Novel Interactions in Changing Ecosystems
- 09 September 2026: Liu L#, Oduor A#, Zhao C, Gao F, Chen K, Guo K, Liu Y*. (2026) Plant invasion through the lens of community assembly: Integrating traits, multitrophic interactions, and environmental change. Journal of Plant Ecology, Accepted.
- 09 September 2026: My first solo-authored paper has been accepted in Functional Ecology. "Liu Y* (2026) Beyond observed diversity: community completeness negatively affects ecosystem invasibility across scales. Functional Ecology, Accepted."
- 28 August 2026: Congratulations to Dr. Kun Guo and Dr. Huifei Jin on being awarded NSFC funding!
- 18 August 2026: Zhang H, Oduor A, Xiao L*, Liu Y* (2026) Artificial light at night and nutrient enrichment synergistically promote non-native plant invasions, independent of native diversity. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Accepted.
- 09 July 2026: Cheng C, Liu Y, Wu J*, van Kleunen M (2026) Plant-soil feedbacks benefit plant invaders under multiple global change factors. National Science Review, In Press.
- 02 June 2026: Liu Y*, Oduor A (2026) Plant invasions and their impacts under global environmental changes. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Accepted.
- 13 May 2026: Benedikt B*, Liu Y, van Kleunen M (2026) Interactive effects of microplastics and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on grassland communities. Plants, People, Planet, Accepted.
- 30 April 2026: The fifth Ecology paper in my group was accepted. "Xue J, Oduor A, Li H, Li F, Liu Y* (2026) Artificial light at night and an invasive snail synergistically enhance the invasion of an invasive macrophyte. Ecology, Accepted."
- 03 April 2026: The fourth Ecology paper in my group was accepted. "Li G, Liu YZ, Oduor A, Zhang L, Liu Y* (2026) Growing and non-growing season warming affect invasive plant growth via soil legacy effects. Ecology, Accepted."
- 16 February 2026: I am happy to share that I have taken on the role of Editor-in-Chief for Oecologia.
- 09 Januray 2026: Wang L, Oduor A, Liu Y* (2026) Elevated ozone mitigates the negative impact of herbivory on the growth of invasive plant species. Oikos, Accepted.
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- 04 December 2025: I'm thrilled to share that I've been selected as a Fellow of the British Ecological Society—a great personal honor. This recognition truly reflects our collective efforts. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the lab members and to the institute for their continuous support of my work.
- 29 August 2025: Xiao L, Wang S, Oduor A, Wang Z, Zhang H, Liu Y* (2025) Artificial light at night advances reproductive phenology and reduces reproductive capacity of a wild plant. Biological Conservation, Accepted.
- 27 August 2025: Two NSFC projects in my lab, one for Dr. Lu Xiao and another for Dr. Siqiao Liu, have been funded! Congratulatons!!!
- 10 July 2025: Wang J, Liu YX, Oduor A, van Kleunen M, Liu Y* (2025) Diversity and productivity of a natural grassland decline with the number of simultaneously acting global change factors. Journal of Plant Ecology, Accepted.
- 13 June 2025: Shi X, van Kleunen M, Liu Y* (2025) Plant invasions under multiple global change factors. Trends in Plant Science, Accepted.
- 29 April 2025: Jin H, Oduor A, Zhang S*, Liu Y* (2025) Nutrient enrichment and interspecific competition modulate growth performance of invasive plant species regardless of nematodes. Journal of Plant Ecology, Accepted.
- 27 April 2025: Xiao L, Zhang H, Oduor A, Liu Y* (2025) Artificial nighttime lighting and herbivory interactively reduce the biomass production of invasive plants while enhancing that of native plants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Accepted.
- 01 March 2025: Weclome Dr. Kun Guo and Dr. Siqiao Liu to joint our group.
- 24 Feburay 2025: The second TREE paper of my lab has been accepted! "Huang Q, van Kleunen M, Liu Y* (2025) Plant invasion resistance due to two-dimensional native diversity. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Accepted".
- 12 Feburay 2025: Shan L, Oduor A, Liu Y* (2025) Water regime and nitrogen enrichment facilitate the encroachment of woody plants at various developmental stages in freshwater marshes. Journal of Ecology, Accepted.
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- 21 December 2024: Shi X, Liu Y*, van Kleunen M (2024) Additive effects of multiple global change factors on plant invasions are common. Ecology Letters, Accepted.
- 06 November 2024: Oduor A, van Kleunen M, Liu Y* (2024) Investigating the drivers of negative diversity-invasibility relationship: the role of nutrient availability, allelopathy, soil biota, and soil legacy effects. Fundamental Research, Accepted.
- 23 August 2024: Two projects in my lab, one for Dr. Hongxiang Zhang and another for myself, have been funded by NSFC! Great new!!!
- 08 August 2024: Fu Y, Oduor A, Jiang M*, Liu Y* (2024) Soil biota modulate the effects of microplastics on biomass and diversity of plant communities. Journal of Applied Ecology, Accepted. --- This is our third paper on the topic microplastic pollution effects on ecosystem.
