“The key to prediction and understanding lies in the elucidation of mechanisms underlying observed patterns. Typically, these mechanisms operate at different scales than those on which the patterns are observed.” — Levin (1992), The Problem of Pattern and Scale in Ecology, Ecology 73(6): 1943–1967
We work at the interface of plant science, ecology, Earth system science, and remote sensing. We aim to improve predictive understanding of our diverse and heterogeneous biosphere, leveraging novel ecological data sets, advanced computational tools, and theoretical analysis. Our research addresses classic questions across ecological scales: To what extent do traits determine plant performance and vital rates? What are the key dimensions of plant functional diversity? How do biodiversity and environmental heterogeneity interact to determine large-scale processes such as carbon and water cycles? We also develop novel quantitative methods to extract ecologically relevant information from multi-platform remote sensing products, particularly terrestrial lidar data.
What we do
🌳 Ecosystem modeling
Process-based models (the ED2 lineage and beyond) that scale plant physiology up to ecosystem and biosphere dynamics.
🛰️ Ecological remote sensing
Lidar, drones, and satellite products to characterize vegetation dynamics and land surface processes across spatial and temporal scales.
💻 Model–data integration
A ModEx approach that fuses field experiments, observations, and models to improve predictions and generate new hypotheses about ecosystem dynamics.
Research Projects
Current lab research revolves around Tropical forest resilience under environmental change, Forest biomass monitoring and modeling, and Mapping ponds, wetland and their ecosystem functioning supported by NSF, DOE, USDA, NY DEC, NASA, Cornell CALS, and private foundations.
Publications
(Bold names are BioM2 Lab members at the time of publication. Updated on 2026-07-19.)
2026
- Lagged climatic drivers of spongy moth (Lymantria dispar dispar) outbreaks revealed by satellite-based defoliation mapping
Cameron J. Scholl, Christine L. Goodale, Xiangtao Xu. Forest Ecology and Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123854
- Soil fertility controls on tropical forest productivity and mortality: synthesis and roadmap
Michelle Y. Wong, Sarah A. Batterman, Jane M. Lucas, Katrin Fleischer, Mark S. Ashton, Marijn Bauters, David F. R. P. Burslem, KC Cushman, James W. Dalling, Sebastian Doetterl, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Claire Fortunel, Jennifer A. Holm, Nohemi Huanca-Nunez, Guopeng Liang, Moses B. Libalah, Demetrius Lira-Martins, Jose A. Medina-Vega, Helene C. Muller-Landau, Jessica Needham, Elsa M. Ordway, Mareli Sánchez-Juliá, Laura Toro, Xiangtao Xu, S. Joseph Wright, Gabriela Zuquim, Evan M. Gora. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.71367
- Mechanisms and scales in modeling forest responses to changing disturbance regimes
Xiangtao Xu, Cameron Scholl, Yixin Ma, Evan Gora, Maria Uriarte, William R. L. Anderegg, Yanlan Liu, Tao Han, Yiqi Luo, Charles D. Koven, Winslow D. Hansen, Douglas C. Morton. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.71384
- Increasing atmospheric dryness and storms accelerates biomass turnover in Amazonian forests
Donghai Wu, Yongshi Zhou, Yanlei Feng, Evan M. Gora, Marcos Longo, Robinson I. Negrón-Juárez, Sassan S. Saatchi, Yanlan Liu, Yixin Ma, Douglas C. Morton, Nate G. McDowell, Yiqi Luo, Xiangtao Xu. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/s41558-026-02639-4
