Welcome to the LEES Lab
The LEES Lab at Michigan State Unisversity, led by Dr. Jiquan Chen at Michigan State University, is dedicated to advancing scientific research and education on fundamental ecosystem and landscape processes.
Our goal is to deepen our understanding of ecosystem functions and enhance management strategies in response to the dynamic interplay of climate and society. Currently, our research spans various ecosystems including grasslands, deserts, forests, croplands, wetlands, and freshwater environments, examining carbon and water cycles across different spatial and temporal scales. We also investigate bioenergy systems, resource utilization, and the intricate interplay between climatic changes and human activities. Additionally, our work extends to the dynamics of urban landscapes across multiple regions and the pursuit of sustainable management and conservation practices for natural ecosystems. We maintain a high ethical and liberal standard for professional collaborations in research and education.
Our research projects, spreading mostly across North and South American and Eurasian landscapes, are based on sound field experiments and monitoring stations, state-of-the-art equipment and technology, modeling, and remote sensing technology. Current projects include
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Albedo of Bioenergy Crops (DOE, Bioenergy research Centers)
- Decoding Land Transitions across the Urban-Rural Continuums (URC): A Synthesis Study of Patterns, Drivers, and Socio-environmental Impacts in Southeast Asia (NASA)
- Interdependent Dynamics of Food, Energy and Water in Kazakhstan and Mongolia (NASA – Land Cover and Land Use Changes)
- Environmental Justice & Public Health: Climate, Land, & Health Outcome of Dengue Fever (CLOUD) (NASA – Interdisciplinary Science)
