Prof. LAI Yuk Fo, Derrick Associate Professor BSSc, MPhil (CUHK)
PhD (McGill)
MISoilSci
(852) 3943-6528 dyflai@cuhk.edu.hk





RESEARCH PROJECTS Effects of Experimental Litterfall and Throughfall Manipulations on Soil Greenhouse Gas Exchange in a Subtropical Secondary Forest, Principal Investigator, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, 01/2016-12/2018, HK$ 706,972
Soil Respiration in a Subtropical Secondary Forest in Hong Kong: Temporal Variations and the Effects of Climate Change, Principal Investigator, General Research Fund, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, 01/2015-12/2017, HK$ 680,683
Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange of Greenhouse Gases in a Subtropical Mangrove Wetland in Hong Kong, Principal Investigator, Early Career Scheme, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, 01/2014-12/2017, HK$ 1,749,000
A Comparison of Carbon Storage in Coastal Wetland Soils Between Hong Kong and Germany, Principal Investigator, Germany/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2013/14, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong and Germany Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), 01/2014-12/2015, HK$ 89,600


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
(*Corresponding author; students/postdocs are underlined)
Please see my Google Scholar profile for the full list of publications.
Liu, J., Zhou, Y., Valach, A., Shortt, R., Kasak, K., Rey-Sanchez, C., Hemes, K.S., Baldocchi, D., & Lai, D.Y.F.* (2020). Methane emissions reduce the radiative cooling effect of a subtropical estuarine mangrove wetland by half. Global Change Biology, doi: 10.1111/gcb.15247.
Xu, J., Lai, D.Y.F.*, & Neogi, S. (2020). Effects of land use types on CH4 and CO2 production potentials in subtropical wetland soils. Water, 12(7), 1856, doi: 10.3390/w12071856.
Yang, P., Zhang, Y., Yang, H., Guo, Q.Q., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Zhao, G., Li, L., & Tong, C. (2020). Ebullition was a major pathway of methane emissions from the aquaculture ponds in southeast China. Water Research, 184, 116176, doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116176.
Liu, J., & Lai, D.Y.F.* (2019). Subtropical mangrove wetland is a stronger carbon dioxide sink in the dry than wet seasons. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 278, 107644, doi: 10.1016/ j.agrformet.2019.107644.
Liu, J., Hartmann, S.C., Keppler, F., & Lai, D.Y.F.* (2019). Simultaneous abiotic production of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) in subtropical soils. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 124(7), 1977-1987, doi: 10.1029/2019JG005154.
Yang, P., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Yang, H., Tong, C., Lebel, L., Huang, J., & Xu, J. (2019). Methane dynamics of aquaculture shrimp ponds in two subtropical estuaries, Southeast China: Dissolved concentration, net sediment release, and water oxidation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 124(6), 1430-1445,doi: 10.1029/2018JG004794.
Yang, P., Wang, M.H., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Chun, K.P., Huang, J.F., Wan, S.A., Bastviken, D., & Tong, C. (2019). Methane dynamics in an estuarine brackish Cyperus malaccensis marsh: Production and porewater concentration in soils, and net emissions to the atmosphere over five years. Geoderma, 337, 132-142, doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.09.019.
Comeau, L.-P., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Cui, J.J., & Farmer, J. (2018). Separation of soil respiration: a site-specific comparison of partition methods. SOIL, 4, 141-152, doi: 10.5194/soil-4-141-2018.
Yang, P., Zhang, Y., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Tan, L., Jin, B., & Tong, C. (2018). Fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane across the water–atmosphere interface of aquaculture shrimp ponds in two subtropical estuaries: The effect of temperature, substrate, salinity and nitrate. Science of the Total Environment, 635, 1025-1035, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.102.
Wang, W., Neogi, S., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Zeng, C., Wang, C., & Zeng, D. (2017). Effects of industrial and agricultural waste amendment on soil greenhouse gas production in a paddy field in southeastern China. Atmospheric Environment, 164, 239-249, doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.05.052.
Wang, W., Lai, D.Y.F.*, Wang, C., Tong, C., & Zeng, C. (2016). Effects of inorganic amendments, rice cultivars and cultivation methods on greenhouse gas emissions and rice productivity in a subtropical paddy field. Ecological Engineering, 95, 770-778, doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.07.014.
Petrescu, A.M.R., Lohila, A., Tuovinen, J.-P., Baldocchi, D.D., Desai, A.R., Roulet, N.T., Vesala, T., Dolman, A.J., Oechel, W.C., Marcolla, B., Friborg, T., Rinne, J., Matthes, J.H., Merbold, L., Meijide, A., Kiely, G., Sottocornola, M., Sachs, T., Zona, D., Varlagin, A., Lai, D.Y.F., Veenendaal, E., Parmentier, F.-J.W., Skiba, U., Lund, M., Hensen, A., van Huissteden, J., Flanagan, L.B., Shurpali, N.J., Grünwald, T., Humphreys, E.R., Jackowicz-Korczynski, M., Aurela, M.A., Laurila, T., Grüning, C., Corradi, C.A.R., Schrier-Uijl, A.P., Christensen, T.R., Tamstorf, M.P., Mastepanov, M., Martikainen, P.J., Verma, S.B., Bernhofer, C., & Cescatti, A. (2015). The uncertain climate footprint of wetlands under human pressure. PNAS, 112(15), 4594-4599, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416267112.



Teaching Fields

Global Change and Ecosystem Ecology
Soil Science
Physical Geography

Research interests

Carbon Cycling in Terrestrial and Wetland Ecosystems
Urban Ecology and Biogeochemistry
Ecosystem Restoration and Management
Soils and the Environment
Sustainable Agriculture


Services/ Posts

Director, Physical Geography Experimental Station, GRM
Director, Center for Environmental Policy and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chair, Research Committee, GRM
Overseas Trip Coordinator, GRM
Chair, Campus Environment Committee, Chung Chi College
Associate Editor, Mires and Peat
Member, Editorial Board, Biogeoscience Section, Frontiers in Earth Science
Vice-Chair (Administration), Hong Kong Geographical Association
Member, World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong (WWF-HK) Mai Po Management Committee
Member, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Geography Subject Committee
Vice Secretary-General, The Greater China Environment, Resources and Ecological Conservation Society





SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS FOR POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS Carbon cycling in wetland and terrestrial ecosystems
Biogeochemical cycling & ecosystem services in urban environments
Impacts of climate change and human activities on ecosystem carbon and nutrient dynamics