ESC Leadership
Dr. Yu Guirui, ESC President
Dr. Guirui Yu is an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, an Academician of the World Academy of Sciences, a professor researcher at Institute of Geographical Sciences and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of the Ecological Society of China. Supported by the National “Outstanding Youth Fund” and “Overseas Outstanding Talents Program”. Distinguished researcher of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Department of Ecosystem Ecology, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Applied Ecology, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Resources and Ecology and China Scientific Data. Chairman of China Terrestrial Ecosystem Flux Observation and Research Network (ChinaFLUX), Director of Comprehensive Research Center of National Ecosystem Observation and Research Network (CNERN) and Deputy Director of Scientific Committee of China Ecosystem Research Network (CERN). He has won many honorary awards, such as the Special Government Allowance of the State Council, the National Innovation First Prize, the National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Practitioner, and the Scientific Chinese, the People of the Year. He has published 10 monographs and more than 700 papers, been granted with 7 patents, and won 1 First Prize for National Scientific and Technological Advancement, 2 second prizes, 3 first prizes at provincial and ministerial levels, and 1 outstanding scientific and technological achievement award from Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dr.An Shuqing, ESC Vice President
Dr. Shuqing An is a professor and doctoral supervisor in Nanjing University (School of Life Sciences), Principal Scientist of Research Center of Wetlands and Mudflats within Natural Resources Institute of Nanjing University, Director of Nanjing University Ecological Research Institute of Changshu; Chief Executive and Legal Representative of Nanjing University Research Institute (Changshu）Co. Ltd., Deputy Director of National Wetland Science and Technology Commission, Vice President of the Ecological Society of China, expert of the Special Project Committee of a Study on Typical Fragile Ecological Restoration and Conservation, National Key Research and Development Project during the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plan period, expert of Technical Responsibility and Integration for National Water Pollution Control and Management Special Project “Marked Achievements of River Ecology”, Vice President of the Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) - China Branch, member of Strategic Plan Committee and Globalization Committee of the Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program (SWSPCP), member of the National Wetland Conservation and Urban Planning Standardization Technical Committee; Prof. An has been committed to the wetland ecological research for over 30 years, managed over 100 domestic and international projects including the Project of National Pollution Control and Management, the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program), Sino-European Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Sino-Australian Scientific and Technological Cooperation; published over 600 research essays including 200 SCI essays, 15 books and teaching materials. He independently developed more than 100 core technologies, including 6 international patents, over 70 technical invention patents, over 20 ecological technology packages, over 10 advanced governance models, and 10 overall solutions, many of which have been successfully applied in large-scale ecological restoration demonstration projects in China, achieving remarkable social and economic benefits. He has led the team to compile 12 guiding specifications and standards (including 2 international resolutions and 1 national standard), and comprehensively led the development of water pollution control, wetland conservation and restoration, with an important demonstration role in the whole industry. He has won 9 provincial and ministerial awards and international awards including the INTECOL-WWG “Outstanding Wetland Scientists Award”, Award for Outstanding Achievement of International Ecological Engineering Society, the second prize of the National Science and Technology Advancement Award, the first prize of Environmental Protection Science and Technology, and the first prize of Liangxi Forestry Science and Technology; the 22nd China Patent Excellence Award by leading the team to independently research and develop the patent “Artificial Wetland Sewage Treatment Device and Method”. The “NbS Wetland Ecological Restoration Technology” was selected into the 2021 “Science and Technology China” pilot technology list. He served as Director (2009-), Executive Director (2009-) and Vice President (2023-) of the Ecological Society of China.
Dr.Chen Liding, ESC Vice President
Dr. Liding Chen is a professor and PhD supervisor of the Research Center for Eco-Environment Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He now serves as the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, ESC Vice President, Deputy Director of the Ecology and Nature Conservation Branch of the Chinese Environmental Sciences Association, and Deputy Director of the Land Ecology Branch of the Chinese Land Science Society; Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Ecology and Journal of Applied Ecology, and Editor-in-Chief of China Scientific Geoscience Volume, Geographical Research, Geographical Science, Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment, and Resources and Environment in the Yangtze River Basin. Mr. Chen Liding is mainly engaged in landscape pattern and ecological process, environmental effects of land use change, landscape ecological planning and regional ecological security. He has undertaken more than 50 key fund projects of the National Natural Science Fund, key R&D projects, major scientific research projects of environmental protection and public welfare industries, and important directional projects of innovation projects of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published more than 400 academic papers in core journals at home and abroad, including more than 200 in SCI journals and 12 monographs; won 2 second prizes of National Natural Science, 7 science and technology awards of provincial ministries and commissions, and Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Award of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2016).
