Affiliation: Northeast Agricultural University

Dr. Zhang's research explores the spatiotemporal interactions between soil plastics/microplastics, soil nutrients, soil erosion, and biodiversity in agricultural fields at a range of scales. In particular he is focusing on questions of (1) how these interactions between soil nutrients, microplastics and biodiversity drive the succession of agricultural ecosystems, and how this knowledge can be used to restore agricultural ecosystems; (2) how do plastics get distributed in agricultural ecosystems, and how can we increase the efficiency of plastic degradation in agricultural soils. He has explored simple methods for the extraction and identification of light density microplastics from soil (STOTEN, 2018, 616–617, ESI), detected the movements, degradation, and distribution of microplastics in Mollisols, and reviewed the analytical methods, distribution, and biological effects of microplastics in terrestrial and marine ecosystems (TREND ANAL CHEM, 111, 2019, 62-72, ESI; JHM 2020, 124525). He received his PhD in Ecology from the Northeast institute of geography and agroecology, CAS, and is currently a full professor in the College of Resources and Environment, Northeast Agricultural University.