 |
|
|
|
Weixin Cheng Home  Directory Weixin Cheng
|
|
|
Weixin Cheng
|
|
Title: |
Professor |
|
Type: |
Faculty Member |
|
Email: |
wxcheng@ucsc.edu |
|
Phone: |
(831) 459-5317 Office
(831) 459-4015 Fax |
|
Office: |
416 ISB |
|
Office Hours: |
Fall 2009;1:30-3:00, Mondays & by Appt. |
|
Personal Page: |
http://people.ucsc.edu/~wxcheng/ |
|
| Courses Taught | |
ENVS 23: The physical and Chemical Environment
ENVS 161A/L: Soils and Plant Nutrition/Soils and Plant Nutrition Lab
ENVS 168/268: Biogeochemistry and the Global Environment
ENVS 201B: Key Words and Concepts in Environmental Studies
ENVS 201N: Interdisciplinary Research Design in Environmental Studies
ENVS 291M: Advanced Readings in Biogeochemistry
|
| Research Focus | |
Soil Ecology
My lab group engages in research on ecological processes at scales from the rhizosphere to the biosphere. These processes are integral components in soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics (e.g., production, respiration, root exudation, root turnover, decomposition, and nitrogen fixation). Our current research projects are taking advantage of recently developed methods such as minirhizotron root imaging and natural isotope tracing/labeling. Some of our research questions are: (1) how do plant roots as a major component of the soil system control and influence soil processes such as decomposition, nitrogen mineralization, and carbon loss? (2) How do global environmental change factors such as elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration and climatic warming alter ecological processes in the soil? (3) What belowground processes are intimately linked to canopy activities in forest ecosystems? (4) What can we learn from stable isotope analysis of plant and soil samples along environmental gradients in a landscape? In addition to basic scientific inquiries, we are interested in issues in global environmental change and sustainability. |
| Interests | |
Ecological interactions between soils and plants,
Ecosystems' responses to environmental change,
Agroecology,
Inner Mongolian grasslands,
and Northeastern China agricultural environment
|
| Education History | |
Ph.D. (1989) Ecology, University of Georgia
B.S. (1982) Agronomy, Northeast Agricultural University, China |
| Selected Publications | |
Cheng, W. 2009. Rhizosphere priming effect: Its functional relationships with microbial turnover, evapotranspiration, and C-N budgets. Soil Biology & Biochemistry [in press]
Cheng, W., Q. Chen, Y. Xu, X. Han, L. Li. 2009. Climate and ecosystem 15N natural abundance along a transect of Inner Mongolian grasslands: Contrasting regional patterns and global patterns. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, doi:10.1029/2008GB003315.
Dijkstra, F.A., N.E. Bader, D.W. Johnson, W. Cheng. 2009. Does accelerated soil organic matter decomposition in the presence of plants increase plant N availability? Soil Biology & Biochemistry 41:1080-1087.
Gershenson, A., N.E. Bader, W. Cheng. 2009. Effects of substrate availability on the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition. Global Change Biology 15:176-183.
Xu, Y., S. Wan, W. Cheng, L. Li. 2008. Impacts of grazing intensity on denitrification and N2O production in a semi-arid grassland ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 88:103-115.
Dijkstra, F.A., W. Cheng. 2008. Increased soil moisture content increases plant N uptake and the abundance of 15N in plant biomass. Plant and Soil 302:263-271.
Johnson, D.W., F.A. Dijkstra, W. Cheng. 2007. The effects of Glycine max and Helianthus annuus on nutrient availability in two soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 39:2160-2163.
Dijkstra, F.A., W. Cheng. 2007. Moisture modulates rhizosphere effects on C decomposition in two different soil types. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 39:2264-2274.
Dijkstra, F.A., W. Cheng. 2007. Interactions between soil and tree roots accelerate long-term soil carbon decomposition. Ecology Letters 10:1046-1053.
Cheng, W., A. Gershenson. 2007. Carbon fluxes in the rhizosphere. In: Cardon, Z.G., J.L. Whitbeck (eds.) The Rhizosphere - An Ecological Perspective, pp. 31-56. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
Cheng, W., F.A. Dijkstra. 2007. Theoretical proof and empirical validation of a continuous labeling method using naturally 13C-depleted carbon dioxide. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology 49:401-407.
Zhan, X., L. Li and W. Cheng. 2007. Restore degraded Stipa krylovii steppes in Inner Mongolia of China: Assess seed banks and vegetation composition. Journal of Arid Environments 69:298-307.
Xu, Y., L. Li, Q. Wang, Q. Chen, W. Cheng. 2007. The pattern between nitrogen mineralization and grazing intensities in an Inner Mongolian typical steppe. Plant and Soil 300:289-300.
Pasakdee, S., G. Bañuelos, C. Shennan, W. Cheng. 2007. Organic N fertilizers and irrigation influence organic Broccoli production in two regions of California. Journal of Vegetable Science 12:27-46.
Bader, N.E., W. Cheng. 2007. Rhizosphere priming effect of Populus fremontii obscures the temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon respiration. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 39:600-606.
|
|
