Liangzhi Chen
@liangzhi-chen.bsky.social
I study climate #extremes; global/climate change impacts on #terrestrial #ecosystems 🌍🌲 at
@swissforestlab.bsky.social @wslresearch.bsky.social🇨🇭
#science/nature/travel/reading/sports
@swissforestlab.bsky.social @wslresearch.bsky.social🇨🇭
#science/nature/travel/reading/sports
Pinned
Liangzhi Chen
@liangzhi-chen.bsky.social
· Jan 16
New paper in @science.org !
Where and when did the #multiyear-droughts occur around the world? Have they become more prevailing? We identified over 10,000 such events and found that they have been increasingly occupying the terrestrial land. (1/6)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado4245
Where and when did the #multiyear-droughts occur around the world? Have they become more prevailing? We identified over 10,000 such events and found that they have been increasingly occupying the terrestrial land. (1/6)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado4245
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
✨ Paper spotlight ✨
(🧵 1/7) Moving from an experiment- to an observation-dominated era in global change impact research on vegetation
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(🧵 1/7) Moving from an experiment- to an observation-dominated era in global change impact research on vegetation
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
November 24, 2025 at 1:02 PM
✨ Paper spotlight ✨
(🧵 1/7) Moving from an experiment- to an observation-dominated era in global change impact research on vegetation
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(🧵 1/7) Moving from an experiment- to an observation-dominated era in global change impact research on vegetation
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Understanding emergence in complex systems using abductive AI
A Comment from Yong Li, Deliang Chen & colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
A Comment from Yong Li, Deliang Chen & colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Understanding emergence in complex systems using abductive AI - Nature Reviews Physics
Traditional approaches in complexity science struggle to capture emergent phenomena, but abductive reasoning — now computationally feasible through artificial intelligence — offers a new pathway for d...
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Understanding emergence in complex systems using abductive AI
A Comment from Yong Li, Deliang Chen & colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
A Comment from Yong Li, Deliang Chen & colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
📣So happy to share the PhorEau model, combining models of forest dynamics, plant water relations, and process-based SDM = linking ecophysiology, ecology & biogeography 🌳📈💻
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/18/...
➡️ from Tanguy Postic's PhD, with many perspectives to simulate forests under CC
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/18/...
➡️ from Tanguy Postic's PhD, with many perspectives to simulate forests under CC
PHOREAU v1.0: a new process-based model to predict forest functioning, from tree ecophysiology to forest dynamics and biogeography
Abstract. Climate change impacts forest functioning and dynamics, but large uncertainties remain regarding the interactions between species composition, demographic processes and environmental drivers...
gmd.copernicus.org
October 23, 2025 at 4:07 PM
📣So happy to share the PhorEau model, combining models of forest dynamics, plant water relations, and process-based SDM = linking ecophysiology, ecology & biogeography 🌳📈💻
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/18/...
➡️ from Tanguy Postic's PhD, with many perspectives to simulate forests under CC
gmd.copernicus.org/articles/18/...
➡️ from Tanguy Postic's PhD, with many perspectives to simulate forests under CC
#MultiyearDroughts, it is nice to see studies with distinct designs and used data converge to similar results — "25-30%" seems to be a key range, in this study about the measured reduction of primary production in grassland and in our previous study with kNDVI www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... .
As droughts become longer and more intense, their toll on ecosystems could be far greater than we thought. Our new paper in @science.org shows how prolonged & extreme droughts cause dramatic, cumulative losses in ecosystem productivity across the globe www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 20, 2025 at 6:21 AM
#MultiyearDroughts, it is nice to see studies with distinct designs and used data converge to similar results — "25-30%" seems to be a key range, in this study about the measured reduction of primary production in grassland and in our previous study with kNDVI www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... .
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Our new article in Nature Plants, led by César Leblanc, introduces Pl@ntBERT, an AI model inspired by language models like ChatGPT, but trained on > 1M vegetation plots from the EVA database.
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Demo: huggingface.co/spaces/Cesar...
GitHub: github.com/cesar-leblan...
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Demo: huggingface.co/spaces/Cesar...
GitHub: github.com/cesar-leblan...
