YUAN Lei, male, born in September 1990, native of Huanggang, Hubei Province, Ph.D. in Ecology, Associate Professor. His research focuses primarily on soil N cycling and its environmental effects. He currently serves as a Young Editorial Board Member for the Acta Pedologica Sinica. He has achieved a series of original findings in the field of efficient N cycling and its regulatory mechanisms in black soil croplands of Northeast China. His related papers, published as first author, have appeared in the top journals of Soil Science, including Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Soil & Tillage Research, Geoderma, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, and Plant & Soil.

2017.09-2021.06 Ph.D. degree in Ecology from the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. 2013.09-2016.06 M.Sc. degree in Physical Geography from Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. 2009.09-2013.06 B.Sc. degree in Geographical Science from Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China.

2025.11–present Associate Professor of Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. 2023.07–2025.10 Assistant Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. 2021.07–2023.06 Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.

Soil N cycling; Gross N transformation rates; Functional genes involved in N cycling; ¹⁵N stable isotope tracing;

Recognized as Shenyang Top‑Notch Talent (Class D)

1. 2026.01–2028.12: Project Leader, Characteristics of Nitrogen Transformation and Microbial Regulatory Mechanisms in Cropland of Northeast China During Straw Incorporation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 42507404). 2. 2022.10–2027.10: Project Leader, A Full-Depth Cultivation Model for the Synergistic Enhancement of Soil Organic Matter and Productivity in Thin‑Layer Black Soil, Sub-project of the National Key R&D Program of China (grant number 2022YFD1500305). 3. 2023.01–2024.12: Project Leader, Response and Regulatory Mechanisms of Nitrogen Cycling in Degraded Black Soils During the Fertility Improvement Using Straw Retention, the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (grant number 2022M713295).

1. Yuan Lei#, Liu Yan#, Hu Yanyu*, He Hongbo, Zhang Xudong, Chen Xin, Xie Hongtu, Zhang Jinbo, Müller Christoph, Lu Caiyan*. 2025. Enhanced clay mineral-mediated ammonium fixation–release turnover under no-tillage with straw retention: An effective buffering mechanism for nitrogen retention and supply in agroecosystems of Northeast China. Soil and Tillage Research 252: 106610. 2. Yuan Lei#, Li Jie#, Lei Ningbo, Xie Hongtu, Lu Caiyan*, Chen Xin, Ma Sicong, Zhang Jinbo, Müller Christoph, He Hongbo*, Zhang Xudong. 2024. Stover mulching in no-tillage farming reduces ammonia volatilization in the Mollisol of Northeast China: Insights from gross N transformation dynamics. Soil and Tillage Research 240: 106068. 3. Yuan Lei#, Hu Yanyu#, Yang Miaoying, Lei Ningbo, Chen Huaihai*, Ma Jian, Chen Xin, Xie Hongtu, He Hongbo, Zhang Xudong, Lu Caiyan*. 2024. Straw retention and inhibitor application reduce the leaching risk of mineral N in no-tillage systems of Northeast China. Plant and Soil 500: 431-443. 4.Yuan Lei#, Li Jie#, Lei Ningbo, Lu Caiyan*, Chen Xin, Xie Hongtu, Zhang Jinbo, Müller Christoph, He Hongbo*, Zhang Xudong. 2024. High leaching potential combined with a low leaching amount of fertilizer-derived nitrate in conservation tillage cropland of Northeast China. Science of the Total Environment 915: 170020. 5.Zhu Mengtao#, Yuan Lei#, Zhou Feng, Ma Sicong, Zhang Wei, Miltner, Anja, He Hongbo*, Zhang Xudong. 2024. Time-dependent regulation of soil aggregates on fertilizer N retention and the influence of straw mulching. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 198: 109551. 6. Zhao Jiayi#, Yuan Lei#, Chen Huaihai*, Chen Xin, He Hongbo, Zhang Xudong, Xie Hongtu, Lu Caiyan*. 2023. Reduction of NH3 emissions from urea by long-term no-tillage and stover mulching with inhibitors: an isotopic field study in Northeast China. Agronomy-Basel 13: 2235. 7. Yuan Lei#, Liu Yan#, He Hongbo, Zhu Tongbin, Chen Xin, Zhang Xudong, Liang Chao, Xie Hongtu, Zhang Jinbo, Müller Christoph, Zhao Xu, Yan Xiaoyuan, Lu Caiyan*. 2022. Effects of long-term no-tillage and maize straw mulching on gross nitrogen transformations in Mollisols of Northeast China. Geoderma 428: 116194. 8.Yuan Lei#, Chen Xin#, Jia Jingchao, Chen Huaihai, Shi Yi, Ma Jian, Liang Chao, Liu Yan, Xie Hongtu, He Hongbo, Zhang Xudong, Peng Xiuyuan, Lu Caiyan*. 2021. Stover mulching and inhibitor application maintain crop yield and decrease fertilizer N input and losses in no-till cropping systems in Northeast China. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 312: 107360.