xu Q, Yang K, Zhang ZM. 2018. Beta diversity patterns of post-fire forests in central Yunnan Plateau, Southwest China: disturbances intensify the priority effect in the community assembly. Frontiers in Plant Science, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01000.

Guo QF, Fei SL, Shen ZH, Iannone III B, Chown SL. 2018. A global analysis of elevational distributions of nonnative vs. native plants. Journal of Biogeography, DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13145.

Liu YP, Shen ZH, Wang QG, Su XY, Zhang WJ, Shrestha N, Xu XT, Wang ZH. 2017. Determinants of richness patterns differ between rare and common species: Implications for the conservation of valuable ornamental plant family Gesneriaceae in China. Diversity and Distribution, 23: 235-246

Xu Y, Shen ZH*, Wang ZH, Zang RG, Jiang YX, Hotspot analyses indicate substantial conservation gaps for evergreen broadleaved woody plants in China. Scientific Report, DOI : 10.1038/s41598-017-02098-0.

Ying LX, Zhang TT, Chiu QA, Chen TY, Luo SJ, Chen XY, Shen ZH*. 2016. The phylogeography of Fagus hayatae (Fagaceae) in China: genetic isolation among populations. Ecology and Evolution, 6(9): 2805-2816.

Yang Y, Shen ZH*, Han J, Zhongyong C. 2016. Plant diversity along the eastern and western slopes of Baima Snow Mountain, China. Forests, 7, 89-105.

Li BG, T Gasser, P Ciais, Sl Piao, S Tao, Y Balkanski, D Hauglustaine, J-P Boisier, Z Chen, M Huang, LZ Li, Y Li, H Liu, J Liu, S Peng, Shen ZH, ZZ Sun, R Wang, TWang, GD Yin, Y Yin, H Zeng, ZZ Zeng & F Zhou. 2016. The contribution of China’s emissions to global climate forcing. Nature, 531: 357-361.

Xu Y, Shen ZH*, Ying LX, Ciais P, Liu HY, Piao LS, Wen C, Jiang YX. 2016. The exposure, sensitivity and vulnerability of natural vegetation in China to climate thermal variability (1901-2013): An indicator-based approach. Ecological Indicators, 63: 258-272.

Xu Y, Shen ZH*, Li DX, Guo QF. 2015. Pre-dispersal seed predation in a species-rich forest community, Patterns and the interplay with determinants. PLoS ONE. 10(11): e0143040

Han J, Shen ZH*, Ying LX. 2015. Early post-fire regeneration of a fire-prone subtropical Pinus mixed forest in Yunnan, southwest China: the effects of pre-fire vegetation, fire severity and topographic factors. Forest Ecology & Management. 356: 31–40.

Ying LX, Piao SL, Shen ZH*. 2015. The recent hiatus in global warming of the land surface: Scale-dependent breakpoint occurrences in space and time. Geophysical Research Letters. 42,6471–6478.

Shen ZH*, Fang JY, Chiu CA & Chen TY. 2015. The geographical distribution and differentiation of Chinese beech forests and the association with Quercus. Applied Vegetation Science, 18(1): 23-33; doi: 10.1111/avsc.12108.

Adams M, Shen ZH. 2015. Introduction to the Characteristics, impacts and management of forest fire in China. Forest Ecology & Management, 356: 1.

Shen ZH*, Wang YL, Fu BJ. 2014, Corridors and networks in landscape: structure, functions and ecological effects. Chinese Geographic Sciences, 24(1): 1–4.

Liang J, Liu Y, Ying LX, Li P, Xu Y, Shen ZH*. 2014, Do higher level roads have larger impacts on the mountain landscape? A case study of the Three Parallel Rivers Region. Chinese Geographic Sciences, 24(1): 15–27.

Ying LX, Shen ZH*, Chen JD, Fang R, Chen XP, Jiang R. 2014, Spatio-temporal patterns of road network in TPRs region in China and road development priority: an evaluation based on modified kernel distance estimate. Chinese Geographic Sciences, 24(1): 39–49.

