Research Area

Remote sensing; Ecology; Forestry; Climate change

Introduction

My research team is an interdisciplinary group working at the intersection of remote sensing, ecology, and data science. We specialize in multi-source remote sensing data fusion, vegetation structure reconstruction, and ecosystem modeling. Our work investigates how vegetation structure across scales interacts with microclimate, biodiversity, and disturbance to shape ecosystem dynamics. We emphasize methodological innovation and real-world applications, providing scientific support for sustainable forest management and climate-resilient ecosystem planning.

Selected Publications

1. Jiabo Yan, Jiatong Wang, Xiaoqiang Liu, Xiaotian Qi, Yuhao Feng, Eduardo Eiji Maeda, Tianyu Hu, Lingli Liu, and Yanjun Su*. A connectivity‐based algorithm for wood–leaf separation from terrestrial laser scanning data. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 2025.16: 2836–2857.

2. Jiatong Wang, Xiaoqiang Liu, Xiaotian Qi, Xiaoyong Wu, Yilin Long, Yuhao Feng, Qi Dong, Jiabo Yan, Liwen Huang, Yue Luo, Mengqi Cao, Kai Xu, Changming Zhao, Yang Wang, Tianyu Hu, Jin Wu, Lingli Liu, and Yanjun Su*. Boosting leaf trait estimation from reflectance spectra by elucidating the transferability of PLSR models. Plant Phenomics. 2025.7: 100054.

3. Xiaoyong Wu, Chunyue Niu, Xiaoqiang Liu, Tianyu Hu, Yuhao Feng, Yingyi Zhao, Shuwen Liu, Zhonghua Liu, Guanhua Dai, Yao Zhang, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Jin Wu, Lingli Liu, Qinghua Guo, and Yanjun Su*. Canopy structure regulates autumn phenology by mediating the microclimate in temperate forests. Nature Climate Change. 2024.14: 1299–1305.

4. Tianyu Hu, Mengqi Cao, Xiaoxia Zhao, Xiaoqiang Liu, Zhonghua Liu, Liangyun Liu, Zhenying Huang, Shengli Tao, Zhiyao Tang, Yanpei Guo, Chengjun Ji, Chengyang Zheng, Guoyan Wang, Xiaokang Hu, Luhong Zhou, Yunxiang Cheng, Wenhong Ma, Yonghui Wang, Pujin Zhang, Yuejun Fan, Feihai Yu, Zhong Wang, Xiujuan Qiao, Xiaoli Cheng, Chunying Yin, Hongyuan Ma, Liping Li, Yan Yang, Wanyin Luo, Yanming Gong, Lei Wang, Leiyi Chen, Guofang Liu, Chuangye Song, Xuejun Yang, Xuehua Ye, Shuren Zhang, Xiangyun Zhu, Qinggang Wang, Shijin Li, Yongchuan Yang, Lingli Liu, Maggi Kelly, Jingyun Fang, and Yanjun Su*. High-resolution mapping of grassland canopy cover in China through the integration of extensive drone imagery and satellite data. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 2024. 218: 69-83.

5. Yuhao Feng, Yanjun Su*, Jiatong Wang, Jiabo Yan, Xiaotian Qi, Eduardo Eiji Maeda, Matheus Henrique Nunes, Xiaoxia Zhao, Xiaoqiang Liu, Xiaoyong Wu, Chen Yang, Jiamin Pan, Kai Dong, Danhua Zhang, Tianyu Hu, and Jingyun Fang*. L1-Tree: A novel algorithm for constructing 3D tree models and estimating branch architectural traits using terrestrial laser scanning data. Remote Sensing of Environment. 2024,314: 114390.

6. Xiaoqiang Liu, Yuhao Feng, Tianyu Hu, Yue Luo, Xiaoxia Zhao, Jin Wu, Eduardo Eiji Maeda, Weiming Ju, Lingli Liu, Qinghua Guo, and Yanjun Su*. Enhancing ecosystem productivity and stability with increasing canopy structural complexity in global forests. Science Advances. 2024.10: eadl1947.

7. Qin Ma, Yanjun Su*, Tianyu Hu, Lin Jiang, Xiangcheng Mi, Luxiang Lin, Min Cao, Xugao Wang, Fei Lin, Bojian Wang, Zhenhua Sun, Jin Wu, Keping Ma, and Qinghua Guo. The coordinated impact of forest internal structural complexity and tree species diversity on forest productivity across forest biomes. Fundamental Research. 2024.4: 1185-1195.

8. Qin Ma, Yanjun Su*, Chunyue Niu, Qin Ma, Tianyu Hu, Xiangzhong Luo, Xiaonan Tai, Tong Qiu, Yao Zhang, Roger C. Bales, Lingli Liu, Maggi Kelly, and Qinghua Guo. Tree mortality during long-term droughts is lower in structurally complex forest stands. Nature Communications. 2023.14: 7467.

9. Zhonghua Liu, Shichao Jin*, Xiaoqiang Liu, Qiuli Yang, Qing Li, Jingrong Zang, Zhaofeng Li, Tianyu Hu, Zifeng Guo, Jin Wu, Dong Jiang, and Yanjun Su*. Extraction of wheat spike phenotypes from field-collected lidar data and exploration of their relationships with wheat yield. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 2023.61:1-13.

