Wei Hu

Wei is a Senior Scientist with a background in soil physics and soil hydrology. Currently, his research focuses on the impact of management practices, such as compaction, intensive cultivation, no tillage, and irrigation, on soil health and ecosystem services including crop productivity and environmental sustainability.

Wei grew up in a traditional farm in the Central South of China and has a deep appreciation for nature. He enjoys spending his free time engaging in a variety of activities such as playing table tennis, gardening, fishing, and taking walks in nature.

Wei received his PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009 and served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Saskatchewan from 2011-2015. He has extensive expertise in soil water and solute transfer processes and modelling, agricultural management practices and soil physical environment, spatial-temporal analysis (e.g., wavelet, empirical mode decomposition, empirical orthogonal function, structural equation model) and scaling, and the effects of land-use and management practices on soil and water quality.

Wei’s work has resulted in over 140 peer-reviewed scientific publications in reputable journals such as Soil Science Society of America Journal, Geoderma, Journal of Hydrology, Global Change Biology, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Soil & Tillage Research, European Journal of Soil Science, Catena, and Agricultural Water Management, with more than 4000 citations. He also serves as a secretary of New Zealand-China Society of Science, Technology and Education, an associate editor for the Journal of Hydrology, New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, a member of leadership group of New Zealand – China Water Research Centre, and an adjunct Associate Professor at Lincoln University.