Faculty

Faculty Profiles

ZHU Zaichun
Position:Associate Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, National Young Talent, Shenzhen Overseas High-Level Talent,Associate Dean of the School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University
Tel:0755-26038195
Email：zhu.zaichun[at]pku.edu.cn
Personal Homepage:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Zaichun_Zhu

Research Interests

  • Ecological Remote Sensing

  • Terrestrial Ecosystems and Global Change

Education and Professional Experience

  • 2024–Present: Tenured Associate Professor and Researcher, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

  • 2018–2024: Assistant Professor and Researcher (Tenure-Track), Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

  • 2014–2018: Postdoctoral Fellow (Inaugural Boya Fellow), Peking University

  • 2013–2014: Assistant Researcher, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences

  • 2011–2013: Joint Ph.D. Candidate, Boston University, USA

  • 2007–2013: Ph.D., Beijing Normal University

  • 2003–2007: B.Sc., Wuhan University

Courses Taught

  • Principles and Applications of Vegetation Remote Sensing

  • Advances in Ecological Research

  • Global Change Ecology

  • Vegetation Ecology

Academic Service

  • 2022–Present: Associate Dean, School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

  • 2021–2022: Assistant to the Dean, School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

  • 2019–Present: Organizational Committee Member, Faculty Party Branch, School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

Research Projects
Led or participated in over 15 research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), National Key R&D Program, and others:

  1. Bidirectional Dynamic Coupling Mechanisms of Ecosystem Canopy Structure and Gross Primary Productivity (NSFC General Program, Lead Investigator, 2025–2028).

  2. National Young Talent Program (Lead Investigator, 2024–2026).

  3. Synergistic Changes in Vegetation Canopy Structure and Physicochemical Properties and Their Impact on Gross Primary Productivity (NSFC General Program, Lead Investigator, 2023–2026).

  4. Impact of Typhoons on Vegetation Carbon Uptake in Shenzhen (Shenzhen Basic Research Project, Lead Investigator, 2022–2025).

  5. Urban Vegetation Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change (Shenzhen Key University Support Program, Lead Investigator, 2021–2023).

  6. Global Leaf Area Index Trends (NSFC Young Scientist Program, Lead Investigator, 2020–2022).

  7. Global Change and Ecological Remote Sensing (Peking University Shenzhen Startup Project, Lead Investigator, 2019–2024).

  8. China Postdoctoral Special Grant for LAI Time Series Analysis (Lead Investigator, 2017–2018).

  9. Impact of Global Change on Ecosystem Services (National Key R&D Program, Core Participant, 2017–2018).

  10. Improved Ecosystem Productivity Modeling (Belgian Federal Project, Collaborator, 2016–2018).

  11. Extreme Climate Impacts on Terrestrial Carbon Sinks (NSFC Key Program, Collaborator, 2016–2018).

  12. Flood Disaster Mitigation in Asia (CAS-TWAS Project, Collaborator, 2014).

  13. Wetland Ecosystem Evaluation (National Forestry Administration Project, Collaborator, 2013–2014).

  14. Global Quantitative Remote Sensing Product Development (National High-Tech R&D Program, Collaborator, 2013–2014).

  15. NASA Global LAI/FPAR Data Records (Collaborator, 2011–2013).


15. Evaluation and Validation of Key Technologies for Synergistic Inversion Using Active and Passive Remote Sensing, Civil Aerospace Pre-research Project, July 2013 – June 2014, Collaborator.

16. Global LAI/FPAR Earth System Data Records from NPP-VIIRS to Extend the EOS-MODIS Time Series, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA, September 2011 – March 2013, Collaborator.

17. Operational System for Remote Sensing-based Measurement and Yield Estimation of Grain Crops in China’s Major Agricultural Zones, National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863 Program), August 2007 – August 2011, Collaborator.

18. Operational System for Remote Sensing-based Measurement of Ecological Resources in Beijing, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics Operational Project, August 2007 – August 2008, Collaborator.



