Dr. Tian is an ecosystem scientist and systems modeler who investigates ecosystem processes and exchanges (energy, carbon, nitrogen and water) that occur at the interfaces of the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere. His primary interest is in the understanding of coupled biogeochemical cycles in the Earth's ecosystems and dynamics of coupled natural and human systems. He works at a spectrum of spatial scales that range from plot to watershed to regional to global, and a spectrum of organisms from microbes to trees. His research fields have included studies of carbon, nitrogen and water cycles in a range of ecosystems including boreal and temperate forests in North America and East Asia, tropical forests in the Amazon Basin and Southeast Asia, savannas in Africa, grasslands in U.S. and Mongolia, and croplands in China and U.S.

Collaborating on the project Land use-Ecosystem-Climate Interactions in Monsoon Asia