Main work

Prof. Cheng Xiangrong obtained his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008 and served as a visiting scholar at Clemson University in the USA from 2016 to 2017. His research focuses on the impact of forest management on stand structure and function, plantation productivity, the response of plant functional traits to climate change, and the carbon cycle of forest ecosystems. He has revealed the adaptive mechanisms of typical tree species to different light, nutrient, and water conditions based on their functional traits. Additionally, he has demonstrated that the multifunctionality of forest ecosystems is jointly regulated by aboveground and belowground biodiversity as well as stand structure diversity. Prof. Cheng has published over 80 articles and was awarded the third prize of Zhejiang Science and Technology Progress in 2022. Currently, he serves as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Plant Ecology and the Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology.

Key research projects

• Research on the coordinated mechanism of soil nitrogen and phosphorus in two-layered mixed forests of Chinese fir and Michelia macclurei. 2023-2026

• Effects of plant diversity in typical forest ecosystems of Baishanzu National Park on soil organic carbon sequestration. 2022-2004

• Microbial regulation mechanism in improving soil phosphorus availability after conversion of monoculture Chinese fir plantation to two-layered mixed plantation. 2021-2023

• Mechanism of deep soil aggregate organic carbon sequestration in poplar plantations in reclaimed coastal areas. 2019-2022

• Research and application on the regulation of stand structure of low-function forests. 2017-2021

Awards & achievements

• Third Prize of Zhejiang Science and Technology Progress in 2022. Ranked 1st.

• Third Prize of Zhejiang Science and Technology Progress in 2018. Ranked 4th.

• Third Prize of Liangxi Science and Technology Progress in 2018. Ranked 4th.

Published articles & books

• Cheng Xiangrong*, Zhang Yulin, Xing Wenli. 2024. Soil bacterial habitat generalists strengthen depth-dependent organic carbon accrual in coastal reclaimed lands after afforestation [J]. Catena, 234: 107584.

• Xu Haidong, Wei Xiaomeng, Cheng Xiangrong*. 2023. Fungal diversity dominates the response of multifunctionality to the conversion of pure plantations into two-aged mixed plantations. Science of the Total Environment, 866, 161384.

• Cheng Xiangrong*, Xing Wenli, Liu Jiangwei. 2023. Litter chemical traits, microbial and soil stoichiometry regulate organic carbon accrual of particulate and mineral-associated organic matter. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 59: 777–790

• Cheng Xiangrong*, Xing Wenli, Xiang Wang. 2022. Depth-dependent patterns in the C: N: P stoichiometry of different soil components with reclamation time in coastal poplar plantations. Soil and Tillage Research, 223: 105494.

• Xu Haidong, Zhu Biao, Wei Xiaomeng, Yu Mukui, Cheng Xiangrong*. 2021. Root functional traits mediate rhizosphere soil carbon stability in a subtropical forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 162: 108431.

• Xu Haidong, Yu Mukui, Cheng Xiangrong*. 2021. Abundant fungal and rare bacterial taxa jointly reveal soil nutrient cycling and multifunctionality in uneven-aged mixed plantations. Ecological Indicators, 2021, 129: 107932.

• Cheng Xiangrong, Yu Mukui. Effects of Stand Structure Regulation on Forest Ecosystem Function of Cunninghamia Lanceolata Plantations. Beijing: Chinses Forestry Press. 2021.

• Xu Haidong, Yuan Haijing, Yu Mukui, Cheng Xiangrong*. 2020. Large Macroaggregate properties are sensitive to the conversion of pure plantation to uneven-aged mixed plantations. Catena, 194, 104724

• Xing Wenli, Cheng Xiangrong*, Xiong Jing, Yuan Haijing, Yu Mukui. 2020. Variations in soil biological properties in poplar plantations along coastal reclamation stages. Applied Soil Ecology, 154, 103649

• Cheng Xiangrong, Yuan Haijing, Xing Wenli, Wang Yangdong, Yu Mukui*. 2020. Effects of provenance and initial planting density on growth and wood properties in young sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) plantations. European Journal of Forest Research, 139(6): 1067–1078.

• Cheng Xiangrong, Yuan Haijing, Xu Haidong, Xing Wenli, Wang Yangdong, Yu Mukui*. 2020. Rhizobacterial communities and fine root traits together reveal variations in the growth performance of Quercus acutissima in different provenances. European Journal of Forest Research, 139(6): 1091-1105

• Xiangrong Cheng, Wenli Xing, Haijing Yuan, Mukui Yu. 2018. Long-term thinning does not significantly affect soil water-stable aggregates and diversity of bacteria and fungi in Chinese Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantations in eastern China. Forests, 9, 687

• Hongtao Xie, Mukui Yu, Xiangrong Cheng*. 2018. Leaf non-structural carbohydrate allocation and C:N:P stoichiometry in response to light acclimation in seedlings of two subtropical shade-tolerant tree species. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 124:146-154

• Xiangrong Cheng, Mukui Yu*, G. Geoff Wang. Forests. Effects of thinning on soil organic carbon fractions and soil properties in Cunninghamia lanceolata stands in Eastern China. 2017, 8, 198

• Xiangrong Cheng, Hongtao Xie, Liangbo Zhang, Minghuai Wang, Changzhu Li, Mukui Yu, Zhenxiang He*. 2017. A comparative study of growth and leaf trait variation in twenty Cornus wilsoniana W. families in southeastern China. iForest 10: 759-765