Babar Iqbal | Plant Physiology | Editorial Board Member

Published on by Plant Scientist

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Babar Iqbal | Plant Physiology | Editorial Board Member

Jiangsu University | China

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Babar Iqbal is an environmental biotechnologist at Jiangsu University (School of Environment & Safety Engineering) in China, whose work addresses major challenges in agroecosystems such as microplastic pollution, soil microbial health, and toxic metal stress. He leads projects on the mechanisms by which microplastic contamination affects crop physiology, soil microbial metabolism, and carbon‐use efficiency, including investigations on wheat  under cadmium stress. He co-authored an open-access Frontiers Ecology & Evolution paper on how soil microplastics affect Oryza sativa root traits under alien plant invasion. His other recent research includes the regulation of soil microbial metabolism through changes in plant communities in wetlands. On his university profile, he is noted as the principal investigator of a major project (2024–25) investigating the combined effects of microplastic and invasive plant contamination on wheat. His research interests center on sustainable agriculture, soil ecotoxicology, microbial ecology, and bio-remediation of polluted soils. Dr. Iqbal has contributed to both fundamental research and applied strategies, such as biochar-based remediation of contaminated soils. He also serves as corresponding author on several high-impact review articles, reflecting leadership in his field. Overall, his work is helping to build more resilient, sustainable agricultural systems in the face of emerging environmental threats.

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Nazir, M. J., Li, G., Nazir, M. M., Zulfiqar, F., Siddique, K. H. M., Iqbal, B., & Du, D. (2024). Harnessing soil carbon sequestration to address climate change challenges in agriculture. Soil and Tillage Research.

Iqbal, B., Zhao, T., Yin, W., Zhao, X., Xie, Q., Khan, K. Y., Zhao, X., Nazar, M., Li, G., … (2023). Impacts of soil microplastics on crops: A review. Applied Soil Ecology.

Iqbal, B., Li, G., Alabbosh, K. F., Hussain, H., Khan, I., Tariq, M., Javed, Q., … (2023). Advancing environmental sustainability through microbial reprogramming in growth improvement, stress alleviation, and phytoremediation. Plant Stress.

Zahoor, R., Zhao, W., Dong, H., Snider, J. L., Abid, M., Iqbal, B., & Zhou, Z. (2017). Potassium improves photosynthetic tolerance to and recovery from episodic drought stress in functional leaves of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Nazar, M., Xu, L., Ullah, M. W., Moradian, J. M., Wang, Y., Sethupathy, S., Iqbal, B., … (2022). Biological delignification of rice straw using laccase from Bacillus ligniniphilus L1 for bioethanol production: A clean approach for agro-biomass utilization. Journal of Cleaner Production

Yang Liu | Plant Ecology | Best Researcher Award

Published on by Plant Scientist

Ms. Yang Liu | Plant Ecology | Best Researcher Award

Sichuan Agriculture University | China

Liu Yang is a professor at Sichuan Agricultural University (SCAU), where she serves as Deputy Director of the Carbon Sequestration Research Centre within the College of Forestry. She holds a doctoral degree and has established a strong research agenda focusing on ecosystem ecology, soil biology, biogeochemistry, vegetation restoration and climate-change impacts in forest and grassland systems. Since joining the faculty at SCAU, she has led multiple national and provincial research programmes on alpine treeline litter-decomposition, soil microbial enzyme dynamics under warming, and ecological restoration of degraded terrain. Her work on forest-floor litter chemistry and soil microbial community responses has appeared in leading journals, and her record includes more than 114 peer-reviewed articles, over 1755 citations and an h-index of approximately 24. She has been honoured with provincial-level awards for technological progress and holds several utility-model patents addressing field-based warming simulation and nutrient-addition experiments. Committed to advancing the science and application of ecosystem restoration in southwestern China, she engages in international collaboration, graduate education and policy-relevant science. Her research contributes to understanding how forest and grassland ecosystems respond to global change and how restoration strategies can enhance resilience and carbon sequestration.

Profiles: Scopus | Orcid

Featured Publications

Li, Q., Chen, Y., Xu, L., Cui, X., Xu, H., Wang, L., You, C., Tian, X., He, X., & Liu, Y. (2025). Loss of plant functional group mediates microbial community assembly in litter decomposition of alpine fir forest. Global Ecology and Conservation.

Li, C., Liu, L., Wu, Z., Wang, W., Wang, S., He, X., Cui, X., Xiao, J., & Liu, Y. (2025). Millipede (Spirobolus walker) prefers feeding on a high-quality litter from a companion species when combined with Masson pine litter. Pedobiologia.

Lei, L., Zeng, J., Liu, Q., Luo, L., Ma, Z., Chen, Y., & Liu, Y. (2024). Effects of soil fauna on the home-field advantage of litter total phenol and condensed tannin decomposition. Forests.

Wang, L., Zhou, Y., Chen, Y., Xu, Z., Zhang, J., & Liu, Y. (2023). Home-field advantage and ability alter labile and recalcitrant litter carbon decomposition in an alpine forest ecotone. Plant and Soil.

Wu, A., You, C., Yin, R., Xu, Z., Zhang, L., Liu, Y., Li, H., Wang, L., Xu, L., Xu, H., et al. (2023). Forest gaps slow the humification process of fir (Abies faxoniana Rehder & E.H. Wilson) twig litter during eight years of decomposition in an alpine forest. Forests.