WANG Chao, Male, born in May 1987, native of Baicheng, Jilin Province. Doctoral supervisor, Professor. His research spans terrestrial biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology, with a particular emphasis on determining the process rates and drivers of chemical transformations in the environment. His work investigates the mechanisms controlling soil organic matter decomposition, formation, and stabilization. An important component of his research is the utilization and development of novel statistical approaches, such as machine learning, structural equation modeling, and mixed linear models. To date, he has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, including Nature Communications, PNAS, The ISME Journal, and Global Change Biology. His research has garnered more than 3500 citations, with a top-cited paper reaching 324 citations. Active in the editorial community, he serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Soil Science and Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, and is an Editorial Board Member for Global Change Biology, the Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, and the Chinese Journal of Soil Science. Additionally, he regularly acts as a peer reviewer for premier international journals such as Nature Geoscience, Nature Communications, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, and Geoderma. Recognized for his academic excellence, he has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Xingliao Young Top-notch Talent of Liaoning Province, the Special Prize of the President of CAS, and the CAS Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award. He is a Distinguished Member of the CAS Youth Innovation Promotion Association and a selectee of the Liaoning Provincial "Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand" Talents Program (1000-tier).

2012.09 – 2015.06 Ph.D. in Soil Science, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China 2013.09 – 2014.03 Visiting Ph.D. Student in Soil Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA 2009.09 – 2012.07 M.S. in Physical Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China 2005.09 – 2009.07 B.S. in Geographical Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen, Shanxi Province, China

2022 – present: Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China 2018 – 2022: Associate Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China 2019 – 2020: Visiting Scholar, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA 2015 – 2018: Assistant Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China

Forest Soil Organic Matter; Microbial Physiological Traits; Microbial Necromass Dynamics; Terrestrial Ecosystem Feedbacks to Climate Change; Stable Isotope Labeling Techniques

1. 2015: Special Prize of the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 2. 2016: CAS Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award (Top 100 in CAS) 3. 2018: Member of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS 4. 2019: Liaoning Provincial "Hundred-Thousand- Ten Thousand" Talents Program (1000-tier) 5. 2019: CAS Talent Project for Western and Northeastern Regions of China 6. 2022: Outstanding Communist Party Member, Chinese Academy of Sciences 7. 2022: Distinguished Member of Youth Innovation Promotion Association, CAS 8. 2023: Xingliao Young Top-notch Talent, Liaoning Province

1. 2025 – 2027: Liaoning Provincial Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists (Category A), Soil Biogeochemistry, Principal Investigator (PI) 2. 2024 – 2026: National Key R&D Program of China (International Cooperation), Impacts and Mechanisms of Global Warming on Forest Soil Carbon Sequestration, PI 3. 2024 – 2026: National Natural Science Foundation of China Young Scientists Fund (Category B), Soil Biogeochemistry, PI 4. 2024 – 2027: National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program, Analyze Mechanisms of Soil Organic Carbon Turnover under Warming from A Microbial Lifecycle perspective, PI 5. 2023 – 2025: CAS Youth Innovation Promotion Association Distinguished Member Project, Effects of Warming on Microbial Necromass, PI 6. 2018 – 2021: CAS Youth Innovation Promotion Association Project, Mechanisms of Microbial Necromass Formation and Stabilization, PI 7. 2019 – 2020: Open Task of the Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecology of Changbai Mountains, Effects of Warming on Microbial Necromass Decomposition in Broad-leaved Korean Pine Forests, Project Leader 8. 2019 – 2023: CAS Frontier Science and Innovation Project (Task), Impacts of Soil Microbial Traits on Forest Ecosystem Stability, Project Leader 9. 2021 – 2025: CAS Strategic Priority Research Program on Black Soil Conservation (Task), Construction of High-Efficiency Water and Fertilizer Utilization Systems for Crop Roots, Project Leader 10. 2022 – 2025: Major Strategic Task of the Institute of Applied Ecology, CAS (Sub-project), Sub-project PI 11. 2016 – 2019: National Natural Science Foundation of China Young Scientists Fund (Category C), Microbial Necromass Nitrogen Turnover and Its Contribution to Soil Organic Nitrogen in Forest Soils, PI

