Xin Zhang is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The goal of Xin’s current research is to evaluate how socioeconomic and biogeochemical processes affect the global nutrient cycle and, in turn, provide policy input on mitigating nutrient pollution while meeting global food and biofuel demands. Xin’s research approaches are from both natural science, including the Earth System Model and atmospheric measurements, and social science, such as econometrics analysis. Collaborating closely with economists, modelers, and field experimentalists from US (e.g., Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory), France (e.g., CIRED laboratory), and China (e.g., China Agricultural University), Xin has published papers on various peer-reviewed journals, including Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and have received research grants from multiple institutions, including National Science Foundation.
Xin received a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.S. in Computer Science from Ocean University of China (OUC), an M.A. in Environmental Science from Peking University (2007), and a Ph.D. from Yale University (2012). In addition to the academic education, she has completed internships and projects at various national and international organizations, including the United Nations and China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Announcement (07/20/2018): I am organizing a new Session for 2018 AGU Fall Meeting and a special issue for Global Biogeochemical Cycles on “Quantifying Nutrient Budgets for Sustainable Nutrient Management”. Please consider submitting your work to both opportunities. More details
Selected Publications
– X Zhang (2017) A plan for efficient use of nitrogen fertilizers, Nature, 543:322-323. link
– X Zhang, EA Davidson, DL Mauzerall, TD Searchinger, P Dumas, Y Shen (2015) Managing Nitrogen for Sustainable Development, Nature, 528:51-59, doi: 10.1038/nature15743. link
– D Kanter, X Zhang, DL Mauzerall, S Malyshev, E Shevliakova (accepted) The importance of climate change and nitrogen use efficiency for future nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture, Environmental Research Letters.
– X Zhang, DL Mauzerall, EA Davidson, DR Kanter, RH Cai (2015) The economic and environmental consequences of implementing nitrogen-efficient technologies and management practices in agriculture, Journal of Environmental Quality, doi:10.2134/jeq2014.03.0129. preprint Supplementary Materials
– X Zhang, XH Lee, TJ Griffis, JM Baker, W Xiao (2014) Estimating regional greenhouse gas fluxes: An uncertainty analysis of planetary boundary layer techniques and bottom-up inventories, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 14: 10705–10719, doi:10.5194/acp-14-10705-2014. reprint
– DR Kanter, X Zhang, DL Mauzerall (2014) Reducing nitrogen pollution while decreasing farmers’ costs and increasing fertilizer industry profits, Journal of Environmental Quality, doi:10.2134/jeq2014.04.0173. preprint
– M Kang, C Kanno, M Reid, X Zhang, DL Mauzerall, M Celia, Y Chen, TC Onstott (2014) Direct measurements of methane emissions from abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi:10.1073/pnas.1408315111.
– X Zhang, XH Lee, TJ Griffis, JM Baker, M Erickson, J Fasbinder, W Xiao, N Hu (2014) Quantifying nitrous oxide fluxes on multiple spatial scales in the Upper Midwest, USA, International Journal of Biometeorology, doi:10.1007/s00484-014-0842-4. reprint
– RH Cai, X Zhang, DR Kanter (2014) The impact of crop price on nitrous oxide emissions: A dynamic programming approach, An Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) selected paper accepted for presentation at AAEA Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, July 27-29, 2014. preprint
– X Zhang, XH Lee, TJ Griffis, JM Baker, MD Erickson, W Xiao, N Hu (2013) The influence of plants on atmospheric methane in an agriculture-dominated landscape, International Journal of Biometeorology, doi: 10.1007/s00484-013-0662-y. reprint
– X Zhang (2013) Improving regional-scale greenhouse gas inventories in an agriculture-dominated landscape using a multi-scale approach. PhD Dissertation, Yale University. preprint
– TJ Griffis, XH Lee, JM Baker, MP Russelle, X Zhang, R Venterea, DB Millet (2013) Reconciling the differences between top-down and bottom-up estimates of nitrous oxide emissions for the US Corn Belt, Global biogeochemical cycles, doi: 10.1002/gbc.20066. reprint
– X Zhang, Y Zhao, MS Ashton, XH Lee (2012) Measuring carbon in forests, in Managing Forest Carbon in a Changing Climate (M. Ashton, M. L. Tyrrell, D Spalding, B Gentry eds), Springer, New York, 139-144. reprint
– TJ Griffis, XH Lee, JM Baker, K Billmark, N Schultz, MD Erickson, X Zhang, J Fassbinder, W Xiao, N Hu (2011) Oxygen isotope composition of evapotranspiration and its relation to C4 photosynthetic discrimination, Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 116, G01035. reprint
– TJ Griffis, SD Sargent, XH Lee, JM Baker, J Greene, MD Erickson, X Zhang, K Billmark, N Schultz, W Xiao, N Hu (2010) Determining the oxygen isotope composition of evapotranspiration with eddy covariance, Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 137(2):307-326. reprint
– JC Chan, X Zhang (2009) Air Pollution Status and Challenges Ahead in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region, in Lectures on China’s Environment, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Publication Series Report Number 20. reprint
Working paper
– X Zhang, EA Davidson, Sustainable Nitrogen Management Index (SNMI). link
– J Ranganathan, D Vennard, R Waite, B Lipinski, T Searchinger, P Dumas, A Forslund, H Guyomard, S Manceron, E Marajo-Petitzon, C Le Mouël, P Havlik, M Herrero, X Zhang, S Wirsenius, F Ramos, X Yan, M Phillips and R Mungkung (2016) Shifting Diets for a Sustainable Food Future, Working Paper, Installment 11 of Creating a Sustainable Food Future. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Accessible at http://www.worldresourcesreport.org.
Xin Zhang 