- Amazon rainforests are rejuvenating their canopies by producing more photosynthetically efficient young leaves under climate change
Xueqin Yang, Jie Tian, Philippe Ciais, Liming Zhou, Peter B. Reich, Jin Wu, Jiali Shang, Jérôme Chave, Julien Lamour, Isabelle Maréchaux, Yongshuo H. Fu, Jing Ming Chen, Jane Liu, Shengli Tao, Xiangming Xiao, Xiangtao Xu, Yongxian Su, Haicheng Zhang, Zaichun Zhu, Yao Zhang, Dalei Hao, Lei Chen, Qiang Liu, Raffaele Lafortezza, Kai Yan, Peng Li, Xing Li, Patrick Meir, Hui Liu, Damien Bonal, Bruce W. Nelson, Hao Tang, Jingrui Wang, Kailiang Yu, Wenping Yuan, Shuo Wang, Xiuzhi Chen. Nature Plants. DOI: 10.1038/s41477-026-02240-9
- Taller Trees Experienced Less Crown Damage During a Severe Hurricane in a Tropical Forest
Tao Han, António Ferraz, Dingyi Fang, Tian Zheng, Roi Ankori‐Karlinsky, Gabriel Arellano, Douglas Morton, Jess K. Zimmerman, Michael Keller, María Uriarte, Xiangtao Xu. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.70709
2025
- Spatial patterns and future potential of tree species richness and structural diversity in China’s forests
Changjin Cheng, Guoyi Zhou, Xuli Tang, Shaopeng Wang, Yanjun Su, Jin Wu, Xiangtao Xu, Wenfang Xu, Fangmei Lin, Yongshi Zhou, Genxu Wang, Junhua Yan, Keping Ma, Sheng Du, Shenggong Li, Shijie Han, Youxin Ma, Juxiu Liu, Donghai Wu. Nature Ecology & Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02922-1
- Aligning satellite-based phenology in a deep learning model for improved crop yield estimates over large regions
Jiaying Zhang, Kaiyu Guan, Zhangliang Chen, James Hipple, Yizhi Huang, Bin Peng, Sibo Wang, Xiangtao Xu, Zhenong Jin, Kejie Zhao, Maxwell Jong. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110675
- Increasing constraint of aridity on tree intrinsic water use efficiency
Mengjie Wang, Shushi Peng, Zihan Lu, Xiangtao Xu, Andrew Felton, Anping Chen. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62845-0
- Trait‐Based Tree Mortality Risk Assessment From the Perspective of Imaging Spectroscopy
Meicheng Shen, Kyla Dahlin, Xiangtao Xu, Zachary Butterfield. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.70337
- Large CO2 removal potential of woody debris preservation in managed forests
Yiqi Luo, Ning Wei, Xingjie Lu, Yu Zhou, Feng Tao, Quan Quan, Cuijuan Liao, Lifen Jiang, Jianyang Xia, Yuanyuan Huang, Shuli Niu, Xiangtao Xu, Ying Sun, Ning Zeng, Charles Koven, Liqing Peng, Steve Davis, Pete Smith, Fengqi You, Yu Jiang, Lailiang Cheng, Benjamin Houlton. Nature Geoscience (see correction). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-025-01731-2
- SIF research in the tropics: the overlooked vertical dimension and its implications for interpretation and upscaling of photosynthesis
Ying Sun, Xiangtao Xu, Yixin Ma. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.70299
- Constraining Light‐Driven Plasticity in Leaf Traits With Observations Improves the Prediction of Tropical Forest Demography, Structure, and Biomass Dynamics
Yixin Ma, Paul R. Moorcroft, S. Joseph Wright, Alistair Rogers, Julien Lamour, Kenneth J. Davidson, Shawn P. Serbin, Matteo Detto, Xiangtao Xu. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. DOI: 10.1029/2025jg008814
- Degradation and deforestation increase the sensitivity of the Amazon Forest to climate extremes
