He has strong background in transdiscplinary research, particularly in mountain regions of Asian and Afircan Countries. Dr. Xu is an internationally respected leading ethnoecologist who works in coupled human environmental systems. His current research includes investigation of early warning signals of global change, transboundary water governance, landscape restoration, ecosystem services and their resilience, agroforestry, and integrative conservation. Professor Xu has published over 100 papers in high impact journals including Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Conservation Biology, Fungal Diversity and Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.