Shen ZH, Ma KP. 2014. Effects of climate change on biodiversity. Chinese Science Bulletin, 59(34): 4637-4638.

Ying LX, Shen ZH*, Piao SL, Malanson G. 2014, Terrestrial surface-area increment: the effects of topographic complexity, DEM resolution and algorithm. Physical Geography. 35(4): 297-312.

Liu Y, Xu Y, Zhang FC, Yun JQ, Shen ZH*. 2014. The impact of biofuel plantation on biodiversity: a review. Chinese Science Bulletin. 59(34): 4639-4651.

Qiu CJ, Shen ZH*, Peng PH, Mao LF, Zhang  XS. 2014. How does contemporary climate versus climate change velocity affect endemic plant species richness in China? Chinese Science Bulletin , 59(34): 4660-4667.

Zeng ZZ, Chen AP, Piao SL, Rabin S, Shen ZH. 2014. Environmental determinants of tropical forest and savanna distribution: A quantitative model evaluation and its implication. Journal of Geophysical Research, Doi.10.1002/2014JG002627.

Wu X, Wang XP, Tang ZY, Shen ZH, Zheng CY, Xia XL, Fang JY. 2014. The relationship between species richness and biomass changes from boreal to subtropical forests in China. Ecography, DOI: 10.1111/ecog.00940.

Peng SS, Piao SL, Shen ZH, Ciais P, Sun ZZ, Chen SP, Bacour C, Peylin P, Chen A. 2013. Precipitation amount, seasonality and frequency regulate carbon cycling of a semi-arid grassland ecosystem in Inner Mongolia, China: A modeling analysis. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 178–179: 46-55.

Chiu CA, Lin PH, Hsu CK, Shen ZH*. 2012, A novel thermal index improves prediction of vegetation zones: Associating temperature sum with thermal seasonality. Ecological Indicators, 23: 668-674.

Shen ZH*, Fei SL, Feng JM, Liu YN, Liu ZL, Tang ZY, Wang XP, Wu XP, Zheng CY, Zhu B and Fang JY. 2012. Geographical patterns of community-based tree species richness in Chinese mountain forests: the effects of contemporary climate and regional history. Ecography 35: 1134–1146.

Fang JY, Shen ZH, Tang ZY, Wang XP, Wang ZH, Feng JM, Liu YN, Qiao X, Wu X and Zheng C. 2012. Forest community survey and the structural characteristics of forests in China. Ecography 35: 1059–1071.

Qiao XJ, Tang ZY, Shen ZH and Fang JY 2012. What causes geographical variation in the species–area relationships? A test from forests in China. Ecography 35: 1110–1116.

Tang ZY, Fang JY, Chi XL, Feng JM, Liu YN, Shen ZH, Wang XP, Wang ZH, Wu XP, Zheng CY and Gaston KJ. 2012. Patterns of plant beta-diversity along elevational and latitudinal gradients in mountain forests of China. Ecography 35: 1083–1091.

Wang XP, Tang ZY, Shen ZH, Zheng CY, Luo JC and Fang JY. 2012. Relative influence of regional species richness vs. local climate on local species richness in China’s forests. Ecography 35: 1176–1184.

Wang SP, Tang ZY, Qiao XJ, Shen ZH, Wang XP, Zheng CY, Fang JY. 2012. The influence of species pools and local processes on the community structure: A test case with woody plant communities in China’s mountains. Ecography, 35(12): 1168-1175.

Fei SL, Liang F, Paillet L, Steiner KC, Fang JY, Shen ZH, Wang ZH, Hebard FV. 2012. Modelling chestnut biogeography for American chestnut restoration. Diversity and Distributions 18: 754-768.

Piao SL, Ito A, Li SG, Huang Y, Ciais P, Wang SH, Peng SS, Nan HJ, Zhao C, Andres RJ,…, Shen ZH, Sitch S, Tao S, Tian HQ, Xu M, Yu GR, Viovy N, Zaehle S, Zeng N, Zhu B. 2012. The carbon budget of terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia over the last two decades. Biogeoscience, 9(9): 3571-3586.