Marcos Longo, Michael Keller, Lara M Kueppers, Kevin W Bowman, Ovidiu Csillik, António Ferraz, Paul R Moorcroft, Jean Pierre Ometto, Britaldo S Soares-Filho, Xiangtao Xu, Mauro L R de Assis, Eric B Görgens, Erik J L Larson, Jessica F Needham, Elsa M Ordway, Francisca R S Pereira, Ekena Rangel Pinagé, Luciane Sato, Liang Xu, Sassan Saatchi. Environmental Research Letters. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adc58c
- A Unified Framework to Reconcile Different Approaches of Modeling Transpiration Response to Water Stress: Plant Hydraulics, Supply Demand Balance, and Empirical Soil Water Stress Function
Yi Yang, Kaiyu Guan, Bin Peng, Xue Feng, Xiangtao Xu, Ming Pan, Brandon P. Sloan, Jingwen Zhang, Wang Zhou, Lingcheng Li, Murugesu Sivapalan, Elizabeth A. Ainsworth, Kimberly A. Novick, Zong‐Liang Yang, Sheng Wang. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems. DOI: 10.1029/2023ms003911
- The Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission (SWOT) Prior Lake Database (PLD): Lake Mask and Operational Auxiliaries
Jida Wang, Claire Pottier, Cécile Cazals, Marjorie Battude, Yongwei Sheng, Chunqiao Song, Md Safat Sikder, Xiao Yang, Linghong Ke, Manon Delhoume, Marielle Gosset, Rafael Reis Alencar Oliveira, Manuela Grippa, Félix Girard, George H. Allen, Xiangtao Xu, Xiaolin Zhu, Sylvain Biancamaria, Laurence C. Smith, Jean‐François Crétaux, Tamlin M. Pavelsky. Water Resources Research. DOI: 10.1029/2023wr036896
- Trade‐off between spring phenological sensitivities to temperature and precipitation across species and space in alpine grasslands over the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau
Xiaoting Li, Wei Guo, Hao He, Hao Wang, Aimée Classen, Donghai Wu, Yixin Ma, Yunqiang Wang, Jin‐Sheng He, Xiangtao Xu. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.70008
- Towards sustainable aquaculture in the Amazon
Felipe S. Pacheco, Sebastian A. Heilpern, Claire DiLeo, Rafael M. Almeida, Suresh A. Sethi, Marcela Miranda, Nicholas Ray, Nathan O. Barros, Jucilene Cavali, Carolina Costa, Carolina R. Doria, Joshua Fan, Kathryn J. Fiorella, Bruce R. Forsberg, Marcelo Gomes, Laura Greenstreet, Meredith Holgerson, David McGrath, Peter B. McIntyre, Patricia Moraes-Valenti, Ilce Oliveira, Jean P. H. B. Ometto, Fabio Roland, Adry Trindade, Marta E. Ummus, Wagner C. Valenti, Xiangtao Xu, Carla P. Gomes, Alexander S. Flecker. Nature Sustainability. DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01500-w
2024
- Inventorying ponds through novel size-adaptive object mapping using Sentinel-1/2 time series
Denghong Liu, Xiaolin Zhu, Meredith Holgerson, Sheel Bansal, Xiangtao Xu. Remote Sensing of Environment. DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2024.114484
- Estimating merchantable and non-merchantable wood volume in slash walls using terrestrial and airborne LiDAR
Nicholas Cranmer, Tao Han, Brett Chedzoy, Peter J. Smallidge, Colin Beier, Lucas Johnson, Xiangtao Xu. Forest Ecology and Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122211
- Two sub‐annual timescales and coupling modes for terrestrial water and carbon cycles
Daniel J. Short Gianotti, Kaighin A. McColl, Andrew F. Feldman, Xiangtao Xu, Dara Entekhabi. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17463
- AppleQSM: Geometry-Based 3D Characterization of Apple Tree Architecture in Orchards
Tian Qiu, Tao Wang, Tao Han, Kaspar Kuehn, Lailiang Cheng, Cheng Meng, Xiangtao Xu, Kenong Xu, Jiang Yu. Plant Phenomics. DOI: 10.34133/plantphenomics.0179
- Global photosynthetic capacity jointly determined by enzyme kinetics and eco-evo-environmental drivers
