FERG people

Head

Prof. Dr. Arshad Ali

Professor/ Group Leader

I am a top-notch (talent) Full Professor / PhD supervisor in the College of Life Sciences at Hebei University, where I am leading Forest Ecology Research Group (FERG). Prior to joining Hebei University I was a Full Professor / PhD supervisor at Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing, Jiangsu, and before that I completed my Postdoc at South China Normal University, Guangzhou. I completed my PhD and MS at East China Normal University, Shanghai, during Sep 2012 - Dec 2017. I am also serving several SCI journals as an Academic Editor since 2018. This includes top and respectful journals in the field of forest or plant ecology such as Forest Ecology and Management (Elsevier), Forestry (Oxford University Press, UK), Journal of Forestry Research (Springer, China), Biodiversity and Conservation (Springer), and Frontiers journals (Plant Science; Forests and Global Change). Prior to coming China, I completed my BS (Hons) in Forestry from Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Pakistan. After BS graduation, I worked as a Social Organizer and Project Manager at two different internationally supported NGOs in Pakistan for almost 2 years. I also served WWF Pakistan (Wetlands project) as an internee for a short time as a volunteer.

External collaborators supporting FERG research

Dr. Eskil Mattsson

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Sweden​

Dr. Hammad Gilani

Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad Highway, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan

Prof. Dr. Hassan Pourbabaei

Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Somehsara 43619-96196, Iran

Researchers and consultants

Students

FERG Alumni

Dr. Umar Aftab Abbasi

Postdoctoral Researcher - Full-time (September 2021 - July 2023)
Forest Ecology Research Group, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University
Postdoc report: Linking tree diversity, structure and functioning of Asian forests along environmental gradients
Published 4 papers as a first author in Q1 journals until 2023
Ongoing collaborations in publications

Dr. Maryam Kazempour Larsary

Ph.D. (co-advised/ part-time; 2018-2022), Guilan University, Iran
PhD thesis: Linking some environmental factors, plant diversity, stand structure, and aboveground biomass in temperate forests of west Guilan in Iran
Published 3 papers as a first author in Q1 journals until 2023
Ongoing collaborations in publications

Dr. Anvar Sanaei

Co-advised Ph.D. (Part-time; 2017-2017; final research only). Worked as an Assistant Researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and currently working as a Postdoc Fellow at Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Germany.
Thesis: Analysis of the relationships among species diversity, composition, structure and function of rangeland ecosystems (case study o: middle Taleghan region)
Published 3 papers as a first author in Q1 journals until 2017, and then several more papers as a collaborator until Jan 2023

Ms. Li-Qiu Wang (王立秋)

Full-time MS Forestry (September 2019 - June 2021); Chinese student
College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University
Master thesis: Relationships amongst environment, functional traits and aboveground biomass in forests – global meta-community analyses
Published 2 papers as a first author in Q1 journals

Mr. Suwash Kunwar

Full-time MS Forestry (September 2019 - June 2021); International student from Nepal on APFNet Scholarship; College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University
Thesis: Linking multiple facets of tree diversity and structure with aboveground biomass along an elevation gradient in tropical forests of Nepal: implications for forest management
Published 3 papers as a first author in Q1 journals