1. Wang X, Kallenbach CM, Almaraz M, Georgiou K, Sun LF, Sang CP, Jiang P, Liu Y, Bai E, Wang C*. 2026. Clay-organic matter interactions drive microbial necromass preservation in soils. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70156-1. 2. Zhang Y#, Qu LR#, Wang J, Liu Y, Gao MX, Wang X, Qu FY, Bai E, Wang C*. 2026. Coupled temperature sensitivity of microbial carbon and nitrogen use efficiencies in forest soils on a continental scale. Global Change Biology 32: e70759. 3. Wang C*, Huang XY, Yu J, Liu Y, Qu FY, Wang J, Wang X, Bai E. 2026. Nonlinear effect of microbial diversity loss on soil carbon flux. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 213: 110028. 4. Yang YX#, Qu LR#, Yu J, Huang XY, Liu Y, Qu FY, Wang J, Yang TT, Bai E, Wang C*. 2026. Microbial turnover mediates nonlinear response of soil N2O and CH4 fluxes to diversity loss. Soli Ecology Letters 8 (2): 260398. 5. Wang J, Qu LR, Osterholz H, Qi YL, Zeng XF, Bai E, Wang C*. 2025. Effects of DOM chemodiversity on microbial diversity in forest soils on a continental scale. Global Change Biology 31: e70131. 6. Yu J#, Yang JY#, Qu LR, Huang XY, Liu Y, Jiang P, Wang C*. 2025. Soil microbial carbon use efficiency differs between mycorrhizal trees: insights from substrate stoichiometry and micorbial networks. ISME Communications 5 (1): ycae173. 7. Almaraz M*, Wang C, Wong MY. 2025. Deep soil contributions to global nitrogen budgets. Nature Communications 16: 966. 8. Huang K#, Wu D#, Liu DW, Duan YH, Dörsch P, Butterbach-Bahl K, Fang XM, Liu YQ, Wang C, Yu HM, Qu LR, Xu JW, Gurmesa GA, Kang RH, Peng SS, Hobbie EA, Ju XT, Hu SJ, Phillips OL, Gundersen P, Zhu WX, Homyak PM*, Fang YT*. 2025. Climate warming reduces soil gaseous nitrogen losses in a temperate forest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 122: e2513401122. 9. Qu LR, Wang C*, Manzoni S, Dacal M, Maestre FT, Bai E. 2024. Stronger compensatory thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration with higher substrate availability. The ISME Journal 18 (1): wrae025. 10. Wang X, Wang C*, Fan XL, Sun LF, Sang CP, Wang XG, Jiang P, Fang YT, Bai E*. 2024. Mineral composition controls the stabilization of microbially derived carbon and nitrogen in soils: Insights from an isotope tracing model. Global Change Biology 30: e17156. 11. Sun LF#, Qu LR#, Moorhead DL, Cui YX, Wanek W, Li SL, Sang CP, Wang C*. 2024. Interpreting the differences in microbial carbon and nitrogen use efficiencies estimated by 18O labeling and ecoenzyme stoichiometry. Geoderma 444: 116856. 12. Wang C*, Wang X, Zhang Y, Morrissey E, Liu Y, Sun LF, Qu LR, Sang CP, Zhang H, Li GC*, Zhang LL, Fang YT. 2023. Integrating microbial community properties, biomass and necromass to predict cropland soil organic carbon. ISME Communications 3 (1): 86. 13. Sun LF, Li J, Qu LR, Wang X, Sang CP, Wang J, Sun MZ, Wanek W, Moorhead DL, Bai E, Wang C*. 2023. Phosphorus limitation reduces microbial nitrogen use efficiency by increasing extracellular enzyme investments. Geoderma 432: 116416. 14. Yu HM, Duan YH, Mulder J, Dörsch P, Zhu WX, Ri X, Huang K, Zheng ZT, Kang RH, Wang C, Quan Z, Zhu FF, Liu DW, Peng SS, Han SJ, Zhang YJ*, Fang YT*. 2023. Universal temperature sensitivity of denitrification nitrogen losses in forest soils. Nature Climate Change 13: 726-734. 15. Wang C, Morrissey E*, Mau RL., Hayer M, Piñeiro JMack MC, Marks JC, Bell SL, Miller SN, Schwartz E, Dijkstra P, Koch BJ, Stone BW, Purcell AM, Blazewicz SJ, Hofmockel KS, Pett-Ridge J, Hungate BA. 2021. The temperature sensitivity of soil: microbial biodiversity, growth, and carbon mineralization. The ISME Journal 15: 2738-2747. 16. Wang C#, Qu, LR#, Yang, LM, Morrissey, E, Miao RH, Liu ZP, Wang QK, Fang YT, Bai E*. 2021. Large-scale importance of microbial carbon use efficiency and necromass to soil organic carbon. Global Change Biology 27: 2039-2048. 17. Li J, Sang CP, Yang JY, Qu LR, Xia ZW, Sun H, Jiang P, Wang X, He HB, Wang C*. 2021. Stoichiometric imbalance and microbial community regulate microbial elements use efficiencies under nitrogen addition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 156: 108207. 