Principal Investigator: Hua Li.

Lab Staff: Chun-Xiang Hu; Hai-Jian Yang; and Xiao-Yan Li.

Contact us: lih@ihb.ac.cn

Our group is one of the pioneer research teams in China engaged in research on terrestrial algae, biological soil crusts (biocrusts), and related space biology. The target ecosystems of interest include deserts and semi-arid drylands, saline-alkali soils, and near-space environments. We focus on the biodiversity, physiological metabolism, and adaptive evolution of algae, especially terrestrial cyanobacteria, and on how these pioneer phototrophs drive community assembly and ecosystem multifunctionality in stressful environments. We are also interested in exploiting algae-based technologies and commercial products for ecological restoration and carbon sequestration.

Algal Biology in Particular Environments (APE) Team has established a standard method system to identify the sand-fixing ability of cyanobacteria and developed a novel cyanobacterial inoculation technology (cyanobacterisation) for the management of degraded soils. The APE team is funded by the National Key R&D Program, the International Collaboration Program, the Strategic Priority Science and Technology Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Class A), the National Manned Space Engineering Project, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. We have obtained 12 authorized invention patents, one provincial second prize in natural science, and two third prizes in scientific and technological progress, and have published over 200 scientific research papers.

Ongoing research:

1. Using high-throughput sequencing and multi-omics approaches, we study the community composition, assembly processes, species interactions, and functional succession of natural and artificially induced cyanobacterial biocrusts, aiming to reveal the mechanisms underpinning biocrust development and carbon accumulation and to promote the innovation of cyanobacterisation technology for the ecological restoration of degraded drylands.

2. Combining field investigations along broad environmental gradients, molecular ecology methods, and statistical modelling, we investigate how aridity, precipitation regimes, and other environmental stresses shape the biogeography, life-history strategies, and interspecific relationships of terrestrial cyanobacteria and their associated soil microbiota, in order to understand the effects of biodiversity on ecosystem multifunctionality in drylands.

3. We work on the taxonomy, genomic evolution, and stress adaptation of terrestrial cyanobacteria, from the polyphasic taxonomy to the comparative genomics, in order to expand the algal strain resources for cyanobacterisation and to underpin strain identification and application.

4. From the facets of carbon fixation, transformation, allocation, and accumulation, we explore the carbon cycling of biocrusts and the prospective applications of microalgae in carbon sequestration and commercial products.

5. We explore the response mechanisms of microalgae to stressful conditions, including high temperature, high salinity, and strong radiation, with emphasis on signal transduction and epigenetic regulation.

6. We construct different closed space systems with microalgae and carry out direct-exposure experiments in near-space environments such as the stratosphere, to examine the growth, metabolism, and interactions of the system members under extreme stresses and to evaluate the stability and functionality of the closed systems for potential astrobiological applications.

Field view of the study site, microscope photo of cyanobacterial inoculum, and close-up view of the biocrust layer.

Main Publications:

Academic monographs

1.Hu CX^*, Gao KS, Whitton BA. Semi-arid Regions and Deserts. In: Ecology of Cyanobacteria II: Their Diversity in Space and Time (Whitton BA ed.), Springer Science + Business Media Dordrecht. p. 345-369, 2012.

2. Liu YD, Hu CX, Zhang WJ et al. Environmental Biology of Desert Cyanobacteria and Dune Fixation by Biological Soil Crusts. Science Press, Beijing, 2013.

3. Liu YD et al. Desertification Control and Regional Sustainable Development. Science Press, Beijing, 2013.

Research papers in the last five years

2026

1. Xian Zhang, Hua Li*, Yingchun Han, Qi Li, Haijian Yang, Chunxiang Hu*. 2026. Stage-specific cyanobacterial handoffs and heterotrophic subsidies underpin biocrust carbon accumulation, ISME Communications, 6(1): ycag254.

2. Yuanlong Li, Jingyi Wei, Haijian Yang, Wenxia Tan, Jingshen Zhang, Chunxiang Hu, Hua Li*. 2026. Niche overlap of soil bacteria drives stress gradient hypothesis dynamics in dryland biocrust succession. Molecular Ecology, 35: e70277.

3. Xian Zhang, Qi Li, Haijian Yang, Hua Li*, Chunxiang Hu*. 2026. Active responses of cyanobacterial crusts directly exposed to the extreme stratospheric environment. Life Sciences in Space Research, 50: 133-145.

4. Jingyi Wei, Hua Li*, Xiaoyu Guo, Yunzhu Wang, and Chunxiang Hu*. 2026. Comparative genomic analysis of cosmopolitan dominant cyanobacteria Microcoleus vaginatus and Microcystis aeruginosa. Phycology, 6(2): 64.