October 13, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Our new article in Nature Plants, led by César Leblanc, introduces Pl@ntBERT, an AI model inspired by language models like ChatGPT, but trained on > 1M vegetation plots from the EVA database.
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Demo: huggingface.co/spaces/Cesar...
GitHub: github.com/cesar-leblan...
Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Demo: huggingface.co/spaces/Cesar...
GitHub: github.com/cesar-leblan...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
In #drylands, plants don’t grow randomly — they self-organize into disordered hyperuniform patterns that help them use water wisely & endure extreme aridity. A beautiful hidden logic of nature, revealed in a new @pnas.org study doi.org/10.1073/pnas... including #Maestrelab alumni
October 8, 2025 at 6:59 AM
In #drylands, plants don’t grow randomly — they self-organize into disordered hyperuniform patterns that help them use water wisely & endure extreme aridity. A beautiful hidden logic of nature, revealed in a new @pnas.org study doi.org/10.1073/pnas... including #Maestrelab alumni
The Swiss forest 🌳remains functioning! Same location, mushroom was found in 2023, but not 2024……this year’s return is rewarding 🍄🟫
September 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
The Swiss forest 🌳remains functioning! Same location, mushroom was found in 2023, but not 2024……this year’s return is rewarding 🍄🟫
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
September 24, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Only a pre-print for now, but after 4 years of hard work I couldn't resist sharing this!
The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems
📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!
The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems
📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!
September 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Only a pre-print for now, but after 4 years of hard work I couldn't resist sharing this!
The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems
📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!
The Global Canopy Atlas: analysis-ready maps of 3D structure for the world's woody ecosystems
📜: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Huge team effort led by the brilliant Fabian Fischer!
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Climate rather than overgrazing explains most rangeland primary productivity change in Mongolia | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Climate rather than overgrazing explains most rangeland primary productivity change in Mongolia
Rangelands are Earth’s dominant land type, supporting the livelihoods of more than 2 billion people. Concerns about rangeland degradation typically focus on overgrazing. But climate change may be a gr...
www.science.org
September 19, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Climate rather than overgrazing explains most rangeland primary productivity change in Mongolia | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
An art gallery of science?
What would your art gallery of ecology look like.....?
open.substack.com/pub/matthias...
What would your art gallery of ecology look like.....?
open.substack.com/pub/matthias...
An art gallery of science?
And why does this make sense?
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM
An art gallery of science?
What would your art gallery of ecology look like.....?
open.substack.com/pub/matthias...
What would your art gallery of ecology look like.....?
open.substack.com/pub/matthias...
boldly interesting - climate change actively alters human behaviours, its impact is just everywhere
A study in Nature Climate Change suggests that global warming may be associated with an increase in added sugar intake in the form of sugar-sweetened drinks and frozen desserts in the US, especially among more socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. go.nature.com/41Gch2u 🧪 🍎📃
September 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
boldly interesting - climate change actively alters human behaviours, its impact is just everywhere
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Climate skeptics have long been obsessed with corrections to temperature records for changes in measurement techniques and instruments over time.
But it turns out that if we just used the raw data we'd see more warming. My latest at The Climate Brink: www.theclimatebrink....
But it turns out that if we just used the raw data we'd see more warming. My latest at The Climate Brink: www.theclimatebrink....
September 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Climate skeptics have long been obsessed with corrections to temperature records for changes in measurement techniques and instruments over time.
But it turns out that if we just used the raw data we'd see more warming. My latest at The Climate Brink: www.theclimatebrink....
But it turns out that if we just used the raw data we'd see more warming. My latest at The Climate Brink: www.theclimatebrink....
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
Local Adaptation Drives Leaf Thermoregulation in Tropical Rainforest Trees
We tested whether tropical rainforest trees adjust their leaf traits and resulting leaf temperatures across their distributions within the Australian Wet Tropics. Using field measurements from across...
doi.org
September 4, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Can tropical rainforest trees keep their cool? Now out in @globalchangebio.bsky.social we explored whether intraspecific variation in leaf energy balance was a result of adaptation to local climate.
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
doi.org/10.1111/gcb....
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
🌳 New Tansley Insight!
