CHEN Yaping

Associate Professor / Doctoral supervisor

Direction:Sustainability and restoration

Research Area:Natural interference, global change, wetland ecology, polar ecology

Email: chenyp96@mail.sysu.edu.cn

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

2023.12 – Present | Associate Professor| School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, China

2020.8 – 2023.11 | Postdoctoral Research Associate| Virginia Institute of Marine Science, USA

2015.8 – 2020.8 | Ph.D. in Plant Biology| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

2011.9 – 2014.6 | M.Sc. in Environmental Science| Xiamen University, China

PAPERS PUBLISHED

+Graduate student advisee, §Corresponding author, #Co-first-authors
1.Serina S. Wittyngham§, David Samuel Johnson, Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2024. A grazing crab drives saltmarsh carbon storage and recovery. Ecology e4385.
2.Jingfan Zhang, Dehua Mao, Jihua Liu, Yaping Chen, Matthew Kirwan, Christian Sanders, Jinge Zhou, Zhe Lu, Guoming Qin, Xingyun Huang, Hui Li, Hengqi Yan, Nianzhi Jiao§, Jilan Su§, Faming Wang§. 2024. Spartina alterniflora invasion benefits blue carbon sequestration in China. Science Bulletin 69(12), 1991-2000.
3.Zhenyu Zhang, Chongchong Zhu, Long Wang§, Yaping Chen§. 2024. Effects of urban renewal on green spaces: evidence from airborne particulate matter in a mega cities cluster. Journal of Cleaner Product 438, 140811.
4.Yaping Chen§, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Rapid greening in mangroves. Nature Ecology & Evolution.
5.Yaping Chen§, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Upland forest retreat lags behind sea-level rise in the mid-Atlantic coast. Global Change Biology 30, e17081.
6.Alexander J. Smith+,§, Karen McGlathery, Yaping Chen, Carolyn J. Ewers Lewis, Scott C. Doney, Keryn Gedan, Carly K. LaRoche, Peter Berg, Michael L. Pace, Julie C. Zinnert, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Compensatory Mechanisms Absorb Regional Carbon Losses Within a Rapidly Shifting Coastal Mosaic. Ecosystems.
7.Kendall Valentine§, Ellen R. Herbert, David C. Walters, Yaping Chen, Alexander J. Smith, and Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Climate-driven tradeoffs between landscape connectivity and the maintenance of the coastal carbon sink. Nature Communications 14, 1137. 
8.Yaping Chen§, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2022. Climate-driven decoupling of wetland and upland biomass trends on the mid-Atlantic coast. Nature Geoscience.
9.Yaping Chen§, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2022. A phenology- and trend-based approach for accurate mapping of sea-level driven coastal forest retreat. Remote Sensing of Environment 281, 113229.
10.Yaping Chen§, Mark J. Lara§, Benjamin M. Jones, Gerald V Frost, and Feng Sheng Hu§. 2021. Thermokarst acceleration in Arctic tundra driven by climate change and fire disturbance. One Earth 4, 1718-1729.
11.Yaping Chen, Ryan Kelly, Hélène Genet, Mark J. Lara, Melissa L. Chipman, A. David McGuire, Feng Sheng Hu§. 2021. Resilience and sensitivity of ecosystem carbon stocks to fire-regime change in Alaskan tundra. Science of the total Environment 806, 151482.
12.Mark J. Lara§, Yaping Chen, Benjamin M. Jones. 2021. Recent warming reverses forty-year decline in Catastrophic lake drainage and hastens Gradual lake drainage across northern Alaska. Environmental Research Letters 16, 124019. 
13.Yaping Chen, Feng Sheng Hu§, Mark J. Lara§. 2020. Divergent shrub-cover responses driven by climate, wildfire, and permafrost interactions in Arctic tundra ecosystems. Global Change Biology 27, 652-663.
14.Yaping Chen, Mark J. Lara§, Feng Sheng Hu. 2019. A robust visible near-infrared index for fire severity mapping in Arctic tundra ecosystems. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 159, 101-113. 
15.Yaping Chen, Guangcheng Chen, Yong Ye§. 2016. Coastal vegetation invasion increases greenhouse gas emission from wetland soils but also increases soil carbon accumulation. Science of the Total Environment 526, 19-28.
16.Dan Yu, Guangcheng Chen§, Shunyang Chen, Yaping Chen, Bin Chen, Yong Ye, Jianping Hou. 2014. Summer fluxes of atmospheric greenhouse gases from mangrove soils in Jiulongjiang Estuary. Journal of Applied Oceanography 33, 175-82.
17.Yaping Chen, Yong Ye§. 2014. Effects of salinity and nutrient addition on mangrove Excoecaria agallocha. PLoS One 9(4), e93337.
18.Yaping Chen, Yong Ye§. 2014. Early responses of Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. to intertidal elevation and light level. Aquatic Botany 112, 33-40.
19.Yaping Chen, Yong Ye§. 2013. Growth and physiological responses of saplings of two mangrove species to intertidal elevation. Marine Ecology Progress Series 482, 107-118.
20.Yaping Chen, Yong Ye§. 2013. Litterfall production and its fates in mangrove forest: A review. Chinese Journal of Ecology 32(1), 204-209. 
21.Yong Ye§, Yaping Chen, Guangcheng Chen. 2012. Litter production and litter elemental composition in two rehabilitated Kandelia obovata mangrove forests in Jiulongjiang Estuary, China. Marine Environmental Research 83, 63-72.

