Jinxun Liu
Dr. Jinxun Liu is a Research Ecologist with the Western Geographic Science Center at Moffett Field, CA. His research interests and expertise are closely related to system ecology and ecosystem simulation models.
Jinxun began agro-forestry system modelling and performed system optimization on tree harvesting during his PhD study. Starting in the late 1990s, he began carbon simulation studies. He has used many models in his research, such as the CBM-CFS2, 3PG, TreeDYN3, CENTURY, TRIPLEX, IBIS, GEMS-EDCM, USPED, and LUCAS. His other skills include GIS/RS data processing, NetCDF data processing/visualization, artificial neural network modeling, and leadership class supper computing (ALCF Mira/Theta, NERSC Cori/Perlmutter). His research activities have resulted in more than 60 peer-reviewed journal publications.
Professional Experience
2015–Current: Research Ecologist, USGS Western Geographic Science Center
2013–2015: Research Associate, San Jose State University Research Foundation
2008–2013: Senior Scientist, Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT Inc.
2005–2008: Senior Scientist, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
2003–2005: Senior Research Associate, U.S. National Research Council, USGS EROS
2001–2003: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Geography, University of Toronto
1999–2001: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University
1995–1999: Associate Researcher, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN Secretariat)
1985–1988: Assistant Engineer, Integrated Survey of Forest Resources, Heilongjiang, China
Education and Certifications
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China, Ecology, 1991-1994, Ph.D.
Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China, Agricultural ecology, 1988-1991, M.Sc.
Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China, Forestry, 1980-1984, B.Sc.
Science and Products
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
Effects of 21st century climate, land use, and disturbances on ecosystem carbon balance in California
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
Integrating forest inventory data and MODIS data to map species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests
Effects of contemporary land-use and land-cover change on the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in the United States
Grasslands
Interannual variation in methane emissions from tropical wetlands triggered by repeated El Niño Southern Oscillation
Simulated effects of nitrogen saturation the global carbon budget using the IBIS model
Climate-driven increase of natural wetland methane emissions offset by human-induced wetland reduction in China over the past three decades
Mapping site index and volume increment from forest inventory, Landsat, and ecological variables in Tahoe National Forest, California, USA
Estimating 40 years of nitrogen deposition in global biomes using the SCIAMACHY NO2 column
Estimating carbon sequestration in the piedmont ecoregion of the United States from 1971 to 2010
Estimating global natural wetland methane emissions using process modelling: spatio-temporal patterns and contributions to atmospheric methane fluctuations
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Publications
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
AuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Philip A. Freeman, Jinxun Liu, Peter D. Warwick, Bradley C. ReedFilter Total Items: 45Effects of 21st century climate, land use, and disturbances on ecosystem carbon balance in California
Terrestrial ecosystems are an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), sequestering ~30% of annual anthropogenic emissions and slowing the rise of atmospheric CO2. However, the future direction and magnitude of the land sink is highly uncertain. We examined how historical and projected changes in climate, land use, and ecosystem disturbances affect the carbon balance of terrestrial ecoAuthorsBenjamin M. Sleeter, David Marvin, D. Richard Cameron, Paul Selmants, LeRoy Westerling, Jason R. Kreitler, Colin Daniel, Jinxun Liu, Tamara S. WilsonFederal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi
AuthorsMatthew D. Merrill, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Philip A. Freeman, Jinxun Liu, Peter D. Warwick, Bradley C. ReedIntegrating forest inventory data and MODIS data to map species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests
Timely and accurate knowledge of species-level biomass is essential for forest managers to sustain forest resources and respond to various forest disturbance regimes. In this study, maps of species-level biomass in Chinese boreal forests were generated by integrating Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images with forest inventory data using k nearest neighbor (kNN) methods and eAuthorsQinglong Zhang, Hong S. He, Yu Liang, Todd Hawbaker, Paul D. Henne, Jinxun Liu, Shengli Huang, Zhiwei Wu, Chao HuangEffects of contemporary land-use and land-cover change on the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in the United States
Changes in land use and land cover (LULC) can have profound effects on terrestrial carbon dynamics, yet their effects on the global carbon budget remain uncertain. While land change impacts on ecosystem carbon dynamics have been the focus of numerous studies, few efforts have been based on observational data incorporating multiple ecosystem types spanning large geographic areas over long time horiAuthorsBenjamin M. Sleeter, Jinxun Liu, Colin Daniel, Bronwyn Rayfield, Jason T. Sherba, Todd Hawbaker, Zhiliang Zhu, Paul Selmants, Thomas R. LovelandGrasslands
