Assistant Professor

Degrees:

Ph.D. – Plant Ecology/Range Science with Minor in Statistics, North Dakota State University, 1998 PO Box 2207B,

Department of Biology & Microbiology,

SDSU Brookings, SD 57007

Phone: (605)688-4564

Fax: (605)688-6677

Email: lan.xu@sdstate.edu

M.S. – Plant Ecology, University of Science and Technology; Institute of Applied Ecology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 1988

B.S. – Botany, Shanxi University, China, 1985



Address:

AgH 104,

Course/Instructor web site:

http://biomicro.sdstate.edu/xul

Teaching Responsibilities:

BIOL 101/101L – Biology Survey I

Lecture and Lab (3 credits, Spring, Fall)

Survey of the nature, diversity, and classification of life, ecology, cells and cell cycles, Mendelian and modern genetics, evolution and evolution theory.  This course is intended for those not majoring in biology.



BIOL 103/103L – Biology Survey II

Lecture and Lab (3 credits, Spring, Fall)

Study of energetics; plant growth; development and reproduction; animal structure and function.  This course is intended for those not majoring in biology.



BOT 419/419L - Plant Ecology 

Lecture and Lab (4 credits, Fall)

This course is designed to train undergraduate students to master the fundamentals of plant ecology, which include (1) plant and its environment, (2) plant population ecology, (3) plant community ecology, and (4) ecosystem ecology.  Plant Ecology has become a cornerstone of many scientific disciplines, including restoration ecology, conservation biology, global change research, and environmental study and design. The course consists of lecture, discussion, problem solving, demonstration, lab, and field trips.



BOT 715/715L-Advanced Plant Ecology

Lecture and Lab (4 credits, Spring)

Review major concepts and principles of plant ecology.  Emphasis on current research in plant and its environments, plant adaptation, plant life-history pattern, species interactions, community structure, succession, productivity, nutrient cycling, as well as vegetation sampling techniques and data analysis (e.g., gradient analysis).

Research Interests:

I am interested in understanding how biotic and abiotic factors affect both structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems and how climate change and human activities affect vegetations of semiarid-arid ecosystems in Mongolian Steppe and Northern Great Plains and their comparisons.  I am also interested in plant community ecology, spatial pattern analysis, statistical ecology, physiological plant ecology, landscape ecology, and grazing ecology.   My research has been focused on: 1) Plant-animal interactions, in particular, effects of grazing, competition, and climate (drought) on tiller survival, production, and reproductive strategy; morphological and physiological mechanisms involved in individual plant responses to grazing, biomass production, nitrogen allocation, and nutrient uptake, 2) Plant-soil relationships, spatial distribution of vegetation in relation to the environmental gradient factors, restoration of degraded grasslands, desertification, salinization, and alkalization, and secondary succession, 3). Ecology of invasive plant species, effects of prairie dog towns on vegetations communities, grazing patterns and plant responses to defoliation on mixed-grass prairie vegetation, and effects of burning on plant species composition, biodiversity, and production. 



Current Research Projects:

1) Ecology and Development of Yellow-Flowered Alfalfa

2) Effects of Different Management Practices on Soil Seedbank Composition in Northern Great Plains

Service Activities:

Academic Advisor

Graduate Faculty

Publication Committee of The Society for Range Management

Reviewer: Journal Environmental Management, Rangeland Ecology & Management, USDA-NRI Proposals, NSF Proposals, Biology Textbooks, Plant Ecology Textbook

SDSU-FIS Success Academy 

Range Club Advisor 1998-2004

URME Coach 1998-2004            

Honors and Awards (selected):

1.  F. O. Butler Foundation Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2007

2. SDSU Nominee for the New Teacher Award of USDA National Awards Program for Excellence in Teaching in the Food & Agricultural Sciences, 2007

3.  National Recognition:  “Biology Survey II (BIOL 103/103L)” was selected as one of the top 20 examples of Best Practices Course in the nation at the College Board Advanced Placement ® Best Practices Study, 2006

4. Approved AP Biology Reader for College Board, 2007



Society Membership:

The Society for Range Management 

The Ecological Society of America            

Sigma Xi The Scientific Research Society

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

South Dakota Academy of Science 

Gamma Sigma Delta, Honor Society of Agriculture



Publications (selected)



1. Smart, A.J., B.H. Dunn, P. S. Johnson, L. Xu, and R.N. Gates.  2007.  Using Weather Data to Explain Forage Yield on Three Great Plains Plant Communities. Rangeland Ecology & Management 60(2):146-153.

2. Kawanabe, S., T. Oshida, D. Jiang, L. Xu, Z. Kou, and Y. Nan.  2005.  Reclamation of Desertification by Implement Integrated Shelterbelts Techniques: a Case Study in Keerqin Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia, China, A Review of Chinese Literatures.  Jap. J.  Anim. Hygiene.  Vol. 30 (2): 91-98

3. Kawanabe, S., T. Oshida, D. Jiang, L. Xu, Z. Kou, and Y. Nan.  2005.  Development of the Agro-pastral Farm in A Desertified Region, Inner Mongolia, China: A Case Study from Five Model Farms.  Jap. J. Anim. Hygiene. Vol. 31(1):1-9.

4. Xu, L., A. Boe, P.S. Johnson, and K. Kephart.  2004. Effects of a Naturalized Population of Yellow-Flowered Alfalfa (Medicago sativa ssp. falcate )on Species Richness and Biomass Production of Native Rangeland.  South Dakota State University Beef Report: BEEF 2004 – 18             http://ars.sdstate.edu/extbeef/2004/Yellow_Flowered_Alfalfa_Lan_Xu.pdf

5. Stoltenberg, M.B., P.S. Johnson, A.J. Smart, and L. Xu.  2004.  Effects of prairie dogs and cattle on vegetation disappearance on prairie dog towns in mixed-grass prairie.  South Dakota State University Beef Report: BEEF 2004-17

6.Xu Lan, J.L. Dodd, D.S. Ojima, Y. Nan, S. Kawanabe, and T. Oshida. 2001.  Reclamation of degraded meadow steppe and forest-steppe in Inner Mongolia: A case study at Wulanaodu.  Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology.  Vol. 12 (suppl.) 51-60.

7.  Xu, Lan, J.L. Dodd, Y. Nan, S. Kawanabe, and T. Oshida.  2001.  Minerals dynamics in dominant plant species of meadow steppe in Korqin Sandlands, China.  Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology.  Vol. 12 (suppl.) 61-68.

8.  Nan, Y, C. Cao, L. Xu, J. Wei, S. Kawanabe, and T. Oshida.  2001 Synthetic indexes for grassland degradation on Keerqin Sandy Land.  Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology. Vol. 12 (suppl.) 1-5.