Pioneers of Allelopathy: XVI. Shaolin Peng

Abstract

Shaolin Peng contributed immensely to restoration ecology research in last 40- years and has published 700 papers. He has made innovative and theoretical breakthroughs in vegetation restoration, ecological restoration of invaded ecosystems, interaction between ecological restoration and global change, etc. One of his key achievements is vegetation restoration in subtropical South China. He has developed new models of vegetation in natural succession, replacement and fluctuation, advanced theory and proved that extremely degraded tropical forests can be restored. He established that allelopathy is one of the driving forces of forest succession and did related studies on systematic sampling and analysis of several forest communities from south to north in China. He has done outstanding research on invasive plants and examined the Novel Weapon Hypothesis (allelopathic inhibition) of invasive alien plants in South China and determined the various aspects of invasive mechanism of alien plants (molecular mechanism of elevated temperature and CO effects in allelopathy of invasive plants). He put forward the ‘Allelopathic resistance hypothesis (native plants resistance to invasive plants)’ and ‘ecological control theory’. In recognition of his contributions to <i>Allelopathy</i> field, he was awarded the <i>Outstanding Achievement Award</i> by the International Allelopathy Foundation. He also did in-depth studies on ecological impacts of invasive plants, specifically focusing on plant-soil feedback and plant-AMF symbiosis. Besides, Peng has mentored 68 Ph.D. and 38 M.Sc graduates, and was recognized as Prominent Teacher by Sun Yat-sen University. He has been the Vice President, Ecological Society of China, Vice Chairman, Nature Conservation and Eco-Environment Teaching Steering Committee, Ministry of Education, Member, Academic Degree Commission of State Council, Awarded ‘Top Ten Outstanding Youth in China’, Young Scientist Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Outstanding Scientific and Technical Worker of China.