Key findings:Total grassland carbon stocks in the conterminous United States, estimated to be about 7.4 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) in 2005, are projected to increase to about 8.2 Pg C by 2050. Although U.S. grasslands are expected to remain carbon sinks over this period, the uptake rate is projected to decline by about half. In the U.S. Great Plains, land-use and land-cover changes are expected toAuthorsElise Pendall, Dominique Bachelet, Richard T. Conant, Bassil El Masri, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Alan K. Knapp, Jinxun Liu, Shuguang Liu, Sean M. SchaefferInterannual variation in methane emissions from tropical wetlands triggered by repeated El Niño Southern Oscillation
Methane (CH4) emissions from tropical wetlands contribute 60%–80% of global natural wetland CH4 emissions. Decreased wetland CH4 emissions can act as a negative feedback mechanism for future climate warming and vice versa. The impact of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on CH4 emissions from wetlands remains poorly quantified at both regional and global scales, and El Niño events are expecteAuthorsQiuan Zhu, Changhui Peng, Philippe Ciais, Hong Jiang, Jinxun Liu, Philippe Bousquet, Shiqin Li, Jie Chang, Xiuqin Fang, Xiaolu Zhou, Huai Chen, Shirong Liu, Guanghui Lin, Peng Gong, Meng Wang, Han Wang, Wenhua Xiang, Jing ChenSimulated effects of nitrogen saturation the global carbon budget using the IBIS model
Over the past 100 years, human activity has greatly changed the rate of atmospheric N (nitrogen) deposition in terrestrial ecosystems, resulting in N saturation in some regions of the world. The contribution of N saturation to the global carbon budget remains uncertain due to the complicated nature of C-N (carbon-nitrogen) interactions and diverse geography. Although N deposition is included in moAuthorsXuehe Lu, Hong Jiang, Jinxun Liu, Xiuying Zhang, Jiaxin Jin, Qiuan Zhu, Zhen Zhang, Changhui PengClimate-driven increase of natural wetland methane emissions offset by human-induced wetland reduction in China over the past three decades
Both anthropogenic activities and climate change can affect the biogeochemical processes of natural wetland methanogenesis. Quantifying possible impacts of changing climate and wetland area on wetland methane (CH4) emissions in China is important for improving our knowledge on CH4 budgets locally and globally. However, their respective and combined effects are uncertain. We incorporated changes inAuthorsQiuan Zhu, Changhui Peng, Jinxun Liu, Hong Jiang, Xiuqin Fang, Huai Chen, Zhichun Niu, Peng Gong, Guanghui Lin, Meng Wang, Yanzheng Yang, Jie Chang, Ying Ge, Wenhua Xiang, Xiangwen Deng, Jin-Sheng HeMapping site index and volume increment from forest inventory, Landsat, and ecological variables in Tahoe National Forest, California, USA
High-resolution site index (SI) and mean annual increment (MAI) maps are desired for local forest management. We integrated field inventory, Landsat, and ecological variables to produce 30 m SI and MAI maps for the Tahoe National Forest (TNF) where different tree species coexist. We converted species-specific SI using adjustment factors. Then, the SI map was produced by (i) intensifying plots to eAuthorsShengli Huang, Carlos Ramirez, Scott Conway, Kama Kennedy, Tanya Kohler, Jinxun LiuEstimating 40 years of nitrogen deposition in global biomes using the SCIAMACHY NO2 column
Owing to human activity, global nitrogen (N) cycles have been altered. In the past 100 years, global N deposition has increased. Currently, the monitoring and estimating of N deposition and the evaluation of its effects on global carbon budgets are the focus of many researchers. NO2 columns retrieved by space-borne sensors provide us with a new way of exploring global N cycles and these have the aAuthorsXuehe Lu, Xiuying Zhang, Jinxun Liu, Jiaxin JinEstimating carbon sequestration in the piedmont ecoregion of the United States from 1971 to 2010
Background: Human activities have diverse and profound impacts on ecosystem carbon cycles. The Piedmont ecoregion in the eastern United States has undergone significant land use and land cover change in the past few decades. The purpose of this study was to use newly available land use and land cover change data to quantify carbon changes within the ecoregion. Land use and land cover change data (AuthorsJinxun Liu, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Zhiliang Zhu, Linda S. Heath, Zhengxi Tan, Tamara S. Wilson, Jason T. Sherba, Decheng ZhouEstimating global natural wetland methane emissions using process modelling: spatio-temporal patterns and contributions to atmospheric methane fluctuations
Aim The fluctuations of atmospheric methane (CH4) that have occurred in recent decades are not fully understood, particularly with regard to the contribution from wetlands. The application of spatially explicit parameters has been suggested as an effective method for reducing uncertainties in bottom-up approaches to wetland CH4 emissions, but has not been included in recent studies. Our goal wasAuthorsQiuan Zhu, Changhui Peng, Huai Chen, Xiuqin Fang, Jinxun Liu, Hong Jiang, Yanzheng Yang, Gang Yang