Selected Publications
Authored 80+ papers in Science, Nature Climate Change, Nature Plants, etc., with 14,000+ citations (11,000+ in the past five years):

1. Li M, Cao S, Zhu Z*, Wang Z, Myneni RB, Piao S. Spatiotemporally consistent global dataset of the GIMMS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (PKU GIMMS NDVI) from 1982 to 2022. Earth System Science Data. 2023;15,4181–4203.

2. Cao S, Li M, Zhu Z*, Wang Z, Zha J, Zhao W, Duanmu Z, Chen J, Zheng Y, Chen Y, Myneni RB, Piao S. Spatiotemporally consistent global dataset of the GIMMS Leaf Area Index (GIMMS LAI4g) from 1982 to 2020. Earth System Science Data. 2023; 15, 4877–4899.

3. Zhao Q, Zhu Z*, Zeng H, Myneni RB, Zhang Y, Peñuelas J, & Piao S*; Seasonal peak photosynthesis is hindered by late canopy development in northern ecosystems, Nature Plants, 2022; 8(12): 1484–1492.

4. Zhu Z*, Zeng H, Myneni RB, Chen C, Zhao Q, Zha J, Zhan S, & MacLachlan I. Comment on “Recent global decline of CO2 fertilization effects on vegetation photosynthesis”. Science, 2021; 373(6562), eabg5673.

5. Zhao Q, Zhu Z*, Zeng H*, Zhao W, & Myneni RB. Future greening of the Earth may not be as large as previously predicted. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 2020; 292–293, 108111.

6. Zhu Z, Piao S*, Yan T, Ciais P, Bastos A, Zhang X, Wang Z. The accelerating land carbon sink of the 2000s may not be driven predominantly by the warming hiatus. Geophysical Research Letters. 2018;45(3):1402–1409.

7. Zhu Z, Piao S*, Lian X, Myneni RB, Peng S, Yang H. Attribution of seasonal leaf area index trends in the northern latitudes with "optimally" integrated ecosystem models. Global Change Biology. 2017;23(11):4798–4813.

8. Zhu Z, Piao S*, Xu Y, Bastos A, Ciais P, Peng S. The effects of teleconnections on carbon fluxes of global terrestrial ecosystems. Geophysical Research Letters. 2017; 44(7):3209–3218.

9. Zhu Z, Piao S*, Myneni RB, Huang M, Zeng Z, Canadell JG, Ciais P, Sitch S, Friedlingstein P, Arneth A, Cao C, Cheng L, Kato E, Koven C, Li Y, Lian X, Liu Y, Liu R, Mao J, Pan Y, Peng S, Penuelas J, Poulter B, Pugh TAM, Stocker BD, Viovy N, Wang X, Wang Y, Xiao Z, Yang H, Zaehle S, Zeng N. Greening of the Earth and its drivers. Nature Climate Change. 2016;6(8):791–795. (被引 > 2200次)

10. Zhu Z*, Bi J, Pan Y, Ganguly S, Anav A, Xu L, Samanta A, Piao S, Nemani RR, Myneni RB. Global Data Sets of Vegetation Leaf Area Index (LAI)3g and Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR)3g Derived from Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) for the Period 1981 to 2011. Remote Sensing. 2013;5(2):927–948. (被引 > 900次)


Academic Service

  • Associate Editor: Journal of Remote Sensing (2022–Present).

  • Youth Editorial Board: Ecosystem Health and Sustainability (2024–Present), Advances in Climate Change Research (2022–Present), Remote Sensing Technology and Application (2019–Present).

  • Reviewer for Nature Climate Change, Science Advances, Nature Communications, etc.


Awards and Honors

  1. Listed in the World’s Top 2% Scientists (2020–2023).

  2. Outstanding Editor/Reviewer, Journal of Remote Sensing.

  3. Outstanding Teacher/Party Member, Peking University Shenzhen.

  4. Remote Sensing 10th Anniversary Best Paper Award (2019).

  5. Top 10 Most Cited Papers in Climate Change (2016, Global Rank #9).