Faculty & Staff
Zhang Yao
Yao Zhang
Title:Ph.D
Research Direction:
Department:
Introduction
Yao Zhang is an assistant professor at College of Urban and Environment Science, Peking University. His research focuses on understand vegetation responses and feedbacks to global climate change using advance remote sensing technique, field observations and process models, with a particular interest in droughts and dryland dynamics. He has published more than 100 papers in Nature Climate Change, Nature Ecology&Evolution, Global Change Biology, Remote Sensing of Environment, etc. and serves as editorial board member for China Science Earth Science and Journal of Remote Sensing.
Education
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, USA, 2014 – 2017
M.S. in Forest Management, College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, China, 2011 – 2014
B.S. in Geographic Information Science, Department of Oceanographic and Geographic Sciences, Nanjing University, China, 2007 – 2011
Professional Experience
2021-05 to present, Assistant Professor, Peking University, Beijing, China.
2019-08 – 2021-04, Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, USA/University of California, Berkeley, USA
2017-12 – 2019-07, Postdoctoral Research Scientist
Earth and Environmental Engineering, Columbia University, New York, USA
Research Areas and Interests
Drought and disturbances
Global carbon cycle and modelling
Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence
Water use efficiency and carbon water coupling
Land atmosphere interactions
Awards and Honors
2024 Key R&D program of PRC (~$200,000)
2024 General program of NSFC (~$70,000)
2022 Key program of NSFC (~$90,000)
2022 Excellent Young Scientists Fund Program (Overseas) of NSFC (~$300,000)
2021 Excellence in Reviewing JGR-Biogeosciences
2017 South Central Climate Science Center Travel Grant, South Central Climate Science Center ($1,000)
2017 George L. and Cleo Cross Graduate Student Endowed Scholarship, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma ($2,000)
2015 Robberson Travel Grant, Graduate College, University of Oklahoma ($1,000)
Selected Publications
23. Tan, S., Zhang, Y.*, Qi, J., Su, Y., Ma, Q. & Qiu, J., Exploring the Potential of GEDI in Characterizing Tree Height Composition based on Advanced Radiative Transfer Model Simulations Journal of Remote Sensing. https://doi.org/10.34133/remotesensing.0132
22. Zhang, Y.*, Cai, M., Xiao, X., Yang, X., Migliavacca, M., Basara, J., Zhou, S., & Deng, Y. (2024) Immediate and lagged vegetation responses to dry spells revealed by continuous solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence observations at a tall grass prairie. Remote Sensing of Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114080
21. Zhang, Q., Zhang, G.*, Zhang, Y.*, Xiao, X., You, N., Li, Z., Tang, H., Yang, T., Di, Y., Dong, J.*, (2023) Coupling GEDI LiDAR and optical satellite for revealing large-scale maize lodging in Northeastern China. Earth Future. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003590
20. Zhang, Y.* & Peñuelas, J.*, (2023) Combining solar induced chlorophyll fluorescence and optical vegetation indices to better understand plant phenological responses to global change. Journal of Remote Sensing https://doi.org/10.34133/remotesensing.0085
19. Zhou, S.*, Yu, B., Lintner, B.R., Findell, K. & Zhang, Y.*, (2023) Projected increase in global runoff dominated by land surface changes. Nature Climate Change. 13, 442–449 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01659-8
18. Zhang, Y.*, Fang, J., Smith, W.K., Wang, X., Gentine, P., Scott, R.L., Migliavacca, M., Jeong, S., Litvak, M. & Zhou, S. (2023) Satellite solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence tracks physiological drought stress development during 2020 southwest US drought. Global Change Biology. 29, 3395-3408, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16683
Media: highlighted by Science
17. Hong, S., Zhang, Y., Yao, Y., Meng, F., Zhao, Q. & Zhang, Y.*, (2022) Contrasting temperature effects on the velocity of early- versus late-stage vegetation green-up in the Northern Hemisphere. Global Change Biology. 28, 6961-6972 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16414
16. Zhang, Y.*, Gentine, P., Luo, X., Xu, L., Liu, Y., Zhou, S., Michalak, A.M., Sun, W., Fisher, J.B., Piao, S.L. & Keenan, T.F.*, (2022) Increased sensitivity of dryland vegetation greenness to precipitation due to rising atmospheric CO2. Nature Communications. 13, 4875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32631-3
Web of Science Highly Cited (1% in Geoscience) (May/June, 2023)
15. Zhang, Y.*, Keenan, T.F.* & Zhou, S. (2021) Exacerbated drought impact on global ecosystem due to structural overshoot. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 5, 1490–1498. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01551-8
14 Zhang, Y.*, Commane, R., Zhou, S., Williams, A.P. & Gentine, P. (2020) Light limitation regulates the response of autumn terrestrial carbon uptake to warming. Nature Climate Change. 10, 739-743, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0806-0
Media: Columbia Engineering, Science Daily, Phys.org, EurekAlert!
