Yihong Zhu

Yihong’s research seeks to quantify the impacts of novel disturbance regimes on the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Specifically, she explores the ecological and social costs associated with climate-driven (e.g., more frequent droughts) and management-induced disturbances (e.g. expanded use of beneficial fire) on forest dynamics. By integrating data synthesis with model simulations, she investigates how forests respond to and recover from these events, focusing on legacy effects and uncovering key trade-offs. Her work aims to advance understanding of forest resilience and inform future forest conservation and management.

Admittance Semester/Year and Program

Fall 2022, PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (Ecosystem Science division)

Education

B.A. in Forestry from Beijing Forestry University, 2020

M.S. in Forest Science from Yale University, 2022

Research Lab

Battles Forest Ecology Lab

Selected Publications

• Zhu, Y., Sanders, J.E., Jiang, Y., Battles, J.J., 2026. Legacy effects under an emerging novel disturbance regime: A memory-based framework to quantify tree growth. Journal of Ecology 114, e70253. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70253

• Zhu, Y., Foster, D.E., Collins, B.M., Stephens, S.L., York, R.A., Roughton, A.T., Moghaddas, E., Sanders, J., Battles, J.J. et al. 2025. Carbon costs of different pathways for reducing fire hazard in the Sierra Nevada. Ecological Applications 35 (7): e70111. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70111. 

• Zhu, Y., Zhao, B., Zhu, Z., Jia, B., Xu, W., Liu, M., Gao, L., Gregoire, T.G., 2022. The effects of crop tree thinning intensity on the ability of dominant tree species to sequester carbon in a temperate deciduous mixed forest, northeastern China. Forest Ecology and Management 505, 119893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119893

Selected Honors and Awards

• Philomathia Graduate Fellowship in the Environmental Sciences, 2025-2026