Wang, Tongli

Our team’s research interests are focused on applying the principles of ecology, ecological genetics, conservation genetics, and landscape genomics to explore theories and applications for climate change adaptation at different levels, including forest ecosystems, tree species, and populations. The research encompasses the following key aspects:

1. Development of scale-free climate models – Our team and collaborators have developed scale-free climate models that provide highly accurate climate data for specific geographical locations, surpassing the widely used gridded climate models. These models seamlessly integrate paleoclimate, historical climate, and future climate data into a single application package, generating a wealth of biologically relevant climate variables. With over 3,000 subscribers and more than 3,000 citations, these models, covering North America and the Asia-Pacific regions, have become essential tools for climate change-related research and applications.
2. Establishment of ecological niche models – As one of the pioneers in this field, our team has developed a range of innovative climate ecological niche models for ecosystems and tree species. These models incorporate advanced techniques such as machine learning algorithms, consensus predictions, and the integration of soil and competition factors. The prediction of fundamental niches has also been explored.
3. Establishment of ecological genetics models – To effectively harness the genetic variation among tree populations for climate change adaptation, our team has developed the Universal Response Function (URF) model. This model integrates the environmental and genetic effects of climate into a single function, allowing for the prediction of population performance for any provenance planted at any location. The URF model can also be applied to predict the fundamental niche of tree species.
4. Assessment of tree species genetic conservation – Our team has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the conservation status of 44 native tree species in British Columbia. To facilitate access to this information, we have developed web-based mapping tools that display the spatial conservation status and enable timely updates.
5. Landscape genomics – With the rapid accumulation of genomic data for several important forest tree species, our team has been at the forefront of studying spatial genomic variation among populations and its relationship with climatic variables. By employing landscape genomics models, we have successfully predicted spatial genomic variation, delineated seed zones, and quantified genetic offsets in future climates.