On 14, July, Dr. Jin Zhao successfully finished his Postdoctoral research in  Institute of Earth Environment closed by a presentation attended by a review committee which includes 7 reviewers from IEECAS and Shaanxi Normal University, as well as by staff and students of IEECAS. In the past two years, Dr. JIN focused on the effects of ecological degradation and restoration on carbon cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. In Mu Us desert, he found that vegetation conversion from grassland to desert shrub land induced by desertification significantly decreased the soil surface CO2 efflux and increased the plant biomass stores and net primary productivity. Moreover, he also found that Loess Plateau presented a great potential for carbon sequestration and vegetation restoration induced by “Grain for Green Program” in the area greatly increased the plant and soil carbon stores.

[1] Jin Zhao, Dong Yunshe, Qi Yuchun, An Zhisheng. Soil respiration and net primary productivity in perennial grass and desert shrub ecosystems at the Ordos Plateau of Inner Mongolia, China. Journal of Arid Environments, 2010, DOI 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.05.018.

[2] Jin Zhao, Dong Yunshe, Qi Yuchun, Manfred Domroes. Precipitation pulses and soil CO2 emission in desert shrubland of Artemisia ordosica on the Ordos Plateau of Inner Mongolia, China. Pedosphere, 2009, 19(6): 799-807.

[3] Jin Zhao, Qi Yuchun, Dong Yunshe, Manfred Domroes. Seasonal patterns of soil respiration in three types of communities along grass-desert shrub transition in Inner Mongolia, China. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 2009, 26(3): 503-512