What really limits tree growth—carbon source or sink? 🤔
I argue it’s not either/or but a distal → proximal continuum: from photosynthesis to transport and cell division, drivers act together to shape C allocation & growth 🌱🌍
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70516
What really limits tree growth—carbon source or sink? 🤔
I argue it’s not either/or but a distal → proximal continuum: from photosynthesis to transport and cell division, drivers act together to shape C allocation & growth 🌱🌍
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70516
Distal to proximal: a continuum of drivers shaping tree growth and carbon partitioning
The relationship between tree carbon (C) assimilation and growth is central to understanding tree functioning and forecasting forest C sequestration, yet remains unresolved. The long-standing debate ...
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 5, 2025 at 9:54 AM
🌳 New Tansley Insight!
What really limits tree growth—carbon source or sink? 🤔
I argue it’s not either/or but a distal → proximal continuum: from photosynthesis to transport and cell division, drivers act together to shape C allocation & growth 🌱🌍
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70516
What really limits tree growth—carbon source or sink? 🤔
I argue it’s not either/or but a distal → proximal continuum: from photosynthesis to transport and cell division, drivers act together to shape C allocation & growth 🌱🌍
🔗 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70516
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Good news for a change: Background mortality in unmanaged forests of Europe has not increased over past decades. Great work from the European Forest Reserve Initiative EuFoRIa, out in @journalofecology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/1365...
September 2, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Good news for a change: Background mortality in unmanaged forests of Europe has not increased over past decades. Great work from the European Forest Reserve Initiative EuFoRIa, out in @journalofecology.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/1365...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
We’re filling the atmosphere with CO2 like a bathtub with water. Most of it stays for millennia.
That is why the cumulative emissions (the total amount, as pictured here) and not yearly emissions determine the amount of #globalwarming.
That is why the cumulative emissions (the total amount, as pictured here) and not yearly emissions determine the amount of #globalwarming.
August 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
We’re filling the atmosphere with CO2 like a bathtub with water. Most of it stays for millennia.
That is why the cumulative emissions (the total amount, as pictured here) and not yearly emissions determine the amount of #globalwarming.
That is why the cumulative emissions (the total amount, as pictured here) and not yearly emissions determine the amount of #globalwarming.
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Revisiting the cry-for-help hypothesis in plant–microbe interactions #plantscience
Revisiting the cry-for-help hypothesis in plant–microbe interactions
The ‘cry-for-help hypothesis’ (CHH) is broadly used to study how root exudate modulation under stress influences recruitment of beneficial microbes in the rhizosphere. Here, we explored common misconceptions and limitations of the CHH and advocate for the reassessment of this prevalent hypothesis to unfold the ecological complexities of plant–microbe interactions.
dlvr.it
August 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Revisiting the cry-for-help hypothesis in plant–microbe interactions #plantscience
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Numerical weather prediction models (ECMWF IFS) still outperform AI weather models in forecasting record-breaking hot and cold extremes and unseen wind extremes
Preprint
arxiv.org/abs/2508.15724
with Zhongwei Zhang @erichfischer.bsky.social @zscheischlerjak.bsky.social and Sebastian Engelke
Preprint
arxiv.org/abs/2508.15724
with Zhongwei Zhang @erichfischer.bsky.social @zscheischlerjak.bsky.social and Sebastian Engelke
Numerical models outperform AI weather forecasts of record-breaking extremes
Artificial intelligence (AI)-based models are revolutionizing weather forecasting and have surpassed leading numerical weather prediction systems on various benchmark tasks. However, their ability to ...
arxiv.org
August 22, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Numerical weather prediction models (ECMWF IFS) still outperform AI weather models in forecasting record-breaking hot and cold extremes and unseen wind extremes
Preprint
arxiv.org/abs/2508.15724
with Zhongwei Zhang @erichfischer.bsky.social @zscheischlerjak.bsky.social and Sebastian Engelke
Preprint
arxiv.org/abs/2508.15724
with Zhongwei Zhang @erichfischer.bsky.social @zscheischlerjak.bsky.social and Sebastian Engelke
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Really excited to share our new paper on #causalinference & #climatechange attribution out in #EcologyLetters today!
Are you asking "how much" or "if" climate change has impacted your system, then this paper is for you!
