Sheng Li, Ph.D.

Image Sheng Li
Research Scientist

Research on soil water conservation

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
850 Lincoln Road, Fredericton, New Brunswick

Current research and/or projects

AAFC funded projects:

  • Evaluation of soil health and nutrient runoff in southern Ontario. 2019 - 2023. AAFC-Research Accelerating Innovation.  Led by Dr. Jiali Shang. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Landscape Integrated Soil and Water Conservation (LISWC) on sloping fields under potato production in Atlantic Canada. 2018 - 2021. AAFC- -Research Accelerating Innovation.  Dr. Li as Principal Investigator.
  • Sustainability measures to monitor and analyze the environmental impact of Canadian agriculture. 2018 - 2021. AAFC-A-Base.  Dr. Li as indicator lead.
  • Improving crop production resiliency using innovative BMPs. 2018 - 2021. AAFC- Research Accelerating Innovation.  Led by Dr. Yefang Jiang. Dr. Li participate as site lead in New Brunswick.
  • State of Soil and Land of Canada: cost-effective methods of soil and soil landscape data delivery. 2018 - 2021. AAFC-A-Base.  Led by Mr. Xiaoyuan Geng. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Integrated nutrient management and multi-scale BMP assessment for priority Canadian agricultural landscapes. 2016 - 2020. AAFC-Research Accelerating Innovation.  Led by Dr. Craig Drury. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Reducing sediment, N and P loading from arable cropping systems to receiving waters in eastern Canada (PEI, NB, NS, QC). 2016 - 2019. AAFC-A-Base. Led by Dr. Bernie Zebarth. Dr. Li participate as component lead on sediment.
  • Mitigating phosphorus loss from agricultural lands in the Lake Erie watershed. 2016 - 2019. AAFC-A-Base. Led by Dr. Tiequan Zhang. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • New digital approaches of soil and agricultural land use data development and integration: Canadian land productivity modelling case. 2016 - 2019. AAFC-A-Base. Led by Mr. Xiaoyuan Geng. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Integrated nutrient management and multi-scale BMP assessment for priority Canadian agricultural landscapes.. 2016 - 2019. AAFC-A-Base. Led by Dr. Craig Drury. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Measuring and assessing Canadian rangeland and other agricultural best management practices with the enhanced whole-farm model Holos. 2016 - 2019. AAFC-A-Base. Led by Dr. Roland Kroebel. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Characterizing and modeling the interactions between water and tillage erosion under potato and cereal production systems. 2015 - 2018. AAFC-A-Base. Dr. Li as Principal Investigator.
  • Development of new generations of soil erosion indicators. 2014 - 2018. AAFC Sustainability Metrics Program. Dr. Li as indicator lead.
  • Securing Export Markets for Potato Processors by Mitigating Limitations to On-Farm Yield. 2015-2018. AAFC collaborative framework & industry partners. Led by Dr. Bernie Zebarth. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.
  • Development and transfer of a forage plowing BMP for improving water quality and economic resiliency of potato production. 2014 - 2017. A2-DT. Dr. Li participate as collaborator.

Non-AAFC funded projects:

  • Meng et al., Assess carbon sequestration and nitrogen interception by riparian restoration in agriculture area. 2020-2023. Environment Trust Fund. Environment and Local Government, Government of New Brunswick.
  • Li et al., Modeling the effects of water stress and supplemental irrigation on potato production in New Brunswick under climate change. 2019-2022. Enabling Agricultural Research and Innovation (EARI) program.  Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Government of New Brunswick. Dr. Li as Principal Investigator.
  • Meng et al., Establishing an exceedance monitoring network for in-stream pesticide residue associated with agriculture non-point sources in New Brunswick.  2017-2019. Environment Trust Fund. Environment and Local Government, Government of New Brunswick.
  • Jamieson et al., Climate Change Impacts on Nutrient Loading in Freshwater Ecosystems. 2015 – 2018. Atlantic Ecosystem Initiatives, Environment Canada
  • Designing and managing riparian areas to filter phosphorus and sediment. 2013 - 2017. Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund (LWBSF).
  • Ali, G. et al. Development of a Simulation Tool to Identify Priority Areas for Wetland Conservation and Restoration. 2013 - 2017. Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund (LWBSF).
  • Lobb et al., Tillage erosion and its interactions with wind and water erosion. 2012 - 2017. NSERC Discovery Grants. 
  • Lobb et al., Development of environmental fingerprinting techniques for sources of sediment and associated phosphorus within agricultural watersheds of Canada. 2011 - 2016. NSERC Strategic Project Grants.

