Main work
Prof. Lu Junkun's research work on testing effects of N2-fixing and non-N2-fixing on ecophysiological characteristics and nitrogen (N) nutrition of Santalum album. Our results may provide N management strategies for successfully mixed plantation of S. album with rosewood Dalbergia odorifera, allowing the development of a superior methodology for the concurrent plantation of these two valuable timber species. Several fascinating articles in 2013, 2014 and 2024 have been published on Tree Physiology, which were praised for "very exciting and important study for plant-parasite interactions, especially for the role of legumes in sandalwood biology" by editors and reviewers. At present over 1,000 ha mixed S. album/D. odorifera have been planted in Southern China, which provides an excellent practice example for the existing sandalwood plantation industry with another high-value woody species.
Prof. Lu Junkun also focuses on Rhizobium taxonomy using the genotype and phenotype method and isolated two new species Bradyrhizobium ganzhouense and Mesorhizobium acaciae from root nodule of Acacia melanoxylon, which have been further developed as rhizobial inoculants for inoculating Acacia species (20 hectares trial) in Yangxi City, Guangdong Province, China.
Key research projects
2018-2020 Physiology characteristics of precious tree (National Natural Science Foundation of China for Excellent Young Scientists Fund, 31722012).
2017-2020 Interplant nitrogen capture and feedback of hemiparasite Santalum album and its host plants in field plantations (National Natural Science Foundation of China, 31670636).
2014-2016 Mechanisms of two-way nitrogen transfer between Dalbergia odorifera and hemiparasite Santalum album (National Natural Science Foundation of China, 31300527).
Published articles & books
Fangcuo Qin, Fucheng Yang, Angang Ming, Hongyan Jia, Bingjiang Zhou, Junfei Xiong, Junkun Lu*. Mixture enhances microbial network complexity of soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in Eucalyptus plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 2024, 553: 121632.
Fangcuo Qin, Junkun Lu*, Zhenshuang Li, Sen Meng, Shengkun Wang, Junfeng Liang, Xinhua He. Nitrogen rather than carbon released by litter decomposition mediates nutrient relationships in a multispecies forest plantation with hemiparasite. Science of the Total Environment, 2023, 888: 164176.
Zhenshuang Li, Sen Meng, Fangcuo Qin, Shengkun Wang, Junfeng Liang, Xinhua He, Junkun Lu*. Host root exudates initiate a foraging preference by the root parasite Santalum album. Tree Physiology, 2023, 43: 301-314.
Sen Meng, Haibin Ma, Zhenshuang Li, Fucheng Yang, Shengkun Wang, Junkun Lu*. Impacts of nitrogen on physiological interactions of the hemiparasitic Santalum album and its N2-fixing host Dalbergia odorifera, Trees-Structure and Function, 2021, 35: 1039–1051.
Junkun Lu*, Zhenshuang Li, Fucheng Yang, Shengkun Wang, Junfeng Liang, Xinhua He*. Concurrent carbon and nitrogen transfer between hemiparasite Santalum album and two N2-fixing hosts in a sandalwood plantation. Forest Ecology and Management, 2020, 464: 118060.
