Breakthrough in Plant Diversity Research by ECUST Published in Nature Ecology & Evolution

Recently, the research team led by Professor Nianfeng Wan from the School of Pharmacy at our university published a research paper titled “Global evidence that plant diversity suppresses pests and promotes plant performance and crop production” in Nature Ecology & Evolution, a journal in the Nature Portfolio. The study provides global-scale evidence that plant diversity not only directly enhances plant productivity but also indirectly boosts crop yields by suppressing pests and diseases. The findings offer a new pathway for the development of efficient ecological agriculture that combines scientific innovation with practical feasibility.

ECUST is the primary institution and the sole corresponding institution for this research. Professor Nianfeng Wan is the corresponding author, while Professor Wan, Dr. Yuquan Wang from Fudan University, Dr. Liwan Fu from Capital Medical University, and master’s student Jie Liu from Wan’s research group are co-first authors. Other collaborators include: Professor Yueqing Hu and Master’s student Siyuan Shen from Fudan University; Dr. Dapeng Shi from Shanghai Center for Mathematical Sciences (SCMS); Professor Zhong Li from ECUST; graduated Master’s student Jia Zhou from Wan’s group; Dr. Fengfei Xin from the Shanghai Wildlife and Protected Natural Areas Research Center; Senior Researchers Ben A. Woodcock and James M. Bullock from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; Anu Eskelinen from the University of Oulu; Professor Andy Hector from the University of Oxford; Dr. Michel Loreau, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, Academia Europaea, and the Royal Society of Canada, as well as a Visiting Professor at Peking University; Dr. Yann Hautier from Utrecht University; Professor Richard D. Bardgett from Lancaster University; Professor Paul Kardol from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Dr. Debra Zuppinger-Dingley from the University of Zurich; Professor Lauchlan H. Fraser from Thompson Rivers University; Professor Shinichi Nakagawa from the University of Alberta; and Professor Christoph Scherber from the University of Bonn. 

This research was funded by the National Ten Thousand Plan-Young Top Talents of China, the Shanghai Agriculture Applied Technology Development Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, among other funding sources.