Ke Zhang

Ke Zhang

Lakes in the Anthropocene

Publications

You can also find my articles on my Google Scholar profile.

On this page, you can find a list of my published academic papers. The papers are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent publications at the top.

First author/corresponding author（*）

  • Du, C., Zhang, K.*, Lin, Q., Han, Y., Xu, M., Liu, J., & Wang, L. (2026). Nature-based solutions can mitigate climate and human-induced threats to alpine aquatic ecosystems. Communications Earth & Environment, 7, 123.DOI

  • Jin, Y., Zhang, K.*, Lin, Q., Liu, S., Huang, S., Han, Y., Luo, J., & Meadows, M. E. (2026). Applied paleoecology for macrophyte restoration: Defining Anthropocene baselines in Lake Liangzi. Journal of Applied Ecology, 63, e70400.DOI

  • Zhang K.*, Gillson, L., Jin, Y., McGowan, S., Finch, J., Liu, Z., … & Taylor, D. (2025). Shifting paradigms: towards dynamic approaches to sustain Anthropocene lake ecosystems. Science Bulletin.DOI

  • Du, C., Zhang, K.*, Lin, Q., Huang, S., Han, Y., Ren, J., … & Shen, J. (2025). Rapid ecological change outpaces climate warming in Tibetan glacier lakes. Communications Earth & Environment, 6(1), 523.DOI

  • Jin, Y., Zhang, K.*, Lin, Q., Huang, S., Zhou, X., Ren, J., & Meadows, M. E. (2025). Aquatic community synchrony dynamics in response to multitrophic regime shifts: Paleoecological insights from a shallow lake. Water Research, 124402.DOI

  • Hou, J., Lin, Q., Zhang, J., Huang, S., Jin, Y., Wang, Y., He, H., Taillardat, P., Taylor, D., Zhang, K.*, Meadows, M. E. (2025). Ecological regime shifts weaken sedimentary carbon sequestration in shallow Lake Liangzi. Water Research, 125173.DOI

  • Huang, S., Lin, Q., Zhang K,*, Han, Y., Du, C., & Shen, J. (2025). Abrupt ecological shift and recovery trajectory of a peri‐urban lake in the Anthropocene: Insights from paleoecology and modeling projection. Water Resources Research, 61(6), e2024WR038925. DOI

  • Du, C., Zhang, K.*, Lin, Q., Huang, S., Han, Y. and Shen, J. (2025). Glacier Meltwater Input and Salinity Decline Promote Algal Growth in a Tibetan Saline Lake. Freshwater Biology, 70: e70010. DOI

  • Qi Lin, Ke Zhang*, Charline Giguet-Covex, Kai Li, Ludovic Gielly, Xiaqing Wang, Shixin Huang, Yaoyao Han, Nan Zhang, Fabien Arnaud, Ji Shen. (2024). Reconstructing Anthropocene dynamics of subtropical vegetation and plant diversity by combining sedimentary ancient DNA and pollen: A high-resolution comparative analysis from China’s Yangtze floodplain. Fundamental Research. DOI

  • Han, Y., Lin, Q., Huang, S., Du, C., Shen, J., & Zhang, K. (2024). Human impacts dominate global loss of lake ecosystem resilience. Geophysical Research Letters, 51, e2024GL109298. DOI

  • Lin, Q., Zhang K*, Giguet-Covex, C., Arnaud, F., McGowan, S., Gielly, L., Capo E., Huang S., Ficetola G. F., Shen J, Dearing J. A, Meadows, M. E. (2024). Transient social-ecological dynamics reveal signals of decoupling in a highly disturbed Anthropocene landscape. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 121, e2321303121. DOI

  • Lin, Q., Zhang K*, McGowan, S., Xue, Q., Capo, E., Zhang, C., Zhao, C. and Shen, J., 2023. Characterization of lacustrine harmful algal blooms using multiple biomarkers: Historical processes, driving synergy, and ecological shifts. Water Research, 235: 119916. DOI

  • Han, Y., Zhang K*, Lin, Q., Huang, S., Yang, X., 2023. Assessing lake ecosystem health from disturbed anthropogenic landscapes: Spatial patterns and driving mechanisms. Ecological Indicators, 147. DOI

  • Huang SX, Zhang K*, Lin Q, Shen J., Abrupt ecological shifts of lakes during the Anthropocene. Earth-Science Reviews.2022. 227: p. 103981. DOI

  • Huang SX, Zhang K*, Lin Q, Kattel G, Shen J., Lake ecosystem regime shifts induced by agricultural intensification: A century-scale paleolimnological investigation from the Huai River Basin (China). Quaternary Science Reviews. 2022: 285:107522. DOI

  • Huang FF, Zhang K*, Huang SX, Lin Q. Patterns and trajectories of macrophyte change in East China’s shallow lakes over the past one century. Sci China-Earth Sci. 2021(1674-7240). DOI