HONORS, PRIZES & AWARDS 

  • 2025 | Shenzhen Peacock Program (Type B), Sun Yat-Sen University, China
  • 2023 | Overseas Young Talents Introduction Program, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
  • 2023 | Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Supported Students Abroad, China
  • 2022 | Professionals and Professional Faculty Council Award, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, USA.
  • 2018 | Named as “Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students”. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA.
  • 2016-2019 | Travel Award, $300. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. 
  • 2014 | National Scholarship for Graduate Students, Xiamen University, China.
  • 2013 | National Scholarship for Graduate Students, Xiamen University, China.
  • 2012 | Merit Student Award. Xiamen University, China.

FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS

  • All grants, fellowships and contracts, etc., awarded by outside agencies.
  • 2026-2028 | NSFC Young Scientists Fund (C) | ¥300,000 | PI
  • 2024 | National Young Talents Program | ¥1,000,000 | PI
  • 2024 | Provincial Matching Funds for the National Young Talents Program | ¥500,000 | PI
  • 2023 | Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities | ¥1,000,000 | PI
  • 2023 | Start-up Research Fund, Sun Yat-sen University | ¥1,000,000 | PI

PUBLISHED DATASETS

  • Serina Wittyngham, David S Johnson, Yaping Chen, Matthew L Kirwan. 2024. A grazing crab drives saltmarsh carbon storage and recovery in VA, SC, and GA. Version 3. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/bf80a94af8efe34482e5919ddaf75c06.
  • Yaping Chen, Matthew L Kirwan. 2023. Lateral and vertical forest retreat rate in the mid-Atlantic sea-level rise hotspot. Version 1. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/4edf9b0d9d6660d354710748b2cf56f0.
  • Yaping Chen, Matthew L Kirwan. 2022. Coastal landcover change and the associated biomass trends in the mid-Atlantic sea-level rise hotspot. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/4ae5ac3fbdb6a20dcdcb2ff36487d292. 
  • Yaping Chen, Tyler Messerschmidt, Alexander Smith+, Matthew L Kirwan. 2022. Coastal Forest Aboveground Biomass Data at six sites in the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay region. Environmental Data Initiative. doi.org/10.6073/pasta/9f91ecd5fc605b27f90386d78e9077f7.
  • Yaping Chen, Mark Lara, Benjamin Jones, Gerald Frost, and Feng sheng Hu. 2021. Thermokarst acceleration in Arctic tundra driven by climate change and fire disturbance, 1950-2015. Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A2610VT0G.
  • Mark Lara, Yaping Chen, and Benjamin Jones. 2021. Landsat derived patterns of lake drainage in northern Alaska between 1975-2019. Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A2BV79W8S.
  • Yaping Chen, Mark Lara, and Feng Sheng Hu. 2020. Shrub cover change in Noatak National Preserve (1951-2016). Arctic Data Center. doi:10.18739/A25M6277J. 

Selected NEWS & MEDIA COVERAGE

  • 2024 | John Wallace. Top Stories: Purple crabs clobber blue carbon. VIMS News.
  • 2024 | Amy McDermott. News Feature: Ghost forests haunt the East Coast, harbingers of sea-level rise. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120 (38): e2314607120. 
  • 2023 | NSF Coastal Critical Zone Network. Salted Earth. Mainspring (May 3, 2023).
  • 2023 | Amy Slocum. Climate-driven decoupling of wetland and upland biomass trends on the mid-Atlantic coast. Coastal Critical Zone Network.
  • 2022 | Lois Parshley. What Alaska's record-breaking wildfires mean for the Arctic's future. New Scientist.
  • 2022 | Randi R. Jandt. The Face of a Scientist. Alaska Fire Science Consortium.
  • 2022 | Danielle Beurteaux. More Fires, More Problems. Eos – Science News by AGU.
  • 2021 | Wildfires Are Digging Carbon-Spewing Holes in the Arctic. Wired Magazine. 
  • 2021 | Eric Roston. Arctic Fires Are Melting Permafrost That Keeps Carbon Underground. Bloomberg Energy & Science.

