The research of our group concerns five interrelated themes:

(i) Integrated biodiversity conservation into agriculture. This work focus on positive interactions between species can be integrated into modern agriculture to achieve sustainability. We also focus on Globally Important Agriculture Heritage System (GIAHS), and seek to understand the ecological legacy behind the GIAHS.

(ii) Plant-plant, plant- mycorrhizal fungal interactions. We examine symbiosis between plant and arbuscular fungi. We are interested in understanding how mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi interact with host plants, in particular, modulate the interactions among coexisting plant species

Selected publications

Jing Xu, Shijun Liu, Shurui Song, Hanling Guo, Jianjun Tang, Jean W. H. Yong, Yuandan Ma, Xin Chen* Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence decomposition and the associated soil microbial community under different soil phosphorus availability. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2018, Volume 120, May 2018, Pages 181-190

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038071718300440

Weizheng Ren, Liangliang Hu, Liang Guo, Jian Zhang, Lu Tang, Entao Zhang, Jiaen Zhang, Shiming Luo, Jianjun Tang*, Xin Chen*. Preservation of the genetic diversity of a local common carp in the agricultural heritage rice–fish system. PNAS, 2018,115（3）：E546-554. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/01/01/1709582115.full.pdf

 Xie, J, Hu LL, Tang JJ, Wu X, Li  NN, Yuan YG, Yang HS, ZHang JE, Luo SM, Chen X*. Ecological mechanisms underlying the sustainability of the agricultural heritage rice-fish co-culture system. PNAS (美国科学院院报)，2011，108（50）：E1381-1387 (SCI IF 10.591).封面论文. "Research Highlight" in Nature (Nature , 2011, 479:448-449); Commentary in PNAS (PNAS, 2011, 108(50):19841-19842)

Wenzheng Ren⁺, Liangliang Hu⁺, Jian Zhang⁺, Cuiping Sun, Jianjun Tang, Yongge Yuan, Xin Chen*.Can positive interactions between cultivated species help to sustain modern agriculture? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2014, 12(9): 507–514, doi: 10.1890/130162.)

HaishuiYang,QianZhang,RogerT Koide, Jason D. Hoeksema, Jianjun Tang Koid, Xinmin Bian, Shuijin Hu*, Xin Chen*  Taxonomic resolution is a determinant of biodiversity effects in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. Journal of Ecology,  2017 , 105 (1)

Liangliang Hu^+,1, Jian Zhang^+,1, Weizheng Ren^+,1, Liang Guo¹, Yongxu Cheng², Jiayao Li², Kexin Li³, Zewen Zhu³, Jiaen Zhang⁴, Shiming Luo⁴, Lei Cheng¹, Jianjun Tang^1*, and Xin Chen^1* Can the co-cultivation of rice and fish help sustain rice production? Scientific Reports，2016，doi:10.1038/srep28728（http://www.nature.com/articles/srep28728）

Jian Zhang, Liangliang Hu, Weizheng Ren, Liang Guo, Jianjun Tang, Miaoan Shu, Xin Chen^* Rice-soft shell turtle coculture effects on yield and its environment. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2016, 224, 116-122. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.03.045) 

Lei He, Lulu Cheng, Liangliang Hu, Jianjun Tang*, and Xin Chen* Deviation from niche optima affects the nature of plant-plant interactions along a soil acidity gradient. Biology Letters, 2016 online (http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0925). IF 3.640.