Farming System and Agroecology

Team Name: Farming System and Agroecology

Research Focus: The innovation team of Farming System and Agroecology (FSA) is a research, extension and education group at the Institute of Crop Sciences (ICS), CAAS. Founded in 2008, FSA is dedicated to increasing crop yield with high efficiency and less environmental costs. Our experimental stations are located in the areas of major Chinese cropping systems. We have developed international cooperative researches with USA, the Northlands, Australia, Iran, Guinea, Ghana, German, and etc. Recently, our research outcomes have been published in peer-reviewed international journals, such as Nature, Global Change Biology, Climatic Change, Plant and Soil, Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, Soil and Tillage Research, and others. The research focus on (1) agro-ecosystem responses and adaptations to climate changes, (2) agronomic impacts on crop yield and environment, and (3) agro-ecosystem optimization for sustainable development.

Research objectives: to increase crop yield and resource use efficiency through improving agronomic practices; to understand the actual impacts of climate changes on food security and agro-ecosystem stability; to learn the mechanisms underlying the impacts of agronomic practices on soil C/N cycling.

Team Chief: Dr. ZHANG Weijian

Education Background

Weijian Zhang, a full professor, received his BSc degree in Agronomy (1990), MS degree in Crop Physiology (1993), and PhD in Agroecology (1999) from the Graduate School of Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), China. He worked as a post-doc in North   Carolina State University, USA, during 2001-2003.

Research Area

Prof. Weijian Zhang is the chief scientist of Farming System and Agroecology in CAAS. His major research areas are as follows:

lCrop Response and Adaptation to Climate Change: Crop physiological and ecological responses to climatic warming and elevated CO₂;

lSoil C/N Cycling: Impacts of cropping systems on soil C/N cycling and GHG emissions, Effects of agronomic practices on soil physical and biological processes;

lConservational Agriculture: Crop straw and manure application on farm, Conservational tillage and multiple cropping system, Agro-ecosystem design and demonstration, Technique assessment and selection for regional agricultural development.

Publications

[1]Zhang，W., K. M. Parker, Y. Luo, S. Wan, L. L. Wallace and S . Hu. (2005). Soil microbial responses to experimental warming and clipping in a tallgrass prairie. Global Change Biology, 11(2), 266-277

[2]Huang S, Sun Y, Zhang W*. (2012). Changes in soil organic carbon stocks as affected by cropping systems and cropping duration in China’s paddy fields: a meta-analysis.

[3]Guo, J., Zhang, W*., Zhang, M., Zhang, L., Bian, X. (2012). Will elevated CO₂ enhance mineral bioavailability in wetland ecosystems? Evidence from a rice ecosystem.Plant and soil,355(1-2), 251-263.

[4]Chen X., Cui Z., Fan M., Vitousek P., Zhao M., Ma W., Wang Z., Zhang W., Yan X., Yang J., Deng X., Gao Q., Zhang Q., Guo S., Ren J., Li S., Ye Y., Wang Z., Huang J., Tang Q., Sun Y., Peng X. Zhang J., He M., Zhu Y., Xue J., Wang G., Wu L., An N., Wu L., Ma L., Zhang W., Zhang F. (2014). Producing more grain with lower environmental costs. Nature, 514, 486-489.

[5]Zhang, Y., Jiang, Y., Li, Z., Zhu, X., Wang, X., Chen, J., Hang, X., Deng, A., Zhang, J., Zhang, W*. (2015). Aboveground morphological traits do not predict rice variety effects on CH4 emissions. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 208, 86–93.

Academic membership

Secretary-general, Multiple Cropping System Branch, Chinese Association of Agricultural Science Societies

Vice-president, Farming System Branch, Chinese Association of Agricultural Science Societies

Vice- president, Agroecology Branch, Chinese Association of Ecology

Team Members: ZHOU Wen-bin, ZhANG Bao-ming,MENG Fan-hua, CHENG Chang-li, DING Yu-ping, YANG Wan-shen, SONG Zheng-wei, ZHENG Cheng-yan, MA Wei, WANG De-mei, ZHANG Jun, DENG Aih-xing, CHEN Chang-qing, ZHANG Yin.