REVIEW for PEER-REVIEW JOURNALS

  • 2025 | Global Change Biology; Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences; Ecological Indicators; Environmental Pollution; Functional Ecology; Sci. Total Environ.; Communications Biology; International Journal of Digital Earth
  • 2024 | Biogeosciences; Earth System Science Data; npj Climate and Atmospheric Science; New Phytologist; Nature Communications; International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation (JAG)
  • Prior to 2024 | Nature Ecology & Evolution; One Earth; Ecosphere; IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Obs. Remote Sens.; Journal of Applied Ecology; Landscape Ecology; Remote Sensing of Environment; Science of the Total Environment; Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety; Marine Ecology Progress Series; Environmental Research Letters; Anthropocene; Wetlands; Atmosphere; Estuaries and Coasts

TEACHING

Sun Yat-sen University, China
o  Undergraduate Courses
⁃Fall semester | Wetland Ecology
⁃Spring semester | Ecology Seminar II
⁃2027 | Disturbance Ecology
 

o  Graduate Courses
⁃Spring semester | Ecology Research Methods
⁃2025-present | Ecology Restoration: Principle and Application
•University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
 

o  Spring 2018 | IB150 Organismal & Evolutionary Biology (* Named as “Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students”).

Selected PRESENTATIONS & MEETING CONTRIBUTIONS

  • Siqi Dai+, Ruiqi Wang+, Matthew Kirwan, Rong Liu,Yaping Chen.2025.A Deep Learning Framework for Dynamic Monitoring of Sea-Level-Driven Coastal Ecosystem Transformation. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, USA. Oral Presentation.

  • Matthew L. Kirwan, Grace D. Molino+, Yaping Chen, Grace C. Levins. 2025. Sea-level driven land conversion amplified by coastal agriculture on rural coasts. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, USA. Invited Oral Presentation.

  • Minxian Luo+, Siqi Dai+, Yuhang Su+, Yaping Chen. Lasting legacy of aquaculture on carbon cycling of mangrove forests. CORE conference. Singapore, 2025.Oral Presentation.

  • Grace D. Molino+, Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2024. Sea-level driven land conversion amplified by coastal agriculture. AGU Fall Meeting. Washington D.C.Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen. 2023. Coastal landscape reorganization with climate change in the mid-Atlanticsea-level rise hotspot. CORE Conference. Guangzhou, China. InvitedOral Presentation. 

  • Kendall Valentine, Yaping Chen. 2023. Climate-related phenology changes allow for rapid expansion of Phragmites at the marsh-forest boundary. CERFBiennial Conference. Portland, OR, USA. Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen. 2023. Master Naturalist Tree Steward Talk on Ghost Forests. Virginia Master Naturalists. Newport News, Virginia, USA. Invited Oral Presentation. 

  • Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Climate-driven decoupling of wetland and upland biomass trends on the mid-Atlantic coast. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Invited Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2022. A Phenology- and Trend-Based Approach for Accurate Mapping of Sea-Level Driven Coastal Forest Retreat. AGU Fall Meeting. Chicago, IL, USA. Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen, Matthew Kirwan. 2021. Upland greening compensates for lowland browning in coastal carbon stock. AGU Fall Meeting. New Orleans, LA, USA. Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen, Matthew Kirwan. 2021. Upland greening compensates for lowland browning in coastal carbon stock. COREconference. Nanjing, China. Invited Oral Presentation.

  • Yaping Chen, Feng Sheng Hu, Mark J. Lara. December 8th, 2020. Divergent responses of shrub cover in upland and lowland tundra ecosystems to climate change and fire disturbance. American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. Oral Presentation.

  • Feng Sheng Hu, Yaping Chen, Melissa Chipman, Mark J. Lara. 2018. Novel disturbance regimes in a warming Arctic. Ecological Society of America (ESA). New Orleans LA, USA. Invited Oral presentation.

OUTREACH & SERVICE

Corresponding author

  • Zhenyu Zhang, Chongchong Zhu, Long Wang#, Yaping Chen#. 2024. Effects of urban renewal on green spaces: evidence from airborne particulate matter in a mega cities cluster. Journal of Cleaner Product 438, 140811.

  • Yaping Chen#, Matthew L. Kirwan. 2023. Upland forest retreat lags behind sea-level rise in the mid-Atlantic coast. Global Change Biology 30, e17081.

其他部分论文 Selected coauthored publications

  • 2025 | Convener of AGU Fall Meeting. SessionGC033: Coastal Agroecosystems Under Change: Monitoring, Modeling, and Management. New Orleans, LA, USA.

  • 2024 | Review for North Carolina Sea GrantProposal, USA.

  • 2023 | Review for US NSF (National Science Foundation) Proposal, VIMS, USA.

  • 2022 | Convener of AGU Fall Meeting, Session GC031: Dynamic disturbance processes in permafrost regions. Section: Global Environmental Change.

  • 2022-2023 | Advice to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for marsh migration.

  • 2021 | Judge for Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA), AGU Fall Meeting.

  • 2020 | Judge for Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA), AGU Fall Meeting.