ZHANG HEHAN, ZOE

PhD Student

Research Title: Understanding Carbon Dynamics under Climate Variability over Different Ecosystems in Tropical Asia
Research Group: Tropical Environmental Change (TEC)
Thesis Advisor: Dr Remi Luo

I am interested in the impacts of land-use change and climate variability on land-atmosphere exchanges of greenhouse gases (GHG). My research and training are in micrometeorology, hydrology, and ecosystem ecology.

I received a BSc in Environmental Science from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2022. My undergraduate thesis research investigated the impacts of fire on GHG fluxes within different burned zones of a bog. The methodology incorporated chamber measurements and gas chromatography for the analysis. I completed my master's in the Micrometeorology lab at UBC, where I examined the impacts of seedling removal — a post-fire management practice — on carbon fluxes within the 2016 burned zone of Burns Bog, Delta, BC. This research utilized a smart chamber with a portable analyzer. I also have experience in quantifying the net carbon exchange at the ecosystem scale using eddy covariance techniques.

During my PhD, I aim to further explore carbon dynamics and carbon modeling, particularly the interplay between land-use changes, climate variations, and ecosystem carbon dynamics.