Shen ZH*, Li P, Pang L-H, Sun H-K. 2011. Geographical Patterns of Chinese Ethnic Minority Population Composition and Ethnic Diversity. Chinese Geographic Science, 21(4) 1–11.Wang YS, Chu CJ, Zhu K, Shen ZH. 2011. Effects of inter-specific variability on biomass allocation: A hierarchical Byesian approach. Ecological Informatics, 6(6): 341-344.

Clark J, Bell D, Chu C, Courbaud B, Dietze M, Hersh M, HilleRisLambers J, Ibáñez I, LaDeau S, McMahon S, Metcalf J, Mohan J, Moran E, Pangle L, Pearson S, Salk C, Shen ZH, Valle D, Wyckoff P. 2010. High-dimensional coexistence based on individual variation: A synthesis of evidence. Ecological Monographs, 80(4) : 569-608.

Piao SL Ciais P, Huang Y, Shen ZH, Peng SS, Li JS, Zhou LP, Liu HY, Ma Y, Ding Y, Friedlingstein P, Liu C, Tan K, Yu Y, Zhang T, Fang JY. 2010. The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China. Nature, 467: 43-51.

Peng S, Piao SL, Wang T, Sun J, Shen ZH, 2009. Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration in different ecosystems in China. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 64: 32-39.

Piao SL, Yin L, Wang X, Ciais P, Peng SS, Shen ZH and Seneviratne SI. 2009. Summer soil moisture regulated by precipitation frequency in China. Environmental Research Letters. 4. 044012, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/044012.

Zhang QF, Xu Z, Shen ZH, Li S, Wang S. 2009. The Han River watershed management initiative for the South-to-North Water Transfer project (Middle Route) of China. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment, 148:369–377.

Shen ZH*, Tang Yuanyuan, Lv N, Zhao J, Li D, Wang G. 2007, Community dynamics of seed rain in mixed evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous forests in a subtropical mountain of central China. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 49 (9): 1294–1303.

Qian S, Shen ZH. 2007. Ecological applications of multilevel analysis of variance. Ecology. 88(10): 2489-2495.

Malanson GP, Butler DR, Fagre DB, Walsh SJ, Tomback DF, Daniels LD, Resler LM, Smith WK, Weiss DJ, Peterson DL, Bunn AG, Hiemstra CA, Liptzin D, Bourgeron PS, Shen ZH, Millar CI. 2007. Alpine treeline of western North America: Linking organism-to-landscape dynamics. Physical Geography, 28: 378-396.

48) Shen ZH*, Zhao Z. 2005. Arenaria shennongjiaensis, a new species of the Caryophyllaceae in Shennongjia, Hubei, China. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica, 43 (1): 73-75.

Wu J, Huang J, Han X, Gao X, He F, Jiang M, Jiang Z, Primack RB, and Shen ZH. 2004. The Three Gorges Dam: an ecological perspective. Frontiers in Ecology & Environment 2(5): 241–248.

Shen ZH*, Fang JY, Liu ZL, Wu J. 2001. Structure and dynamics of Abies fabri population near the alpine timberline in Hailuo Clough of Mt. Gongga. Acta Botanica Sinica, 43(12): 1288-1293.

Shen ZH*, Zhang X and Jin Y. 2000. A study on the classification of the plant functional types based on the topographical pattern of plant distribution. Acta Botanica Sinica, 42: 1190-1196.

Shen ZH*, Zhang X and Jin Y. 2000. Spatial pattern analysis and topographical interpretation of species diversity in the forests of Dalaoling in the Three Gorges Region. Acta Botanica Sinica, 42: 326-433.

Shen ZH*, Zhang X. 2000. The spatial pattern and the topographical interpretation of the forest vegetation at Dalaoling region in the Three Gorges. Acta Botanica Sinica, 42: 1089-1095.