13. Zhang, Y.*, Parazoo, N., Williams, A.P., Zhou, S. & Gentine, P.* (2020) Large and projected strengthening moisture limitation on end-of-season photosynthesis. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. 117 (17) 9216-9222. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914436117
Media: Columbia Engineering, Science Daily, Phys.org, EurekAlert!
12. Zhang, Y.*, Zhou, S., Gentine, P., & Xiao, X. (2019) Can vegetation optical depth reflect changes in leaf water potential during soil moisture dry-down events? Remote Sensing of Environment. 234, 111451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111451
11. Zhang, Y.*, Joiner, J., Alemohammad, H., Zhou, S. & Gentine, P. (2018) A global spatially contiguous solar-induced fluorescence (CSIF) dataset using neural networks. Biogeosciences. 15, 5779-5800, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5779-2018
10. Zhang, Y.*, Xiao, X.*, Wolf, S., Wu, J., Wu, X., Gioli., B., Wohlfahrt, G., Cescatti, A., van der Tol, C., Zhou, S., Gough, C., Gentine, P., Zhang, Y., Steinbrecher, R., & Ardö, J. (2018) Spatio-temporal convergence of maximum daily light-use efficiency based on radiation absorption by canopy chlorophyll. Geophysical Research Letters. 45(8), 3508-3519. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017GL076354
9. Zhang, Y.*, Joiner, J., Gentine, P., & Zhou, S. (2018) Reduced solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence from GOME-2 during Amazon drought caused by dataset artifacts. Global Change Biology. 24(6), 2229–2230. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14134
8. Zhang, Y.*, Xiao, X.*, Zhang, Y., Wolf, S., Zhou, S., Joiner, J., Guanter, L., Verma, M., Sun, Y., Yang, X., Paul-Limoges, E., Gough, C., Wohlfahrt, G., Gioli, B., van der Tol, C., Yann, N., Lund, M., & Agnes de Grandcourt. (2018) On the relationship between sub-daily instantaneous and daily total gross primary production: implications for interpreting satellite-based SIF retrievals. Remote Sensing of Environment. 205, 276-289 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.12.009
7. Zhang, Y.*, Xiao, X.*, Wu, X., Zhou, S., Zhang, G., Qin, Y., & Dong, J. (2017). A global moderate resolution dataset of gross primary production of vegetation for 2000-2016. Scientific Data. 4, 170165, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.165
Web of Science Highly Cited (1% in Geoscience) (May/June, 2020)
6. Zhang, Y.*, Xiao, X.*, Guanter, L., Zhou, S., Ciais, P., Joiner, J., Sitch, S., Wu, X.C., Nabel, J., Dong, J.W., Kato, E., Jain, A.K., Wiltshire, A., & Stocker, B.D. (2016). Precipitation and carbon-water coupling jointly control the interannual variability of global land gross primary production. Scientific Reports, 6, 39748. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39748
5. Zhang, Y., Xiao, X.*, Jin, C., Dong, J., Zhou, S., Wagle, P., Joiner, J., Guanter, L., Zhang, Y., Zhang, G., Qin, Y., Wang, J., & Moore, B. (2016). Consistency between sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and gross primary production of vegetation in North America. Remote Sensing of Environment, 183, 154-169 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.05.015
Web of Science Highly Cited (1% in Geoscience) (May/June, 2020)
4. Zhang, Y., Xiao, X.*, Zhou, S., Ciais, P., McCarthy, H., & Luo, Y. (2016). Canopy and physiological controls of GPP during drought and heat wave. Geophysical Research Letters, 43(7), 3325-3333 https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068501
3. Zhang, Y., Peng, C.H., Li, W.Z.*, Tian, L.X., Zhu, Q.Q., Chen, H., Fang, X.Q., Zhang, G.L., Liu, G.M., Mu, X.M., Li, Z.B., Li, S.Q., Yang, Y.Z., Wang, J., & Xiao, X.M. (2016). Multiple afforestation programs accelerate the greenness in the 'Three North' region of China from 1982 to 2013. Ecological Indicators, 61, 404-412 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.09.041
2. Zhang, Y., Li, W.*, Zhu, Q., Chen, H., Fang, X., Zhang, T., Zhao, P., & Peng, C.* (2015). Monitoring the impact of aerosol contamination on the drought-induced decline of gross primary productivity. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 36, 30-40 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2014.11.006
1. Zhang, Y., Peng, C., Li, W.*, Fang, X., Zhang, T., Zhu, Q., Chen, H., & Zhao, P. (2013). Monitoring and estimating drought-induced impacts on forest structure, growth, function, and ecosystem services using remote-sensing data: recent progress and future challenges. Environmental Reviews, 21(2), 103-115 https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2013-0006
