Zhen (Jen) is an ecosystem modeler. She uses process-based models to study the soil-microbe-plant interactions and their roles in carbon and water cycling within terrestrial ecosystems. She collaborates across disciplines to improve the understanding and prediction of those biogeochemical process, with the goal of informing earth system models and promoting sustainable agriculture. Prior to joining the lab, she worked as a postdoc in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Ph.D., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado

M.S., Reservoir Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China

B.S., Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China

For a full list, see: Google Scholar

Cory, A. B., Wilson, R. M., Ogles, O. C., Crill, P. M., Li, Z., Chang, K. Y., ... & Rich, V. I. (2025). On the relationship between methane production in anaerobic incubations of peat material and in situ methane emissions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 130(4), e2024JG008371. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008371

Li, Z., Riley, W.J., Marschmann, G.L., Karaoz, U., Shirley, I.A., Wu, Q., Bouskill, N.J., Chang, K.Y., Crill, P.M., Grant, R.F., King, E., Saleska, S.R., Sullivan, M.B., Tang, J., Varner, R.K., Woodcroft, B.J., Wrighton, K.C., Brodie, E.L. (2025) A framework for integrating genomics, microbial traits, and ecosystem biogeochemistry. Nature Communications 16(1): 2186. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57386-5

 

Yang, S., Tang, J., Li, Z., Yuan, K., Wu, Q., Chang, K., Hodgkins, S.B., Wilson, R.M., Zhu, Q., Grant, R.F., Riley, W.J., Saleska, S.R., Rich, V.I., Varner, R.K. (2025) Unraveling the depth-dependent causal dynamics of methanogenesis and methanotrophy in a high-latitude fen peatland. Environmental Research Letters, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adaf44

 

Waldrop, M. P., Ernakovich, J. G., Vishnivetskaya, T. A., Schaefer, S. R., Mackelprang, R., Barta, J., …Li, Z,.... & Onstott, T. C. (2025). Microbial Ecology of Permafrost Soils: Populations, Processes, and Perspectives. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2264

 

Li, Z., Grant, R. F., Chang, K.Y, Hodgkins, S. B., Tang, J. Y., Cory, A., Mekonnen, Z. A., Saleska, S. R., Brodie, E. L., Varner, R. K., Rich, V. I., Wilson, R. M., Chanton, J. P., Crill, P., Riley, W. J. (2024). Soil incubation methods lead to large differences in inferred methane production temperature sensitivity. Environmental Research Letters, 19(4), 044069. http://doi.org/ 10.1088/1748-9326/ad3565

 

Li, Z., Vanderborght, J., & Smits, K.M. (2020). The effect of the top soil layer on moisture and evaporation dynamics. Vadose Zone Journal. 19:e20049. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.20049

 

Li, Z., Vanderborght, J., & Smits, K. M. (2019). Evaluation of model concepts to describe water transport in shallow subsurface soil and across the soil–air Interface. Transport in Porous Media, 128(3), 945-976. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1144-9

 

Schwartz, M., Li, Z., Sakaki, T., Moradi, A., & Smits, K. M. (2019). Accounting for temperature effects on the performance of soil moisture sensors in sandy soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 83(5), 1319-1323. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2019.05.0161

• DAAD RISE Professional Scholarship, 2019
• Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation Fellowship and Exceptional Merit Award, 2017