Yuan Tian

I’m a PhD student in ecology at Peking University, currently spending a year as a visiting student at the University of Cambridge. My research focuses on biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes, particularly agroforestry. I’m currently studying the following issues: 1) the biodiversity impacts of agroforestry, especially understory cultivation, both in China and globally; 2) the trade-offs between production and ecological benefits in such agroforestry systems; and 3) potential strategies to minimise biodiversity impacts while maintaining productive outcomes.

My work includes field research carried out in Southeast Tibet, China, where the cultivation of medicinal herbs and fungi beneath forest canopies is being promoted. I assess arthropod diversity in both understory cultivation sites and nearby native forests to evaluate ecological consequences. I’m also conducting a data synthesis and re-analysis of published studies that compared biodiversity between agroforests and native forests. These analyses aim to reveal the species-level responses to forest conversion to agroforestry, the influence of species traits on sensitivity, as well as the trade-offs between production and biodiversity.