  • Lin Q, Zhang K*, McGowan S, Capo E, Shen J. Synergistic impacts of nutrient enrichment and climate change on long-term water quality and ecological dynamics in contrasting shallow-lake zones. Limnology and Oceanography. 2021. DOI

  • Lin Q, Zhang K*, Liu E, Sabatier P, Arnaud F, Shen J. Deciphering centurial anthropogenic pollution processes in large lakes dominated by socio-economic impacts. Anthropocene. 2020; 32:100269. DOI

  • Jalil A, Zhang K*, Qi L, Li YP. Long-term wind-induced internal response mechanisms at Meiliang Bay of large, shallow Lake Taihu. Ann Limnol-Int J Lim. 2020; 56:11. DOI

  • Ge YW, Zhang K*, Yang XD, Kong LY, Zhang QH. Pollen-vegetation/land use relationships in southeastern China: Complexity and applicability for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Ecological Indicators. 2020; 116:15. DOI

  • Lin Q, Zhang K*, Shen J, Liu E. Integrating long-term dynamics of ecosystem services into restoration and management of large shallow lakes. Science of the Total Environment. 2019; 671:66-75. DOI

  • Jalil A, Li Y, Zhang K*, Gao X, Wang W, Khan HOS, et al. Wind-induced hydrodynamic changes impact on sediment resuspension for large, shallow Lake Taihu, China. International Journal of Sediment Research. 2019; 34(3):205-. DOI

  • Ge Y, Zhang K*, Yang X. A 110-year pollen record of land use and land cover changes in an anthropogenic watershed landscape, eastern China: Understanding past human-environment interactions. Science of the Total Environment. 2019; 650:2906-18. DOI

  • Zhang K*, Yang X, Xu M, Lin Q, Kattel G, Shen J. Confronting challenges of managing degraded lake ecosystems in the Anthropocene, exemplified from the Yangtze River Basin in China. Anthropocene. 2019; 24:30-9. DOI

  • Zhang K*, Yang X, Kattel G, Lin Q, Shen J. Freshwater lake ecosystem shift caused by social-economic transitions in Yangtze River Basin over the past century. Scientific Reports. 2018; 8(1):17146. DOI

  • Zhang K*, Dong XH, Yang XD, Kattel G, Zhao YJ, Wang R. Ecological shift and resilience in China’s lake systems during the last two centuries. Global and Planetary Change. 2018; 165:147-59. DOI

  • Ge Y, Zhang K*, Yang X. Long-term succession of aquatic plants reconstructed from palynological records in a shallow freshwater lake. Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 643:312-23. DOI

  • Zhang K*, Dearing JA, Tong SL, Hughes TP. China’s Degraded Environment Enters A New Normal. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 2016;31(3):175-7. DOI

  • Zhang K*. Regime shifts and resilience in China’s coastal ecosystems. Ambio. 2016; 45(1):89-98. DOI

  • Zhang K, Dearing JA, Dawson TP, Dong X, Yang X, Zhang W. Poverty alleviation strategies in eastern China lead to critical ecological dynamics. Science of the Total Environment. 2015; 506-507:164-81. DOI

  • Zhang K, Zhao Y, Guo XL. Conifer stomata analysis in paleoecological studies on the Loess Plateau: An example from Tianchi Lake, Liupan Mountains. J Arid Environ. 2011; 75(11):1209-13. DOI

  • Zhang K, Zhao Y, Zhou A, Sun H. Late Holocene vegetation dynamic and human activities reconstructed from lake records in western Loess Plateau, China. Quaternary International. 2010; 227(1):38-45. DOI

  • Zhang K, Zhao Y, Yu ZC, Zhou AF. A 2700-year high-resolution pollen record of climate change from varved Sugan Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. 2010; 297(2):290-8. DOI

Co-author

  • Sun, X., Lin, Q., Du, C., Huang, S., Zhang, K., & Shen, J. (2025). Development of the algal pigment-based salinity transfer function for lakes on the Tibetan Plateau and evaluation of the quantitative reconstruction. Ecological Indicators, 170, 112998.DOI

  • Xiang, L., Zhang, D., Wang, W., Farqan, M., Song, X., Yan, C.,…, Zhang, K., … & Huang, X. (2025). Long-term biotic responses and anthropogenic impacts in dryland lake ecosystems of northwestern China over the past two centuries. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 113075.DOI

  • Gillson, L., Seddon, A., Mottl, O., Zhang, K., Kirsten, K., Gell, P., … & Dearing, J. (2025). Exploring the interface between planetary boundaries and palaeoecology. Global Change Biology, 31(1), e70017.DOI

  • Zhou, S., Long, H., Xing, H., Zhang, K., Wang, R. and Zhang, E., 2023. Human activities facilitated the decline of forest ecosystem in East Asia after 5000 a BP. Earth-Science Reviews, 245: 104552. DOI

  • Chen, Z., Liu, J., Rühland, K.M., Zhang, J., Zhang, K., Kang, W., Chen, S., Wang, R., Zhang, H. and Smol, J.P., 2023. Collapse of the Tibetan Empire attributed to climatic shifts: Paleolimnological evidence from the western Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews, 317: 108280. DOI

