Dr. Lei Wang is an Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor. He is a member of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Land and as a Youth Editorial Board Member for Chinese Geographical Science. His research primarily focuses on regional climate change and its underlying driving mechanisms, as well as the responses and feedbacks of vegetation to climate variations. He has led eight research projects as the Principal Investigator (PI) or sub-project lead, including grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the National Key Research and Development Program of China, and the Jilin Provincial Natural Science Foundation. To date, he has published over 50 SCI-indexed papers. Notably, he has authored 16 SCI papers as the first or corresponding author in leading field journals, including Earth's Future, Agricultural Water Management, Journal of Plant Ecology, and Climate Dynamics.
Research Areas
Responses and feedbacks of alpine tundra to climate change
Responses of wetland ecosystems to climate extremes
Education
Sep. 2011 – Jun. 2017 | Ph.D. in Physical Geography Northeast Normal University
Sep. 2006 – Jun. 2010 | Bachelor's Degree in Tourism Management Jilin Agricultural University
Experience
Work Experience
Mar. 2026 – Present | Associate Research Professor Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Jul. 2017 – Feb. 2026 | Assistant Research Professor Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Publications
Papers
(1) Na Li#, Suke Hou#, Mai-He Li, Xi Qi, Liangjun Zhu, Jitang Li, Paolo Cherubini, Zhaoyong Hu, Zhengfang Wu, Renkai Dong, Lei Wang*, Youwen Wang, Danyang Yuan, Haibo Du*, Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra, Journal of Plant Ecology, 2026, 19: rtaf181.
(2) Li, Ming, Hou, Jingming, Wang, Lei*, et al. Regional variations and climatic drivers of flash droughts during the growing season in China (2000–2020). Agricultural Water Management, 2025, 318: 109685.
(3) Ren, Jinyuan, Wang, Wen J, Wang, Lei*, et al. Ecological restoration projects offset negative impacts of unsustainable land use and its interaction with climate change on ecological security network in Northeast China. Ecological Indicators, 2025, 178: 114135.
(4) Ren, Jinyuan, Wang, Wen J, Fei, Long*, Wang, Lei*, et al. Impacts of climate change and land Use/Cover change on ecological security networks in Changbai Mountains, Northeast China. Ecological Indicators, 2024, 169: 112849.
(5) Wang, Lei#, Wang, Wen J#*, Du, Haibo, Shen, Xiangjin, et al. Was warming amplified under drought conditions across China in observations and future projections? Earth's Future, 2022, 10(3): e2021EF002614.
(6) Shen, Xiangjin*, Liu, Yiwen, Wu, Liyuan, Ma, Rong, Wang, Yanji, Zhang, Jiaqi, Wang, Lei*, et al. Grassland greening impacts on global land surface temperature. Science of The Total Environment, 2022, 838: 155851.
(7) Zhang, Yanhui, Wang, Lei*, Li, Ming*, et al. Temporal and spatial dynamics of drought in the Amur River Basin under climate change: observed trends, future projections, and driving mechanisms. Climate Dynamics, 2025, 63(12): 451.
(8) Xing, Shanfeng, Wang, Wen J, Wang, Lei*, et al. Soil nutrient content dominates short-term vegetation changes in alpine tundra of Changbai Mountains. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2024, 15: 1422529.