Wenxi Zhang - Research Interests and Education

In the context of contaminant transport from terrestrial environments to the ocean, the removal and transformation of nutrients in coastal river waters is an important component of coastal ecosystem functioning, and relevant for global biogeochemical cycles. Over the past century, the increase of fertilizer application caused by human activities has led to eutrophication, acidification and anoxia in rivers and coastal waters. However, little is known regarding the sources of nitrogen and transformation processes in this area, jeopardizing effective nitrogen management. Nitrogen isotopes can provide qualitative and semi-quantitative information on nitrogen cycle transformations, which can be used to better understand the transformation and source contributions of nitrogen.

In my PhD study, the seasonal variations of water chemistry and nitrogen isotopes along different land-use types in the coastal rivers of Tianjin during 2021 were analyzed to understand the major transformation processes and their isotopic signatures. The characteristic of river nitrogen cycling at seasonal and annual time scales are assessed, as well as their connections to hydrographic conditions and socioeconomic development in the coastal area of Tianjin.

 

Educational background

Since Dec 2022: visiting PhD student in the Aquatic and Isotope Biogeochemistry Group of Prof. Dr. Moritz Lehmann, University of Basel

Since Sep 2020: PhD student in Environmental Science, Group of Prof. Siliang Li, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

Sep 2017 - Jul 2020: Master of Science in Geography, Global Environmental Change, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Sep 2013 - Jul 2017: Bachelor of Science in Geography, Human geography and urban-rural planning, Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University, Xi’an, China

 

Publications

Zhang WX., Wang XJ*., Lu TP., Shi HJ., Zhao YJ. (2020). Influences of soil properties and hydrological processes on soil carbon dynamics in the cropland of North China Plain. Agriculture, Ecosystems &  Environment, 295; 106886; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.106886

Lu, TP., Wang, XJ*., Zhang, WX. (2020). Total and dissolved soil organic and inorganic carbon and their relationships in typical loess cropland of Fengu Basin. Geoscience Letters; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-020-00167-3

 

Zhang Wenxi Pic

Wenxi Zhang