EcoSteering Lab

Welcome

Our research focuses on investigating the complex interactions between plants and microbes under stressed conditions, such as exposure to pollutants and physical stress. Our research aims to answer several fundamental scientific questions, including:

1. How do microbes alter the behavior and fate of pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems?
2. How and why does microbial assembly evolve over time and space?
3. What are the environmental implications of these interactions in the context of ecological restoration?

To address these questions, we use a variety of research approaches, including ecological monitoring of sites with controlled treatments, well-controlled pot trials and petri dish experiments, and numerical modeling of microbial assembly. The ultimate goal of our research is to gain a deeper understanding of the complex systems underlying plant-microbe interactions and to extract general principles that can be applied to advance the ecological restoration and sustainable development.

News

2026

• 12-17 July 2026. Attended the 13th International Conference on Mycorrhiza (ICOM2026) in Cairns, Australia. link

• 21st April. 2026. A new paper accepted by The ISME Journal. Li HH#, Chen XW#, et al. 2026, Nanoplastics interfere with plant-mycorrhizal communication and limit plant growth. link

• 3rd Feb. 2026. Our book "Hand Book on Sustainable Management of Biodiversity: Strategies for a Thriving Planet" (CRC) have been submitted to publisher. Editors: Ming Hung Wong, Xun Wen Chen, and Masayuki Ushio. Thank all contributors from institutes of more than 10 countries.

• 9th Jan. 2026. A new paper accepted by Plant and Soil: Kamchoom K, ..., Chen XW*, 2026, Combining compost and biochar facilitates moisture improvements and plant growth under field conditions. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11104-026-08292-2

2025

• 20th Oct. 2025. A new paper accepted by New Phytologist: Luo XB#, Chen XW#, ..., 2025, Enhanced chromium detoxification mediated by an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus via arbutin-derived hydroquinone. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70734

• 9th Sept. 2025. Our Patent granted: Zhang Q, Chen XW, Liu D, Wang J, Wu J, Li H. Automated Processing for Stress–Strain Data of Plant Roots Subject to Pulling. Patent No.: ZL 2023 1 1341596.7. Grant Publication No.: CN 117332189 B. Granted Date: 9th Sept. 2025.

• 14th Mar 2025. All book chapter titles fixed for "Handbook of Sustainable Management of Biodiversity: Strategies for a Thriving Planet". Thank all contributors.

• 2nd Jan 2025. The proposal of the new book "Sustainable Management of Biodiversity: Strategies for a Thriving Planet" has been approved by CRC Press/Taylor & Francis. Editors: Ming Hung Wong, Xun Wen Chen, and Masayuki Ushio. We are welcoming chapter contributions!