Research Area

My research interests mainly focus on (1) the effects of eutrophication on plant community composition and functioning; (2) the changes in plant traits in response on environmental changes; and (3) the effects of eutrophication on soil physical and chemical properties, microorganisms, and nematode in grassland. I actively engage in the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research and the stability and asynchrony research to restore terrestrial ecosystems. I put forward the original theory of space resource utilization (SRU) to accurately and nondestructively predict changes in species richness in response to human activities.

Contact Information

E-mail: zhangpengfei@lzu.edu.cn

Education

2016.11-2019.11   Ph.D. (Ecology), Utrecht University

2012.09-2016.10   M.Sc.-Ph.D. (Ecology), Lanzhou University

2006.09-2010.07   B.Sc. (Biotechnology), Shandong University

Work Experience

2020.12-present   College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, (Young Researcher);

2020.06-2020.12  Institute of Eco-Environmental Forensics, Shandong University, (Associate Researcher);

Publications

*means corresponding author，# means co-first author

(1). Zhang, P.F. ^#*, Borer, E.T., Seabloom, E.W., Soons, M.B., Hefting, M.M., Kowalchuk, G.A.,…  Du, G.Z. & Hautier, Y. (Accepted) Space resource utilization of dominant species integrates abundance- and functional-based processes for better predictions of plant diversity dynamics. Oikos.

(2). Hautier, Y.^#*, Zhang, P.F., Loreau, M., Wilcox, K.R., Seabloom, E.W., Borer, E.T., … Wang S.P.* (2020) General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales. Nature Communications.

(3). Zhang, P.F.^#, Kowalchuk, G.A., Soons, M.B., Hefting, M.M., Chu, C.J., Firn, J., Brown, C.S., Zhou, X.H., Zhou, X.L., Guo, Z., Zhao, Z.G., Du, G.Z.* & Hautier, Y.* (2019) SRUD: A simple non-destructive method for accurate quantification of plant diversity dynamics. Journal of Ecology. (Editor’s choice) (Top downloaded paper 2018-2019).

(4). Zhang, P.F.^#, Hefting, M.M., Soons, M.B., Kowalchuk, G.A., Rees, M., Hector, A., Turnbull, L.A., Zhou, X.L., Guo, Z., Chu, C.J., Du, G.Z.* & Hautier, Y.* (2020) Fast and furious: Early differences in growth rate drive short-term plant dominance and exclusion under simulated eutrophication. Ecology and Evolution.

(5). Zhang, P.F.^#, Zhou, X.L., Li, J.Y., Guo, Z. & Du, G.Z.* (2015) Space resource utilisation: a novel indicator to quantify species competitive ability for light. Scientific Reports.

(6). Komatsu, K.J.^#*, Avolio, M.L., Lemoine, N.P., Isbell, F., Grman, E., Houseman, G.R., ... Koerner, S.E., Zhang, P.F. & Zhang, Y.H. (2019) Global change effects on plant communities are magnified by time and the number of global change factors imposed. PNAS.

(7). Wilcox, K. R.^#*, Tredennick, A. T., Koerner, S. E., Grman, E., Hallett, L. M., Avolio, M. L., ... Zhang, P.F. & Zhang, Y.H. (2017). Asynchrony among local communities stabilises ecosystem function of metacommunities. Ecology Letters, 20(12), 1534-1545.

(8). Zhou, X.L.^#, Guo, Z., Zhang, P.F., & Du, G.Z.* (2018). Shift in community functional composition following nitrogen fertilization in an alpine meadow through intraspecific trait variation and community composition change. Plant and soil.

(9). Zhou, X.L.^#, Liu, X.D., Zhang, P.F., Guo, Z. & Du, G.Z.* (2018) Increased community compositional dissimilarity alleviates species loss following nutrient enrichment at large spatial scales. Journal of Plant Ecology.

(10). Zhou, X.L.^#, Guo, Z., Zhang, P.F., Li, H.L., Chu, C.J., Li, X.L., & Du, G.Z.* (2017). Different categories of biodiversity explain productivity variation after fertilization in a Tibetan alpine meadow community. Ecology and evolution.

Funding

2022.01-2024.12, The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32101267)

Honors & Awards

National Scholarship for master students

National Scholarship for doctoral students

Baosteel Scholarship