YU Wantai, male, born in May 1964 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, holds an M.S. degree and is a second-grade professor and doctoral supervisor. He has long been engaged in research on black soil conservation, green improvement of low- and medium-yield cropland, changes in black-soil organic carbon pools and mechanisms of fertility development, spatial variation in black-soil fertility properties, nutrient balance in regional agroecosystems, nutrient cycling in soil–crop–livestock systems, the roles of microbial immobilization–mineralization and mineral fixation–release in maintaining nitrogen supply, physical protection and carbon sequestration potential of organic carbon, residual and cumulative effects of phosphorus fertilizers, and internal and external cycling of major nutrients in plantations. From the perspectives of carbon and nitrogen cycling and crop–livestock integration, he has advanced nutrient-cycling theory in soil fertility research and made important contributions to black soil conservation and utilization, improvement of low- and medium-yield cropland, and food security. He serves on the editorial boards of Acta Pedologica Sinica, Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Science, and Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture. He has received the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (key contributor), the First Prize of the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and the Second Prize of the Shennong Chinese Agricultural Science and Technology Award. He has led more than 30 research projects, including projects under the National Key R&D Program of China, the National 973 Program, the National Key Technology Support Program, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He has published more than 50 SCI papers (40 as first or corresponding author), 12 EI papers, and more than 130 CSCD papers; obtained more than 20 authorized patents; and co-authored five monographs.

1986.09–1989.07: M.S. in Ecology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. 1982.09–1986.07: B.S. in Soil Science and Agrochemistry, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China.

1998.09–present: Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. 2005.10–2008.12: Visiting scholar, University of Western Australia, Australia (multiple visits). 1996.01–2002.12: Visiting scholar, The Ohio State University, USA (multiple visits). 1995.09–1998.08: Associate Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. 1994.06–1994.12: Visiting scholar, Department of Soil Science, Rothamsted Experimental Station, United Kingdom. 1992.08–1995.08: Assistant Professor, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. 1989.08–1992.07: Research Assistant, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.

Agroecosystems; Nutrient Cycling; Water Cycling; Improvement of Low- and Medium-Yield Farmland; Soil Fertility Development

1. 2019: Second Prize of the Shennong Chinese Agricultural Science and Technology Award (Ranked 2nd), Key Technologies and Application for Removing Soil Constraints and Improving Efficiency in Farmland of Major Grain-Producing Areas. 2. 2005: First Prize of the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award (Ranked 8th), Evolution of Soil Quality and Sustainable Utilization. 3. 2012: First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award (key contributor), Establishment of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network and Its Observation, Research and Experimental Demonstration. 4. 2016: Second Prize of the Soil Science Society of China Science and Technology Award (Ranked 4th), Research and Application of Technologies for Improving Fertility of Typical Cropland in Major Agricultural Production Areas.

1. 2023–2028: Project Leader, National Key R&D Program of China, Key Technologies and Demonstration for Building Thick Fertile Soil Layers and Enhancing Productivity of Degraded Brown Soils in the Liaohe Plain. 2. 2012–2016: Project Leader, National Key Technology Support Program, Integrated Demonstration of Technologies for Improving Thin, Saline-Alkali and Low-Yield Farmland in the Northeast Plain. 3. 1999–2004: Project Leader, National 973 Program, Changes in Black-Soil Organic Carbon Pools and Mechanisms of Fertility Development. 4. 2001–2005: Project Leader, CAS Knowledge Innovation Program, Recycling Processes and Roles of N, P and K in Agroecosystems. 5. 2006–2010: Deputy Project Leader, National Key Technology Support Program, Research and Demonstration of Integrated Management Technologies and Models for Degraded Farmland Fertility in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China. 6. 2025–2028: Project Leader, General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Mechanisms Stabilizing New and Old Soil Carbon and Their Responses to Priming Effects and Contributions to Carbon Sequestration Potential. 7. 2019–2022: Project Leader, General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Characteristics of the Interconversion Between Microbial Immobilization and Mineral Fixation of Nitrogen and Their Responses to Straw Return. 8. 2015–2018: Project Leader, General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Responses of Fixed Ammonium to Different Exogenous Nitrogen Inputs and Its Contribution to Nitrogen Fertilizer Use Efficiency. 9. 2012–2015: Project Leader, General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Interactive Effects of Added Nitrogen on Crop Nitrogen Fertilizer Use Efficiency. 10. 2011–2013: Project Leader, Study of Internal and External Nitrogen Cycling and Fertilizer Use Efficiency in Plantation Ecosystems Using 15N Tracer Techniques.