18. Sun LF, Wang C*, Yu HM, Liu DW, Houlton, B.Z, Wang, SF, Zeng, XF*, Bai, E., Fang YT, Jia, YF. 2021. Biotic and abiotic controls on dinitrogen production in coastal sediments. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 35: e2021GB007069. 19. Sang CP, Xia ZW*, Sun LF, Sun H, Jiang P, Wang C*, Bai E. 2021. Responses of soil microbial communities to freeze–thaw cycles in a Chinese temperate forest. Ecological Processes 10: 66. 20. Wang X, Wang C*, Cotrufo MF, Sun LF, Jiang P, Liu ZP, Bai E*, 2020. Elevated temperature increases the accumulation of microbial necromass nitrogen in soil via increasing microbial turnover. Global Change Biology 26: 5277–5289. 21. Wang C, Wang X, Pei GT, Xia ZW, Peng B, Sun LF, Wang J, Gao DC, Chen SD, Liu DW, Dai WW, Jiang P, Fang YT, Liang C, Wu NP, Bai E*. 2020. Stabilization of microbial residues in soil organic matter after two years of decomposition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 141: 107687. 22. Qu LR, Wang C*, Bai E*. 2020. Evaluation of the 18O-H2O incubation method for measurement of soil microbial carbon use efficiency. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 145: 107802. 23. Xia ZW, Yang JY, Sang CP, Wang X, Sun LF, Jiang P, Wang C*, Bai E. 2020. Phosphorus reduces negative effects of nitrogen addition on soil microbial communities and functions. Microorganisms 8: 1828. 24. Wang C, Houlton BZ, Liu DW, Hou JF, Cheng WX, Bai E*. 2018. Stable isotopic constraints on global soil organic carbon turnover. Biogeosciences 15: 987-995. 25. Wang C, Liu DW, Bai E*. 2018. Decreasing soil microbial diversity is associated with decreasing microbial biomass under nitrogen addition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 120: 126-13. 26. Wang C, Houlton BZ, Dai WW, Bai E*. 2017. Growth in the global N2 sink attributed to N fertilizer inputs over 1860 to 2000. Science of The Total Environment 574: 1044-1053. 27. Wang C, Wei HW, Liu DW, Luo WT, Hou JF, Cheng WX, Han XG, Bai E*. 2017. Depth profiles of soil carbon isotopes along a semi-arid grassland transect in northern China. Plant and Soil 417: 43-52. 28. Wang C, Liu DW, Luo WT, Fang YT, Wang XB, Lü XT, Jiang Y, Han XG, Bai E*. 2016. Variations in leaf carbon isotope composition along an arid and semi-arid grassland transect in northern China. Journal of Plant Ecology 9: 576-585. 29. Wang C, Wang XB, Liu DW, Wu HH, Lü XT, Fang YT, Cheng WX, Luo WT, Jiang P, Shi J, Yin HQ, Zhou JZ, Han XG*, Bai E*, 2014. Aridity threshold in controlling ecosystem nitrogen cycling in arid and semi-arid grasslands. Nature Communications 5: 4799. 30. Yang JY, Wang X, Sun LF, Wang C*, Bai E. 2020. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil micorbial community composition and amino sugars in a temperate forest of Changbai Mountains. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 31 (6): 1948-1956. 31. Fan ZZ, Wang X, Wang C*, Bai E. 2018. A meta-analysis of the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition on soil enzyme activities. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 29 (4): 1266-1272. 32. Wang C, Huang R , Yang ZJ*, Liu Q, Chen GS, et al. 2012. Comparative study on soil respiration of citrus and Castanopsis henryi in Wanmulin Nature Reserve. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 32 (6): 1469-1475. 33. Wang C, Huang QB, Yang ZJ*, Huang R, Chen GS, et al. 2011. Preliminary study on soil CO2 flux at different depths in a Cunninghamia lanceolata plantation. Acta Ecologica Sinica 31 (19): 5711-5719. 34. Wang C, Yang ZJ*, Chen GS, Fan YX, Liu Q, et al. 2011. Soil respiration characteristics and influencing factors in a Phyllostachys edulis forest in Wanmulin Nature Reserve. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 22 (5): 1212-1218. 35. Wang C, Yang ZJ*, Huang R, Liu Q, Yang YS, et al. 2011. Soil organic carbon content and distribution in subtropical economic plantations. Journal of Subtropical Resources and Environment 6 (2):36-41. 36. Wang C, Yang ZJ*, Chen GS, Yang YS, et al. 2010. Research on CO2 flux in soil profiles. Journal of Subtropical Resources and Environment 5 (4): 85-92.

Wang C, Qu LR, Bai E. Method for quantifying microbial carbon use efficiency. China National Invention Patent, Patent No. ZL202510907613.1; Grant No. CN120741819B; Authorized: Dec. 23, 2025.