2025

1. Xiaoyu Guo, Zuowen Wang, Hua Li*, Haijian Yang, Weibo Wang, Lirong Song, Chunxiang Hu. 2025. Multifaceted precipitation patterns impact biocrust functionality in drylands: A cascade of variability via species replacement in soil microbiota. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 34: e70061.

2. Maocheng Zhou, Qi Li, Yingchun Han, Qiong Wang, Haijian Yang, Hua Li*, and Chunxiang Hu*. 2025. Sulfur cycling and life strategies in successional biocrusts link to biomass carbon in dryland ecosystems. Microorganisms, 13(11): 2594.

3. Yang Zhang, Xiao-Yu Guo, Chun-Xiang Hu, Hai-Jian Yang, Yang Liu*, Hua Li*. 2025. Konicacronema (Gomontiellales): A newly recorded desert cyanobacterial genus in China. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica, 49(7): 072507.

2024

1. Yan Zhang, Yi-Jie Zhang, Hai-Jian Yang, Chun-Xiang Hu, Yang Liu*, Hua Li*. 2024. Environmental effects on the growth and photosynthetic activity of Laspinema sp. in simulated water conveyance open channel. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica, 48(11): 1871-1883.

2. Gianmarco Mugnai, Sonia Chamizo, Giacomo Certini, Hua Li, Federico Rossi*, Alessandra Adessi. 2024. The contribution of the phototrophic fraction in the fertility of different successional stages of induced biological soil crusts. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 60: 911-926.

3. Ye-Wei Xu, Xiao-Yu Guo, You-Xin Chen, Hua Li, Ming Duan, Gong-Liang Yu*, Zhi-Yi Qiao*. 2024. Crustifilum (Coleofasciculales): A newly recorded genus of desert crust cyanobacteria in China and taxonomic insights into related genera. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica, 48(9): 1581-1591.

2023

1. Xiaoyu Guo, Hua Li*, Da Huo, Chunxiang Hu, Renhui Li, Silong Zhang, Lirong Song. 2023. Aridity modulates biogeographic distribution and community assembly of cyanobacterial morphotypes in drylands. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 99(6): fiad053.

2. Yuanlong Li, Fengdi Wang, Haijian Yang, Hua Li*, Chunxiang Hu. 2023. Balanced biogeographic and local environmental effects determine the patterns of microbial diversity in biocrusts at multi-scales. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14:1284864.

3. Haijian Yang, Jing Zhang, Hua Li*. 2023. Strategies of NaCl tolerance in saline–alkali-tolerant green microalga Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50. Plants, 12: 3495.

4. Haijian Yang, Denghua Wu, Hua Li, Chunxiang Hu*. 2023. The extracellular polysaccharide determine the physico-chemical surface properties of Microcystis. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14:1285229.

2022

1. Qiong Wang, Qingyi Zhang, Yingchun Han, Delu Zhang, Chengcai Zhang, Chunxiang Hu*. 2022. The carbon cycle in microbial ecosystems of biological soil crusts. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 171: 108729.

2. Yingchun Han, Qiong Wang, Qi Li, Chunxiang Hu*. 2022. Active metabolism and biomass dynamics of biocrusts are shaped by variation in their successional state and seasonal energy resources. Science of the Total Environment, 831: 154756.

3. Shubin Lan*, Li Wu, Alessandra Adessi, Chunxiang Hu*. 2022. Cyanobacterial persistence and influence on microbial community dynamics over 15 years in induced biocrusts. Environmental Microbiology, 24(1): 61-88.

4. Yuanlong Li, Jingyi Wei, Haijian Yang, Delu Zhang, Chunxiang Hu*. 2022. Biogeography, driving factors, assembly, and co-occurrence patterns of archaeal community in biocrusts. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13: 848908.

5. Qi Li, Chunxiang Hu, Haijian Yang*. 2022. Responses of cyanobacterial crusts and microbial communities to extreme environments of the stratosphere. Microorganisms, 10: 1252.

6. Haijian Yang, Chunxiang Hu*. 2022. Soil chemistry and nutrients influence the distribution of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria and eukaryotic phototrophic microorganisms of physical soil crusts at different elevations on the Tibetan Plateau. Microbial Ecology, 83: 100-113.

7. Hong-Mei Ge, Ya-Ru Zhou, Shi-Ying Liu, Xian-Zhe Wang, Xing-Ye Han, Shu-Lian Wang, Chun-Xiang Hu*. 2022. Effects of nutrient deficiency on the partition pattern of EPS and glycogen in Microcoleus vaginatus. Acta Hydrobiologica Sinica, 46(2): 203-209.