1. Yu Wantai, Brookes P.C., Ma Qiang, Zhou Hua, Xu Yonggang, Shen Shanmin. 2011. Extraction of soil nitrogen by chloroform fumigation—A new index for the evaluation of soil nitrogen supply. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 43: 2423–2426. 2. Yu Wantai, Zhao Shaohua, Zhang Lu, Shen Shanmin, Ma Qiang. 2005. The relation between the content of organic phosphorus and latitude in Northeast China phaeozem. Biology and Fertility of Soils 42: 159–162. 3. Yu Wantai, Pan Feifei, Ma Qiang, Wang Jing, Zhou Hua, Jiang Chunming, Xu Yonggang. 2016. Alterations of pathways in fertilizer N conservation and supply in soils treated with dicyandiamide, hydroquinone and glucose. Applied Soil Ecology 108: 108–117. 4. Yu Wantai, Bi Mingli, Xu Yonggang, Zhou Hua, Ma Qiang, Jiang Chunming. 2013. Microbial biomass and community composition in a Luvisol soil as influenced by long-term land use and fertilization. Catena 107: 89–95. 5. Ma Qiang, Wu Zhijie, Shen Shanmin, Zhou Hua, Jiang Chunming, Xu Yonggang, Liu Rui, Yu Wantai. 2015. Responses of biotic and abiotic effects on conservation and supply of fertilizer N to inhibitors and glucose inputs. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 89: 72–81. 6. Li Shuailin, Cui Yongxing, Xia Zhuqing, Zhang Xinhui, Zhu Mengmeng, Gao Yun, An Siyu, Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang. 2022. The mechanism of the dose effect of straw on soil respiration: Evidence from enzymatic stoichiometry and functional genes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 168: 108636. 7. Yu Wantai, Zhou Hua, Ma Qiang, Shen Shanmin. 2010. Effects of nitrogen fertilization on crop uptake of soil nitrogen—With a discussion on nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency. Acta Pedologica Sinica 47(1): 90–96.

1. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Zhou Hua. An organic composite soil conditioner and its preparation. Authorization Date: 2013.06.12. Application No. 200810228021.3. 2. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhou Hua, Xu Yonggang. A soil regulator for promoting crop growth and its application. Authorization Date: 2013.04.17. Application No. 200910220622.4. 3. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Zhou Hua. A composite water-retaining soil conditioner and its preparation. Authorization Date: 2012.11.14. Application No. 200810228020.9. 4. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Liu Huanjun. An outer sleeve device for a benchtop centrifuge that can hold centrifuge tubes of different diameters simultaneously. Authorization Date: 2012.01.04. Application No. 200810229752.X. 5. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Liu Huanjun. An outer sleeve for placing centrifuge tubes on a benchtop centrifuge. Authorization Date: 2012.01.04. Application No. 200810229751.5. 6. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Zhou Hua. A special fertilizer for maize and its application. Authorization Date: 2010.07.28. Application No. 200610135103.4. 7. Yu Wantai, Ma Qiang, Zhang Lu, Zhou Hua. A device for positioning and fixing samples on a reciprocating shaker. Authorization Date: 2010.07.28. Application No. 200610135117.6. 8. Yu Wantai, Yin Xiuyan, Zhang Lu, Ma Qiang, Zhao Shaohua. A special fertilizer for soybean and its application. Authorization Date: 2008.04.16. Application No. 200410100465.0. 9. Yu Wantai, Zhang Lu, Ma Qiang, Yin Xiuyan. A device for measuring basal soil respiration. Authorization Date: 2004.03.03. Application No. 03211536.9.