- 27 June 2024: Oduor A#, Yu H#, Liu Y* (2024) Invasive plant species support each other’s growth in low-nutrient conditions but compete when nutrients are abundant. Ecology, Accepted. --- This is our third paper published in Ecology.
- 04 June 2024: Wang L, Oduor A, Liu Y* (2024) A native herbaceous community exerts a stronger allelopathic effect on the woody range-expander Betula fruticosa. Journal of Plant Ecology, Accepted.
- 30 May 2024: Exciting update! I have been awarded the International Ecology Award by ESA.
- 08 May 2024: I am pleased to announce that my first forum paper was accepted in TREE: Liu Y*, Heinen R (2024) Plant invasions under artificial light at night. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Accepted.
- 22 March 2024: Fu Y, van Kleunen M, Ma K, Liu Y* (2024) The more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants. Journal of Ecology, Accepted.
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- 13 November 2023: Ma K, Fu Y*, Liu Y* (2023) The effects of microplastics on crop vary depending on the polymer types and their interaction with soil nutrient availability and weed competition. Plant Biology, Accepted.
- 21 September 2023: Congratulations to my first Chinese postdoc, Dr. Liping Shan, on having her second paper accepted by Global Change Biology. ------"Shan L, Oduor A, Liu Y* (2023) Herbivory and elevated levels of CO2 and nutrients separately, rather than synergistically, impact biomass production and allocation in invasive and native plants. Global Change Biology, Accepted."
- 25 August 2023: I am pleased to announce that my project has been funded by NSFC. A great news for my lab!
- 23 August 2023: Zhang X, Zhang T, Liu Y* (2023) Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant invasion success driven by nitrogen fluctuations. Journal of Applied Ecology, Accepted.
- 02 August 2023: Zeng J, Liu Y*, van Kleunen M (2023) Widely naturalized species are not more promiscuous in the use of different nitrogen forms, but benefit more from inorganic nitrogen. Biological Invasions, Accepted.
- 19 July 2023: Zhang X, van Kleunen M, Chang C, Liu Y* (2023) Soil microbes mediate the effects of environmental variability on plant invasion. Ecology, Accepted.
- 11 May 2023: Dr. Yanjie Liu has officially joined the Editorial Board of Journal of Ecology.
- 24 January 2023: Dr. Yanjie Liu has officially jointed the Editorial Board of Ecology, and will serve as a Subject-matter Editor for three years.
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- 2 Decmber 2022: Zhang X, Oduor A, Liu Y (2022) Invasive plants have greater growth than co-occurring natives in live soil subjected to a drought-rewetting treatment. Functional Ecology, accepted.
- 29 November 2022: Dr. Ali Omer has successfully obtained the funding from Postdoctoral International Exchange Program for Incoming Postdoctoral Students, and will join our group as a Postdoc researcher in May 2023.
- 21 November 2022: Weclome Dr. Yingchun Pei, who has jointed our group as Postdoc researcher, focusing on the role of plant-AMF interaction on plant invasion.
- 21 October 2022: One Chinese review paper has been accpeted in Biodiversity Science. (刘艳杰,黄伟,杨强,郑玉龙,黎绍鹏,吴昊,鞠瑞亭,孙燕,丁建清. (2022) 近10年植物入侵生态学重要研究进展. 生物多样性, 已接收]
- 14 October 2022: van Kleunen M (2022) Increases in multiple resources promote competitive ability of naturalized non-native plants. Communications Biology, accepted.
- 09 September 2022: Congratulations to Dr. Liping Shan, Dr. Yanmei Fu, Dr. Lu Xiao, Dr. Meng Hou, whoes projects are funded by NSFC. A real career milestone for them!!!
- 08 September 2022: Zhang Z, Pan M, Zhang X, Liu Y* (2022) Responses of invasive and native plants to different phosphorus availability and forms. American Journal of Botany, Accepted.
- 25 August 2022: Congratulations to Dr. Liping Shan, whose first manuscript in my lab was accepted by Ecological Applications.
(Shan L, Oduor A, Huang W, Liu Y*. 2022. Increase in nutrient availability promotes success of invasive plants through increasing growth and decreasing anti-herbivory defenses, Ecological Applications)
- 08 June 2022: Jin H#, Chang L#, van Kleunen M, Liu Y*. 2022. Soil fauna may buffer the negative effects of drought on alien plant invasion. Journal of Ecology, Accepted.
- 03 March 2022: Congratulations to Yimin Yan, whose manuscript was accepted by Ecological Applications.
(Yan Y#, Oduor A#, Li F, Xie Y, Liu Y*. 2022. Opposite effects of nutrient enrichment and herbivory by an alien snail on growth of an invasive macrophyte and native macrophytes, Ecological Applications)
- 04 February 2022: Our second light pollution experiment was accepted by Global Change Biology, thank all collaborators very much for their valuable contribution!