Research and/or project statements

Dr. Sheng Li has been a Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Fredericton since 2011. Dr. Sheng Li’s research is focusing on soil erosion, soil water conservation, watershed hydrology and extends to sediment transportation, soil and water quality, geomorphometry and landscape segmentation. Dr. Li is the principal investigator for many projects relating to agri-environment and watershed hydrology and has been the site lead since 2011 for the Black Brook Watershed, a long-term monitoring watershed maintained by AAFC for decades to examine the effects of agricultural practices on water quality. Dr. Li has been an Adjunct Professor in the University of Manitoba and an Honorary Research Associate in the University of New Brunswick since 2007. He also has served as an associate editor for Journal of Soil and Water Conservation and Canadian Soil Science Society Journal since 2019. Dr. Li led the agri-environmental aspect of the Canadian delegation for Potato mission to China in 2016. Up until the end of 2019, Dr. Li has published 40 articles in refereed journals and 105 contributions in non-refereed publications and conference proceedings.

Key publications

  1. Arcand, Y., Bittman, S., Britten, M., Champagne, C., Daneshfar, B., David, S., Davidson, A., Derdall, E. Drury, C., Eden, J., Handyside, P., Hung, Y., Javorek, S., Jiang, Y., Jingui, Y., Jordan, C., Joosse, P., Li, S., McAuley, E., McNairn, H., MacDonald, D., Pacheco, A., Powers, J., Reid, K., Smith, E. L., Topp, E., Vanrobaeys, J., Villeneuve, S., Wilson, H., Yang, J. Agricultural Land Use. Synthesis of Science. Canada Water Agency Report. Freshwater Science Assessment-Line of Inquiry. Nov. 20, 2020.

    2020 - View publication details

  2. Neupane, S., Goyer, C., Zebarth, B.J., Li, S., Whitney, S. (2019). Soil bacterial communities exhibit systematic spatial variation with landform across a commercial potato field. Geoderma, [online] 335 112-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2018.08.016

    2019 - View publication details

  3. Satchithanantham, S., Wilson, H.F., Michiels, P., Dubois, M., Li, S., Koiter, A.J. (2019). Channel geomorphology differences between stream reaches with grass- or tree-dominated riparian vegetation in southern Manitoba. Facets, [online] 4(1), 336-349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/facets-2018-0036

    2019 - View publication details

  4. Joosse, P., Laamrani, A., Feisthauer, N. Li, S. 2017. Assessing Vulnerability of Lake Erie Landscapes to Soil Erosion: Modelled and Measured Approaches. GC33D-1103 presented at 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, 11-15 Dec.

    2017 - View publication details

  5. Goyer, C., Zebarth, B.J., Li, S., Whitney, S., and Neupane, S. (2016). "Spatial variation in soil bacterial and fungal communities in a commercial potato field.", North East Potato Tech Forum, Fredericton, NB, Canada, March 16-17, 2016. (Abstract)

    2016 - View publication details

  6. Goyer, C., Zebarth, B.J., Li, S., Whitney, S., and Neupane, S. (2016). "Examining the effects of compost on soil microbial communities.", Compost Council of Canada, September 2, 2016. (Abstract)

    2016 - View publication details

  7. Lobb, D.A., Li, S., and McConkey, B.G. (2016). "Soil Erosion.", in Clearwater, R.L., Martin, T. and Hoppe, T. (eds.) - Environmental sustainability of Canadian agriculture: Agri-environmental indicator report series -- Report #4, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Chapter 8, pp. 77-89.