Dr. Hu Chunsheng, ESC President
Dr. Chunsheng Hu is a professor and PhD supervisor at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He currently holds the positions of Vice Director at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Center for Agricultural Resources Research, and Vice Chairman of the Ecological Society of China. Dr. Hu has been extensively involved in research related to nitrogen, water, and carbon cycles in agroecosystems, as well as soil ecological processes. He successfully established an in-situ network observation system for monitoring nitrogen, water, and carbon dynamics in key agroecosystems in North China. His work has illuminated the critical interfaces between soil and the atmosphere, as well as soil and water in these key agroecosystems, providing insights into nitrogen fluxes and their ecological impacts. Furthermore, Dr. Hu has developed techniques to control non-point source pollution, with a particular focus on ammonia and nitrate pollution in farmlands. Dr. Hu has led and completed various significant research projects, including those funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has authored more than 200 academic papers published in prestigious domestic and international journals, such as Science Advances, Global Change Biology, Environmental Science & Technology, Water Research, Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Microbiome, and Acta Pedologica Sinica. His contributions to the field have earned him accolades, including a Second Prize for National Science and Technology Advancement, as well as several provincial and ministerial-level scientific awards. Dr. Hu has been recognized as an Outstanding Field Advanced Technology Practitioner in China and an Excellent Provincial-level Expert in Hebei Province. He is also a recipient of the Special Allowance from the State Council of China.
Dr.Li Xiuzhen, ESC Vice President
Dr. Xiuzhen LI is a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University. She obtained her PhD from Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands in 2000. She worked as professor in the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences during 2001-2006. She obtained the “New Century Distinguished Talent Award” from the Ministry of Education in 2007. Her research is mainly focused on the ecological processes and functions of coastal wetlands. She has conducted more than 10 national level projects sponsored by the Ministry of Science & Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, including the National Key R&D Program. She has published more than 100 papers in internationally recognized journals and 8 books as author or co-author, some of which has been adopted by the IPCC(AR6). She is an executive committee member in Future Earth Coasts (2019-), and focal point for the Mega-Delta Programme endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade (2021-). She served as Council Chair for the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE) (2011-2019). She also worked as a consultant for the Ministry of Natural Resources (2020-) and Shanghai Municipality (2021-). She is a standing member in the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (2016-), China Wetlands Association (2018-), and Ecological Society of China (2013-). She is an invited reviewer for the IPCC Report (AR6). She serves/served as Associate Editor for Ocean & Coastal Management (2013-2023), and Anthropocene (2023-), and in the editorial board of Ecological Engineering (2008-2019), Wetlands Ecology and Management (2012-2022), Chinese Geographical Science (2009-), and Acta Ecologica Sinica (2012-) etc. She was invited as keynote speaker in several international conferences in the field of landscape ecology and wetlands ecology.
Dr.Liu Hongyan, ESC Vice President
Dr. Hongyan Liu is a Boya Distinguished Professor of Peking University. He now serves as the Deputy Director of Institute of Ecology, Peking University, and ESC Vice President. Prof. Hongyan Liu is mainly engaged in research on vegetation response and adaptation to climate change. He has systematically conducted research on vegetation patterns, dynamics, and ecological adaptation mechanisms in ecologically vulnerable regions of East Asia, including the forest-steppe ecotone, the karst Critical Zone, and the southern edge of Eurasian permafrost, under the background of global change. He has established the most comprehensive methodology system for vegetation dynamics and drought adaptation research to date. His work provides scientific support for addressing the impact of future climate change on vegetation in the drylands of northern China. He was included in the list of the world's 1,000 most influential scientists in the field of climate change.
Dr.LIU Qing, ESC Vice President
Dr. Qing Liu is Vice-President of Chengdu Branch, Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS). He now serves as Director of the CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, and he is also professor and PhD supervisor. Mr. LIU Qing is mainly engaged in research on forest ecology and global change, restoration ecology and vegetation ecology. He has published 260 papers in peer reviewed journals such as Global Change Biology, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Journal of Ecology, Functional Ecology, Plant and Soil, Science of the Total Environment. He has authored or co-authored 7 books, and his papers and books have been widely cited with some of them listed as classical citations.
Dr.Ren Hai, ESC Vice President
Dr. Hai Ren is a professor and PhD supervisor of restoration ecology at South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He now serves as Director-General of South China Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ESC Vice President and Board member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. His research areas include: ecological restoration of vegetation, conservation of rare and endangered plants. He has authored three English books and 160 English papers.