(Liu Y*, B, Knop E, van Kleunen M. 2022. Matthew effect: common species become more common and rare ones become more rare in response to artificial light at night, Global Change Biology)
- 30 Januray 2022: Congratulations to Yanjun Li, whose manuscript was accepted by Functional Ecology.
(Li Y, Gao Y, van Kleunen M, Liu Y*. 2022. Herbivory may mediate the effects of nutrients on the dominance of alien plants.
Functional Ecology).
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- 15 November 2021: Wang L, Li Y*, Liu Y (2021) Invasive herbaceous respond more negatively to elevated ozone concentration than native species, Diversity and Distributions, Accepted. Congratulations to Mr. Lichao Wang!!
- 27 Auguest 2021: Congratulations to Zhengkuang Lu, whose first paper was accepted by Journal of Plant Ecology (Lu Z, Zhang X, Zhang H, Liu Y. 2021. Native woody legumes respond more negatively to extreme drought than invasive ones, Journal of Plant Ecology)
- 23 June 2021: Ms. Yan Zheng, Ms. Jiating Yang, Mr. Haoran Bai has jointed our group as Master students. Welcome!
- 23 June 2021: Weclome Ms Shuo Wang, who has jointed our group as Reserach Assistant and will focus on the potential light pollution effects on plants.
- 18 June 2021: Dr. Meng Hou has jointed our group as a Postdoc researcher. Welcome!!!
- 11 June 2021: We welcome Dr. Lu Xiao, who has jointed our group as an Research Associate.
- 04 February 2021: Liu Y, Oduor A, Dai Z, Gao F, Li J, Zhang X, Yu F* (2021) Suppression of a plant hormone gibberellin reduces growth of invasive plants more than native plants, Oikos, Accepted.
- 21 Januray 2021: Congratulations to Benedikt, whoes Bachelor Thesis was finially published on Journal of Ecology!
Speisser B, Liu Y*, van Kleunen M (2021) Biomass responses of widely and less-widely naturalized alien plants to artificial light at night, Journal of Ecology, Accepted.
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- 17 December 2020: Congratulations to Dr. Hongxiang Zhang on her promotion to full professor!!!
- 04 November 2020: Dr. Yanjie Liu accepted the invitation from BES, and will serve as an Associate Editor for Journal of Applied Ecology.
- 27 September 2020: Also collaborating with Dr. Zhijie Zhang, our third paper (Effect of allelopathy on plant performance: a meta-analysis) was accepted by Ecology Letters! All of us are happy with the productive collaboration, and we believe that more manuscripts will be out from collaborations in future.
- 25 August 2020: Collaborating with Dr. Zhijie Zhang from University of Konstanz, our second paper (Soil-microorganism-mediated invasional meltdown in plants) was officially accepted by Nature Ecology & Evolution!
- 14 July, 2020: Zhang Z, Liu Y*, Brunel C, van Kleunen M (2020) Evidence for Elton's diversity-invasibility hypothesis from belowground. Ecology, Accepted!
- 03 July, 2020: Congratulations to Ms. Xue Zhang, who has been accepted as a PhD student in our group.
- 20 June, 2020: We welcome Mr. Lichao Wang, Ms. Huifei Jin, and Ms. Xiaoqing Zhang, who have jointed our group as an Research Assistant.
- 12 June, 2020: Congratulations to Dr. Yanmei Fu and Dr. Chunling Chang, who will join our lab as Research Associates soon.
- 21 May, 2020: Congratulations to Mr. Zaixing Ma and Mr. Kai Ma, who have been accepted as Master students in our group.
- 06 Januray, 2020: Liu M, Li H, Song J, Song M, Qiao N, Tian Y, Liu Y, Niu H (2020) Interactions between intercropped Avena sativa and Agropyron cristatum for nitrogen uptake. Plant and Soil, Online. doi:10.1007/s11104-019-04389-z.
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- 18 October, 2019: Qi S, Liu Y, Dai Z, Wan L, Du D, Ju R, Wan J, Bonser S (2019) Allelopathy confers higher resistance in an invasive Wedelia to generalist herbivore and pathogen enemies compared to its native congener. Oecologia, Accepted.
- 17 July, 2019: Zhang X, Dai Z, Gao F, Du D, Liu Y (2019) The role of long-distance dispersal and mycorrhizas on plant colonisation within mainland Germany. Flora, Accepted.
- 11 July, 2019: We welcome Dr. Liping Shan, who has jointed our group as an Research Associate.
- 10 July, 2019: Dr. Yanjie Liu accepted the appointment from Wiley, and will serve as Subject Editor for Oikos.
- 1 July, 2019: Ms. Yi Peng has joined our group as the secretary to the Plant Ecology group.
- 5 June, 2019: Dr. Yanjie Liu accepted the appointment from Springer Nature, and will serve as Handling Editor for Oecologia.
- 19 April, 2019: Dr. Hongxiang Zhang has joined our group as an associate professor, welcome!
- 12 January, 2019: Y Liu & M van Kleunen. (2019) Nitrogen acquisition of Central European herbaceous plants that differ in their global naturalization success. Functional Ecology, accepted!
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