Horticulture science, especially in environmental control agriculture and protected cultivation. Current research is focused on root morphology, root exudate, the rhizosphere processes and the uptake and utilization of mineral nutrients by root under different nutrient supplies, CO₂ concentrations, and root temperatures.

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, PhD (2005-2010)

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Bachelor (2001-2005)

Editorial Board Member of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524)： 2020-present.

Associate Prof.-- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2017-present)

Assistant Prof. -- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2010-2017)

1.         Li D, Dong JL, Gruda N, Li X^*, Duan ZQ. 2022. Elevated root-zone temperature promotes the growth and alleviates the photosynthetic acclimation of cucumber plants exposed to elevated [CO₂]. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 194: 104694.

2.         Li X, Dong JL, Gruda N, Chu WY, Duan ZQ. 2021. Does the short-term fluctuation of mineral element concentrations in the closed hydroponic experimental facilities affect the mineral concentrations in cucumber plants exposed to elevated CO₂? Plant and Soil, 465: 125-141.

3.         Li X, Dong JL, Gruda N, Duan ZQ. 2021. The improvement of nitrogen use efficiency of cucumber plant by increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and root temperature in a greenhouse. Acta Horticulturae 1320, 139-147.

4.         Li X, Dong JL, Gruda N, Chu WY, Duan ZQ. 2020. Interactive effects of the CO₂ enrichment and nitrogen supply on the biomass accumulation, gas exchange properties and mineral elements concentrations in cucumber plants at different growth stages. Agronomy, 10: 139.

5.         Li X, Dong JL, Duan JJ, Shen WZ, Duan ZQ. 2020. The slow-release nitrogen behavior of oxamide granules in two different types of paddy soils. Pedosphere, Accepted.

6.         Li X, Dong JL, Gruda N, Duan ZQ. 2020. Greenhouse soil warmed by capillary network and its effect on the growth of cucumber. Acta Horticulturae, 1296: 149-158.

7.         Li X, Dong JL, Chu WY, Chen YJ, Duan ZQ. 2018. The relationship between root exudation properties and root morphological traits of cucumber grown under different nitrogen supplies and atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. Plant and Soil, 425: 415-432.

8.         Dong JL, Gruda N, Lam SK, Li X^*, Duan ZQ^*. 2018. Effects of elevated CO₂ on nutritional quality of vegetables: A review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9: 924.

9.         Dong JL, Xu Q, Gruda N, Chu WY, Li X^*, Duan ZQ^*. 2018. Elevated and super-elevated CO₂ differ in their interactive effect with nitrogen availability on fruit yield and quality of cucumber. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 98: 4509-4516.

10.     Li X, Dong JL, Chu WY, Duan ZQ. 2015. Adsorption efficiency of a continuous trapping system and its use for the collection of root exudates from cucumber. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 178: 963-975.

11.     Li X, Chu WY, Dong JL, Duan ZQ. 2014. An improved high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of soluble sugars in root exudates of greenhouse cucumber grown under CO₂ enrichment. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 139: 356-363.

12.     Li X, Duan ZQ. 2012. Synthesis of GdFeO₃ microspheres assembled by nanoparticles as magnetically recoverable and visible-light-driven photocatalysts. Materials Letters, 89: 262-265.

13.     Li X, Xu Z. 2012. Controllable synthesis of helical, straight, hollow and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers and their magnetic properties. Materials Research Bulletin, 47: 4383-4391.

14.     Li X, Xu Z. 2012. One-step catalytic growth of carbon nanofiber arrays vertically aligned on carbon substrate. Materials Research Bulletin, 47: 1557-1561.

15.     Li X, Zhu GX, Xu Z. 2012. Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube arrays grown on graphene substrate. Thin Solid Films, 520: 1959-1964.

16.     Li X, Tang C, Ai M, Dong L, Xu Z. 2010. Controllable synthesis of pure-phase rare-earth orthoferrites hollow spheres with a porous shell and their catalytic performance for the CO + NO reaction. Chemistry of Materials, 22: 4879-4889.

17.     Li X, Yu X, He J, Xu Z. 2009. Controllable fabrication, growth mechanisms, and photocatalytic properties of hematite hollow spindles. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 113: 2837-2845.

18.     Li X, Jiang Y, Shi Z, Xu Z. 2007. Two growth modes of metal oxide in the colloidal crystal template leading to the formation of two different macroporous materials. Chemistry of Materials, 19: 5424-5430.

19.     Li X, Tao F, Jiang Y, Xu Z. 2007. 3-D ordered macroporous cuprous oxide: Fabrication, optical, and photoelectrochemical properties. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 308: 460-465.

-      The National Natural Science Foundation of China: The effects of root temperature and CO₂ concentration on the rhizosphere process and nitrogen use efficiency of greenhouse cucumber and the underlying mechanisms, (41877103), 2019-2022.

-      The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Science: Demonstration of integrated water environment management in plain water network, (XDA23020401), 2019-2023.

-      The Frontier Project of Knowledge Innovation Program of Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences: The effects of greenhouse environment on the remediation of secondary salinization soil and its mechanisms, (ISSASIP1635), 2016-2020.

-      The National Key Research and Development Program of China: Study on the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus runoff loss from farmland with optimal management of water, fertilizer and rotation in typical areas, (YFD0800103), 2017-2020.

-      The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Science: Up- and below-ground biological function regulation and technical principles for the nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency, (XDB15030300), 2015-2019.

-      The National Science and Technology Support Program of China: Study and demonstration of environmentally friendly and intensive ecological high-value agriculture mode in suburbs of southeastern china, (2014BAD14B04), 2014-2017.

-      The National Natural Science Foundation of China: Root exudates responses to CO₂ fertilization and their rhizosphere effects, (41101272), 2012-2014.

-      The Outstanding Youth Fund of the State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture: Root exudates responses to the different temperature between the canopy and root of vegetables, 2012-2015.

-      The Outstanding Reviewer of the journal Scientia Horticulturae

-      Scientific Committee Member of VIII South-Eastern Europe Symposium on Vegetables and Potatoes, 24-26    September 2020, Ohrid

-      2018-present: Member of International Society for Horticultural Science

-      2016-present: Member of Soil Science Society of China

-      2012-present: Member of Chinese Society of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Sciences