🧪🌏🌐🍁🌺🌱🌿
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Are you asking "how much" or "if" climate change has impacted your system, then this paper is for you!
🧪🌏🌐🍁🌺🌱🌿
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Causal Inference Framework for Climate Change Attribution in Ecology
Accurately attributing ecological shifts to climate change remains a significant challenge. Here, we present an accessible causal inference framework designed for climate change attribution in observ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Really excited to share our new paper on #causalinference & #climatechange attribution out in #EcologyLetters today!
Are you asking "how much" or "if" climate change has impacted your system, then this paper is for you!
🧪🌏🌐🍁🌺🌱🌿
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Are you asking "how much" or "if" climate change has impacted your system, then this paper is for you!
🧪🌏🌐🍁🌺🌱🌿
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
Interactive Effects of Warming and Competition Do Not Limit the Adaptive Plastic Response to Drought in Populations of a Mediterranean Plant
🔗 buff.ly/mm1MHhn
@iicg-urjc.bsky.social @marinirm.bsky.social @smatesanz.bsky.social @marioblancosanchez.bsky.social @biodiversosurjc.bsky.social
🔗 buff.ly/mm1MHhn
@iicg-urjc.bsky.social @marinirm.bsky.social @smatesanz.bsky.social @marioblancosanchez.bsky.social @biodiversosurjc.bsky.social
August 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Interactive Effects of Warming and Competition Do Not Limit the Adaptive Plastic Response to Drought in Populations of a Mediterranean Plant
🔗 buff.ly/mm1MHhn
@iicg-urjc.bsky.social @marinirm.bsky.social @smatesanz.bsky.social @marioblancosanchez.bsky.social @biodiversosurjc.bsky.social
🔗 buff.ly/mm1MHhn
@iicg-urjc.bsky.social @marinirm.bsky.social @smatesanz.bsky.social @marioblancosanchez.bsky.social @biodiversosurjc.bsky.social
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
🌍 Climatic disequilibrium modulates canopy service depending on abiotic stress. Facilitation increases under harsher conditions, supporting the Stress Gradient Hypothesis when stressors act together🧪👇
Climatic disequilibrium modulates canopy service across abiotic stress gradients
buff.ly
August 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🌍 Climatic disequilibrium modulates canopy service depending on abiotic stress. Facilitation increases under harsher conditions, supporting the Stress Gradient Hypothesis when stressors act together🧪👇
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
New paper out on the dangers of using patterns across spatial climate gradients to predict what will happen with changing climate. That includes species distribution modeling. Space-for-time substitution can be misleading in sign, not just the magnitude of effects.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reconsidering space-for-time substitution in climate change ecology - Nature Climate Change
Ecologists often leverage patterns observed across spatial climate gradients to predict the impacts of climate change (space-for-time substitution). We highlight evidence that this can be misleading n...
www.nature.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:04 AM
New paper out on the dangers of using patterns across spatial climate gradients to predict what will happen with changing climate. That includes species distribution modeling. Space-for-time substitution can be misleading in sign, not just the magnitude of effects.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
A feature in Nature reports on the rising levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in rainwater and the debate about the threat it poses. 🧪
There’s a new acid in our rain — should we be worried?
Scientists and regulators are divided over the threat posed by rising levels of a chemical called TFA.
go.nature.com
July 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
A feature in Nature reports on the rising levels of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in rainwater and the debate about the threat it poses. 🧪
Reposted by Liangzhi Chen
New paper out! 📃 Enhanced structural complexity in forests has limited effects on #soil abiotic properties, but #microbial activity and biomass respond site-specifically. Soil moisture and understory growth link to microbial functions. 💧🧫🌳🍁
Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Inconsistent short-term effects of enhanced structural complexity on soil microbial properties across German forests
Structural and biotic homogenization can result from forestry practices lacking promotion of canopy gaps and deadwood. This can lead to biodiversity l…
www.sciencedirect.com
July 24, 2025 at 2:53 PM
New paper out! 📃 Enhanced structural complexity in forests has limited effects on #soil abiotic properties, but #microbial activity and biomass respond site-specifically. Soil moisture and understory growth link to microbial functions. 💧🧫🌳🍁
Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...