Zhengbing Yan, Matteo Detto, Zhengfei Guo, Nicholas G. Smith, Han Wang, Loren P. Albert, Xiangtao Xu, Ziyu Lin, Shuwen Liu, Yingyi Zhao, Shuli Chen, Timothy C. Bonebrake, Jin Wu. Fundamental Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.fmre.2023.12.011
- Constraining long‐term model predictions for woody growth using tropical tree rings
Xiangtao Xu, Peter van der Sleen, Peter Groenendijk, Mart Vlam, David Medvigy, Paul Moorcroft, Daniel Petticord, Yixin Ma, Pieter A. Zuidema. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17075
2023
- Observed impacts of large wind farms on grassland carbon cycling
Donghai Wu, Steven M. Grodsky, Wenfang Xu, Naijing Liu, Rafael M. Almeida, Liming Zhou, Lee M. Miller, Somnath Baidya Roy, Geng Xia, Anurag A. Agrawal, Benjamin Z. Houlton, Alexander S. Flecker, Xiangtao Xu. Science Bulletin. DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2023.10.016
- Exploring the impacts of unprecedented climate extremes on forest ecosystems: hypotheses to guide modeling and experimental studies
Jennifer A. Holm, David M. Medvigy, Benjamin Smith, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Claus Beier, Mikhail Mishurov, Xiangtao Xu, Jeremy W. Lichstein, Craig D. Allen, Klaus S. Larsen, Yiqi Luo, Cari Ficken, William T. Pockman, William R. L. Anderegg, Anja Rammig. Biogeosciences. DOI: 10.5194/bg-20-2117-2023
- Leaf angle as a leaf and canopy trait: Rejuvenating its role in ecology with new technology
Xi Yang, Rong Li, Andrew Jablonski, Atticus Stovall, Jongmin Kim, Koong Yi, Yixin Ma, Daniel Beverly, Richard Phillips, Kim Novick, Xiangtao Xu, Manuel Lerdau. Ecology Letters. DOI: 10.1111/ele.14215
- Leaf economics fundamentals explained by optimality principles
Han Wang, I. Colin Prentice, Ian J. Wright, David I. Warton, Shengchao Qiao, Xiangtao Xu, Jian Zhou, Kihachiro Kikuzawa, Nils Chr. Stenseth. Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add5667
2022
- Reduced ecosystem resilience quantifies fine‐scale heterogeneity in tropical forest mortality responses to drought
Donghai Wu, German Vargas G., Jennifer S. Powers, Nate G. McDowell, Justin M. Becknell, Daniel Pérez‐Aviles, David Medvigy, Yanlan Liu, Gabriel G. Katul, Julio César Calvo‐Alvarado, Ana Calvo‐Obando, Arturo Sanchez‐Azofeifa, Xiangtao Xu. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16046
2021
- Plant input does not exert stronger control on topsoil carbon persistence than climate in alpine grasslands
Donghai Wu, Xiangtao Xu, Haicheng Zhang. Ecology Letters. DOI: 10.1111/ele.13879
- Detecting forest response to droughts with global observations of vegetation water content
Alexandra G. Konings, Sassan S. Saatchi, Christian Frankenberg, Michael Keller, Victor Leshyk, William R. L. Anderegg, Vincent Humphrey, Ashley M. Matheny, Anna Trugman, Lawren Sack, Elizabeth Agee, Mallory L. Barnes, Oliver Binks, Kerry Cawse‐Nicholson, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Dara Entekhabi, Pierre Gentine, Nataniel M. Holtzman, Gabriel G. Katul, Yanlan Liu, Marcos Longo, Jordi Martinez‐Vilalta, Nate McDowell, Patrick Meir, Maurizio Mencuccini, Assaad Mrad, Kimberly A. Novick, Rafael S. Oliveira, Paul Siqueira, Susan C. Steele‐Dunne, David R. Thompson, Yujie Wang, Richard Wehr, Jeffrey D. Wood, Xiangtao Xu, Pieter A. Zuidema. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15872
- Natural experiments and long-term monitoring are critical to understand and predict marine host–microbe ecology and evolution
