Global Institute for Water Security

Academic Background

Jian holds a Ph.D. degree in soil science from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Before joining GIWS, he conducted post-doctoral research at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Pennsylvania State University and U.S. Department of Agriculture — Agricultural Research Service. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Environmental Quality and Is leading in organizing a special issue on Agricultural Water Quality under Cold Conditions.

Research Interests and Expertise

Jian is a soil scientist with a research focus on agricultural nutrient and water quality management. His research involves evaluating impacts of climate and agricultural management practices on nutrient cycling and water quality at the field and watershed scales, using both experimental and modelling approaches. Jian's research contributes to improving the understanding of nutrient cycling and transport in the agricultural sector and designing beneficial management practice to minimize nutrient losses from land to water. The work will help to address one of the Institute's main research areas - water quality, towards sustainable water resource management. 

Research Keywords

  • Agricultural water quality
  • Beneficial management practices
  • Nutrient management
  • Watershed management

Publications

Selected recent publications:

Liu J., Kleinman P.J.A., Aronsson H, Bechmann M., Beegle D.B., Bryant R.B., Flaten D., Liu H.B., McDowell R.W., Robinson T.P., Sharpley A.N., Veith T.L. 2018. A global review of regulations and guidelines related to winter manure application. Ambio. (In press)

Liu J., Spargo J.T., Kleinman P.J.A., Meinen R., Moore Jr. P.A., Beegle D.B. 2018. Water-extractable phosphorus in animal manure and manure compost: Quantities, characteristics, and temporal changes. Journal of Environmental Quality 47:471-479.

Liu J., Veith T.L, Collick A.S., Kleinman P.J.A., Beegle D.B., Bryant R.B. 2017. Seasonal manure application timing and storage effects on field- and watershed-level phosphorus losses. Journal of Environmental Quality 46:1403-1412.

Full list of Publications (>30):

https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=x6j5dMUAAAAJ&hl=en