10. Xiaoqiang Liu, Qin Ma, Xiaoyong Wu, Tianyu Hu, Guanhua Dai, Jin Wu, Shengli Tao, Shaopeng Wang, Lingli Liu, Qinghua Guo, and Yanjun Su*. Nonscalability of Fractal Dimension to Quantify Canopy Structural Complexity from Individual Trees to Forest Stands. Journal of Remote Sensing, 2022.2022:0001.

11. Xiaoqiang Liu, Qin Ma, Xiaoyong Wu, Tianyu Hu, Zhonghua Liu, Lingli Liu, Qinghua Guo, and Yanjun Su*. A novel entropy-based method to quantify forest canopy structural complexity from multiplatform lidar point clouds. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2022.282:113280.

12. Yanjun Su, Qinghua Guo*, Hongcan Guan, Tianyu Hu, Shichao Jin, Zhiheng Wang, Lingli Liu, Lin Jiang, Ke Guo, Zongqiang Xie, Shazhou An, Xuelin Chen, Zhanqing Hao, Yuanman Hu, Yongmei Huang, Mingxi Jiang, Jiaxiang Li, Zhenji Li, Xiankun Li, Xiaowei Li, Cunzhu Liang, Renlin Liu, Qing Liu, Hongwei Ni, Shaolin Peng, Zehao Shen, Zhiyao Tang, Xingjun Tian, Xihua Wang, Renqing Wang, Yingzhong Xie, Xiaoniu Xu, Xiaobo Yang, Yongchuan Yang, Lifei Yu, Ming Yue, Feng Zhang, Jun Chen, and Keping Ma. Human-climate coupled changes in vegetation community complexity of China since the 1980s. Earth's Future, 2022.10: e2021EF002553.

13. Chunyue Niu, William Woodgate, Stuart R. Phinn, Chris M. Roelfsema, and Yanjun Su*. Extending a canopy reflectance model for mangroves: A case study in southeast Queensland, Australia. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2022.316: 108875.

14. Xiaoqiang Liu, Yanjun Su*, Tianyu Hu, Qiuli Yang, Bingbing Liu, Yufei Deng, Hao Tang, Zhiyao Tang, Jingyun Fang, Qinghua Guo. Neural network guided interpolation for mapping canopy height of China's forests by integrating GEDI and ICESat-2 data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 2022.269:112844.

15. Yanjun Su, Qinghua Guo*, Shichao Jin, Hongcan Guan, Xinliang Sun, Qin Ma, Tianyu Hu, Rui Wang, and Yumei Li. The development and evaluation of backpack LiDAR system for accurate and efficient forest inventory. IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters, 2021, 18:1660-1664.

16. Yanjun Su, Qinghua Guo*, Tianyu Hu, Hongcan Guan, Shichao Jin, Shazhou An, Xuelin Chen, Ke Guo, Zhanqing Hao, Yuanman Hu, Yongmei Huang, Mingxi Jiang, Zhenji Li, Xiankun Li, Cunzhu Liang, Renlin Liu, Qing Liu, Hongwei Ni, Shaolin Peng, Zehao Shen, Zhiyao Tang, Xingjun Tian, Xihua Wang, Renqing Wang, Zongqiang Xie, Yingzhong Xie, Xiaoniu Xu, Xiaobo Yang, Yongchuan Yang, Lifei Yu, Ming Yue, Feng Zhang, and Keping Ma. An Updated Vegetation Map of China (1:1000000). Science Bulletin. 2020. 65:1125-1136.

17. Yanjun Su, Tianyu Hu, Yongcai Wang, Yumei Li, Jingyu Dai, Hongyan Liu, Shichao Jin, Qin Ma, Jin Wu, Lingli Liu, Jingyun Fang, and Qinghua Guo*. Large-Scale Geographical Variations and Climatic Controls on Crown Architecture Traits. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences. 2020. 125: e2019JG005306.

18. Hongcan Guan, Yanjun Su *, Xiliang Sun, Guangcai Xu, Qin Ma, Xiaoyong Wu, Jin Wu, Lingli Liu, and Qinghua Guo. A Marker-Free Method for Registering Multi-Scan Terrestrial Laser Scanning Data in Forest Environments. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 2020. 166(8): 82-94.

19. Yumei Li, Yanjun Su*, Xiaoxia Zhao, Mohan Yang, Tianyu Hu, Jing Zhang, Jin Liu, Min Liu, and Qinghua Guo. 2020. Retrieval of Tree Branch Architecture Attributes from Terrestria Laser Scan Data Using A Laplacian Algorithm. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 2020. 284: 107874.

20. Shichao Jin, Yanjun Su*, Shang Gao, Fangfang Wu, Qin Ma, Kexin Xu, Qin Ma, Tianyu Hu, Jin Liu, Shuxin Pang, Hongcan Guan, Jing Zhang, and Qinghua Guo*. Separating The Structural Components of Maize for Field Phenotyping Using Terrestrial Lidar Data and Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 2020. 58(4): 2644 - 2658.

21. Hongcan Guan, Yanjun Su*, Tianyu Hu, Rui Wang, Qin Ma, Qiuli Yang, Xiliang Sun, Yumei Li, Shichao Jin, Jing Zhang, Qin Ma, Min Liu, Fayun Wu, and Qinghua Guo. A Novel Framework to Automatically Fuse Multi-platform Lidar Data in Forest Environments Based on Tree Locations. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing. 2020. 58(3): 2165-2177.