  • Lin Q, Liu EF, Zhang EL, Bindler R, Richard N, Zhang K, Shen J., Spatial variation of organic carbon sequestration in large lakes and implications for carbon stock quantification. CATENA, 2022. 208: p. 105768. DOI

  • Gallagher, J.B., Zhang K, and Chuan CH.H, A Re-evaluation of Wetland Carbon Sink Mitigation Concepts and Measurements: A Diagenetic Solution. Wetlands, 2022. 42(3): p. 23. DOI

  • Zhang JF, Liu JB, Yuan YL, Zhou AF, Chen J, Shen ZW, Zhang K. Pre-industrial cyanobacterial dominance in Lake Moon (NE China) revealed by sedimentary ancient DNA. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2021;261. DOI

  • Shen J, Zhang K, Liu Z. Paleolimnological evidence of environmental change in Chinese lakes over the past two centuries. Inland Waters. 2020:1-10. DOI

  • Zhang C, Zhao C, Zhou A, Zhang K, Wang R, Shen J. Late Holocene lacustrine environmental and ecological changes caused by anthropogenic activities in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Science Reviews. 2019;203:266-77. DOI

  • Wang R, Xu M, Yang H, Yang X, Zhang K, Zhang E, et al. Ordered diatom species loss along a total phosphorus gradient in eutrophic lakes of the lower Yangtze River basin, China. Science of The Total Environment. 2019;650:1688-95. DOI

  • Dearing JA, Zhang K, Cao W, Dawson TP, McKay DA, Sillitoe P, et al. Who determines the trade-offs between agricultural production and environmental quality? An evolutionary perspective from rural eastern China. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 2019:1-20. DOI

  • Kattel G, Zhang K, Yang XD. Application of subfossil cladocerans (water fleas) in assessing ecological resilience of shallow Yangtze River floodplain lake systems (China). Sci China-Earth Sci. 2018;61(9):1157-68. DOI

  • Kattel G, Cai Y, Yang X, Zhang K, Hao X, Wang R, et al. Potential Indicator Value of Subfossil Gastropods in Assessing the Ecological Health of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Floodplain System (China). Geosciences. 2018;8(6):222. DOI

  • Xu M, Dong XH, Yang XD, Wang R, Zhang K, Zhao YJ, et al. Using palaeolimnological data and historical records to assess long-term dynamics of ecosystem services in typical Yangtze shallow lakes (China). Science of the Total Environment. 2017;584:791-802. DOI

  • Dearing J, Acma B, Bub S, Chambers F, Chen X, Cooper J,… Zhang K. Social-ecological systems in the Anthropocene: the need for integrating social and biophysical records at regional scales. The Anthropocene Review. 2015. DOI

  • Dearing JA, Wang R, Zhang K, Dyke JG, Haberl H, Hossain MS, et al. Safe and just operating spaces for regional social-ecological systems. Global Environmental Change. 2014;28(1):227-38. DOI

  • Dearing JA, Yang X, Dong X, Zhang E, Chen X, Langdon PG, ..Zhang K. Extending the timescale and range of ecosystem services through paleoenvironmental analyses, exemplified in the lower Yangtze basin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2012;109(18):E1111-E20. DOI

  • Zhao Y, Yu ZC, Liu XJ, Zhao C, Chen FH, Zhang K. Late Holocene vegetation and climate oscillations in the Qaidam Basin of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary Research. 2010;73(1):59-69. DOI

  • Zhao Y, Chen FH, Zhou AF, Yu ZC, Zhang K. Vegetation history, climate change and human activities over the last 6200 years on the Liupan Mountains in the southwestern Loess Plateau in central China. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology. 2010;293(1-2):197-205. DOI

  • Li FR, Sun JH, Zhao Y, Guo XL, Zhao WW, Zhang K. Ecological significance of common pollen ratios: A review. Front Earth Sci. 2010;4(3):253-8. DOI

  • 孙信尧, 张科, 林琪, 沈吉. 定量转换函数在人类世湖泊水环境变化研究中的应用. 地球科学进展. 2024,39(05)：504-518.

  • 王荣, 张科, 刘建宝, 董旭辉, 羊向东. 湖泊流域生态系统演化对人类世研究的重要意义. 湖泊科学, 2024,36(02):333-338.

  • 刘维淦, 林琪, 张科, 沈吉. 太湖流域长荡湖百年来生态环境演变过程. 湖泊科学. 2022 (2)：675-683.

  • 黄菲帆, 张科*, 黄世鑫, 林琪. 过去百年来中国东部浅水湖泊水生植被演化模式. 中国科学.地球科学. 2021(1674-7240).

  • 羊向东, 王荣, 董旭辉, 王倩, 陈旭, 徐敏, 张科. 中国湖泊古生态研究进展. 湖泊科学. 2020(5)：1380-95.