Dr.Wang Yanfen, ESC Vice President
Dr. Yanfen Wang is a professor and PhD supervisor of Ecology and the Executive Vice President at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is currently the Vice President of ESC, Vice President of the Chinese Society of Natural Resources, and Independent Director of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). She has long been engaged in the study of the structure and function of the Eurasian grassland ecosystem, and its response and adaption to human activities and climate change.
Dr.Zhong Linsheng, ESC Vice President
Dr.Linsheng Zhong is a professor and PhD supervisor of the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He now serves Vice President of ESC, director of the Tourism Ecology Professional Committee of ESC, and the member of National Park and Protected Area Standardization Technology Committee of National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China. He is mainly engaged in tourism ecology, ecotourism, tourism geography, protected areas and national park management and other fields.
Dr.Zhu Jiaojun, ESC Vice President
Dr. Jiaojun Zhu is an Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, a professor researcher at Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He currently serves as the Director General of IAE, CAS, and the Director of Qingyuan Forest CERN, National Observation and Research Station. He is the President of Liaoning Ecological Society, and the Co-Editor-in-Chief of “Ecological Processes”.
Dr. Zhu has been major in Ecology of Protective Forests and Forestry eco-engineering. He has led over 20 major projects, including those funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Distinguished Young Scholars, Major Program, and Key Program), and Ministry of Science and Technology of China (National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program), and National Key Research and Development Program of China). Aiming at the needs of national major ecological engineering construction and the scientific and technological frontiers, he has centered his work on the world's largest ecological engineering, the Three-North Program, and innovated a theoretical and technical system of "Management, Construction, and Evaluation" for construction of protective forests. He pioneered a new silviculture theory and directed a management technology for different growth stages, filling the theoretical gap in the ecological function-oriented protective forests management. He was the first to propose a construction concept of protective forests that is based on “total water resources and system coordination”. He established an integrated evaluation system of Space-Sky-Tower-Field Assessment Techniques. Through his commitment to scientific theoretical and technological innovation, Dr. Zhu has steered the construction practices of forestry ecological programs, promoted the development of Applied Ecology, and provided the scientific support for the construction of national ecological security.
As the lead researcher, Dr. Zhu has been awarded two National Science and Technology Progress Second Prizes and four Provincial and Ministerial First Prizes. His contributions have also earned him over 20 personal awards, including the IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) Scientific Achievement Award. He has authored six monographs, such as "Ecology of Protective Forests", which has been chosen as a graduate textbook. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers as first or corresponding author, including the article in “Nature Climate Change”. He has written more than ten Consulting Reports adopted by the National Government, and assisted in the formation of national laws, regulations, industry standards, and plans.
Dr.Zhu Yongguan, ESC Vice President
Dr. Yongguan Zhu is an Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, an Academician of the World Academy of Sciences, a professor and PhD supervisor of Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences . He now serves as Director-General of Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Vice President of the Ecological Society of China. Dr.Zhu used to be Deputy Head of the Preparatory Group, Director and Party Secretary of the Institute of Urban Environment of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research involves the interaction of soil-plant-microorganism, the circulation and transformation of biogenic elements/pollutants, and the ecological and health effects of soil-plant system pollution. In 2002, he was supported by the National Outstanding Youth Fund. His main research results won the Second Prize of National Natural Science in 2009. Up to now, he has published more than 500 academic papers in Science, Nature and its sub-journals, PNAS, environmental science & technology and other journals. International papers have been cited for nearly 51,000 times, and the H-index is 118 (Web of Science, as of March 2023).
Dr.Zhou Weiqi, ESC Secretary General
Dr. Weiqi Zhou is a professor of urban ecology, and deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also the director of the Beijing Urban Ecosystem Research Station. Dr. Zhou is interested in spatial heterogeneity of the landscape. He integrates field observations, remote sensing and modeling to understand the structure of urban socio-ecological systems, and its link to ecological function. He works across many disciplines including landscape ecology, urban ecology, remote sensing, and GIS, and interact with various collaborators from different fields through his involvement with various collaborative projects. The interdisciplinarity of his work has allowed him to develop innovative approaches and tools to better understanding the structure of urban socio-ecological systems, and its link to ecological function, and to interact with practitioners and policy makers to help cities like Beijing and Shenzhen accomplish sustainable urban transformations. Dr. Zhou serves as the associate editor for Landscape and Urban Planning, and editorial members for the journals such as Landscape Ecology and Journal of Urban Ecology. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers and three books, and is the recipient of Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers (2021-2023). Dr. Zhou is the secretary general of the Ecology Society of China.
