Li Zhao

I‘m an ecologist and ecosystem modeler dedicated to understanding terrestrial vegetation dynamics and their role in Earth’s climate system. My work examines shifts in vegetation distribution, timing, and function across the world’s major biomes, along with the biogeochemical and biogeophysical feedback to the atmosphere.A key focus of my current work involves assessing the feasibility of vegetation-based mitigation strategies—such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), afforestation, and grassland restoration—in achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. With expertise in multi-source data synthesis and process-based modeling, I and my research group aims to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future by advancing our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems in a changing climate.

Feasibility of BECCS

 

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is one of the widely expected Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) strategies, which has been adopted in integrated assessment models to achieve the goal of limiting global warming in 1.5℃. However, the feasibility of BECCS is still in discussed.  Against this background, we have explored the biogeophysical effect of large-scale cultivation of bioenergy crops with some idealized model experiments. We are developing a model branch to include the dedicated bioenergy PFTs and try to push them into the next phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (i.e., CMIP7). Besides, we are collecting the second version of bioenergy yield datasets and analyzing the lost soil carbon and nutrients with bioenergy crop harvest. In addition, we are exploring the carbon storage capacity of the bioenergy crop ecosystem from the view of ecosystem stability and carbon turnover rate.

Feedback of Grassland Vegetation Restoration on Climate System

 

Grassland areas have experienced significant vegetation degradation due to climate change and human activities. However, in recent years, increasing awareness of climate change and environmental protection, coupled with the implementation of large-scale forest and grassland restoration projects in China, has led to vegetation recovery in some arid and semi-arid regions.

 

Our research leverages satellite-derived vegetation indices, artificial intelligence (AI), and process-based models to address the following objectives:

 

(1)   Quantify the contributions of climate change and human activities to grassland degradation and restoration.

(2)   Assess the biogeophysical impacts of degradation-restoration dynamics on hydrology and climate systems.

(3)   Improve the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets in grassland ecosystems by modeling grazing and vegetation degradation-restoration dynamics.

(4)   Evaluate the biogeochemical effects of degradation-restoration dynamics on the global climate system through the accurate evaluation of the GHG budget.

More detail about our research group and research update could be found from our group website:https://dgvecom.wordpress.com/research/ (under construction)

 

The software works Patent