Matthieu Leray, Laetitia G. E. Wilkins, Amy Apprill, Holly M. Bik, Friederike Clever, Sean R. Connolly, Marina E. De León, J. Emmett Duffy, Leïla Ezzat, Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Edward Allen Herre, Jonathan Z. Kaye, David I. Kline, Jordan G. Kueneman, Melissa K. McCormick, W. Owen McMillan, Aaron O’Dea, Tiago J. Pereira, Jillian M. Petersen, Daniel F. Petticord, Mark E. Torchin, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Elin Videvall, William T. Wcislo, Benedict Yuen, Jonathan A. Eisen. PLOS Biology. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001322
- Leaf surface water, not plant water stress, drives diurnal variation in tropical forest canopy water content
Xiangtao Xu, Alexandra G. Konings, Marcos Longo, Andrew Feldman, Liang Xu, Sassan Saatchi, Donghai Wu, Jin Wu, Paul Moorcroft. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.17254
- Recovery: Fast and Slow—Vegetation Response During the 2012–2016 California Drought
Xi Yang, Xiangtao Xu, Atticus Stovall, Min Chen, Jung‐Eun Lee. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. DOI: 10.1029/2020JG005976
- Unraveling the relative role of light and water competition between lianas and trees in tropical forests: A vegetation model analysis
Félicien Meunier, Hans Verbeeck, Betsy Cowdery, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Chris M. Smith‐Martin, Jennifer S. Powers, Xiangtao Xu, Martijn Slot, Hannes P. T. De Deurwaerder, Matteo Detto, Damien Bonal, Marcos Longo, Louis S. Santiago, Michael Dietze. Journal of Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13540
- Monitoring tree-crown scale autumn leaf phenology in a temperate forest with an integration of PlanetScope and drone remote sensing observations
Shengbiao Wu, Jing Wang, Zhengbing Yan, Guangqin Song, Yang Chen, Qin Ma, Meifeng Deng, Yuntao Wu, Yingyi Zhao, Zhengfei Guo, Zuoqiang Yuan, Guanhua Dai, Xiangtao Xu, Xi Yang, Yanjun Su, Lingli Liu, Jin Wu. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. DOI: 10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2020.10.017
- Trait-Based Modeling of Terrestrial Ecosystems: Advances and Challenges Under Global Change
Xiangtao Xu, Anna T. Trugman. Current Climate Change Reports. DOI: 10.1007/s40641-020-00168-6
2020
- Accelerated terrestrial ecosystem carbon turnover and its drivers
Donghai Wu, Shilong Piao, Dan Zhu, Xuhui Wang, Philippe Ciais, Ana Bastos, Xiangtao Xu, Wenfang Xu. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15224
- Optimal leaf life strategies determine Vc,max dynamic during ontogeny
Matteo Detto, Xiangtao Xu. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.16712
- A catastrophic tropical drought kills hydraulically vulnerable tree species
Jennifer S. Powers, German Vargas G., Timothy J. Brodribb, Naomi B. Schwartz, Daniel Pérez‐Aviles, Chris M. Smith‐Martin, Justin M. Becknell, Filippo Aureli, Roger Blanco, Erick Calderón‐Morales, Julio C. Calvo‐Alvarado, Ana Julieta Calvo‐Obando, María Marta Chavarría, Dorian Carvajal‐Vanegas, César D. Jiménez‐Rodríguez, Evin Murillo Chacon, Colleen M. Schaffner, Leland K. Werden, Xiangtao Xu, David Medvigy. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15037
- Allometric scaling laws linking biomass and rooting depth vary across ontogeny and functional groups in tropical dry forest lianas and trees
Chris M. Smith‐Martin, Xiangtao Xu, David Medvigy, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Jennifer S. Powers. New Phytologist. DOI: 10.1111/nph.16275