    2016 - View publication details

  8. Qi, J., Li, S., Xing, Z.S., Bourque, C.P.-A., and Meng, F. (2015). "Adopting an Energy Balance Snowmelt Model in Soil and Water Assessment Tool model (SWAT) for Application in Atlantic Canada.", 2015 International SWAT Conference and Workshops, Purdue University, USA, October 12-16, 2015. (Poster)

    2015 - View publication details

  9. Qi, J., Li, S., Xing, Z.S., Bourque, C.P.-A., and Meng, F. (2015). "Modifying the Soil Temperature Module in SWAT for Application in Atlantic Canada: Module Development, Validation and Impacts on Watershed Modelling.", 2015 International SWAT Conference and Workshops, Purdue University, USA, October 12-16, 2015. (Poster)

    2015 - View publication details

  10. Kröbel, R., Li, S., Little, S.M., Vanin, C., and Janzen, H.H. (2015). "Calculating greenhouse gases from the Black-Brook watershed, New Brunswick, using the Holos model.", Conference “On Sustainability 2015”, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    2015 - View publication details

  11. Li, S., Lobb, D.A., McConkey, B.G., and Xing, Z.S. (2015). "Landscape-based assessment of total soil erosion risk on agricultural fields in Canada.", 20th International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO) Conference, Nanjing, China, September 14-18, 2015.

    2015 - View publication details

  12. Zebarth, B.J., Goyer, C., Li, S., Whitney, S., and Neupane, S. (2015). "Spatial variation in soil bacterial communities in a commercial potato field.", Canadian Soil Science Society (IUSS-CSSS-AQSSS) Conference, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, July 5-10, 2015.

    2015 - View publication details

  13. Boudreault, M., Li, S., Lobb, D.A., Benoy, G.A., and Liu, K. (2015). "Sources of suspended sediment in an agricultural watershed in Atlantic Canada.", Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) 2015 Conference, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, October 20-21, 2015.

    2015 - View publication details

  14. Zheng, F.Z., Li, S., Meng, F., Wackrow, R., and Lobb, D.A. (2015). "Quantifying different water erosion processes by detecting soil surface evolution on a cultivated field.", 20th International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO) Conference, Nanjing, China, September 14-18, 2015.

    2015 - View publication details

  15. Zheng, F.Z., Li, S., Robertson, B., Boudreault, M., and Geng, X.Y. (2015). "Snow distribution in rolling landscapes under agriculture and forestry land uses in Atlantic Canada.", 20th International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO) Conference, Nanjing, China, September 14-18, 2015. (Poster)

    2015 - View publication details

  16. Rees, H.W., Chow, T.L., Xing, Z., Li, S., Monteith, J.O., Stevens, L. (2015). Depth to compact subsoil effects on soil properties and barley–potato yields on a loamy soil in New Brunswick. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, [online] 95(3), 203-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/CJSS-2014-038

    2015 - View publication details

  17. Li, Q., Qi, J., Xing, Z., Li, S., Jiang, Y., Danielescu, S., Zhu, H., Wei, X., Meng, F.R. (2014). An approach for assessing impact of land use and biophysical conditions across landscape on recharge rate and nitrogen loading of groundwater. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, [online] 196 114-124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.06.028

    2014 - View publication details

  18. Li, Q., Xing, Z., Danielescu, S., Li, S., Jiang, Y., Meng, F.R. (2014). Data requirements for using combined conductivity mass balance and recursive digital filter method to estimate groundwater recharge in a small watershed, New Brunswick, Canada. Journal of Hydrology, [online] 511 658-664. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2014.01.073

    2014 - View publication details

  19. Zhang, F., Xing, Z., Rees, H.W., Dong, Y., Li, S., Meng, F. (2014). Assessment of effects of two runoff control engineering practices on soil water and plant growth for afforestation in a semi-arid area after 10 years. Ecological Engineering, [online] 64 430-442. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.12.024

    2014 - View publication details

  20. Chen, Y., Zhou, Q., Li, S., Meng, F., Bi, X., Wilson, J.P., Xing, Z.S., Qi, J., Li, Q., and Zhang, C. (2014). "The simulation of surface flow dynamics using a flow-path network model.", International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 28(11), pp. 2242-2260. doi : 10.1080/13658816.2014.917312

    2014 - View publication details

Contact

Research facility

Fredericton Research and Development Centre
95 Innovation Road
PO Box 20280
Fredericton, NB E3B 4Z7
Canada

Expertise

Agriculture›Agriculture-environment interactions
Agriculture›Soil science›Soil and geospatial science
Agriculture›Soil science›Soil conservation
Agriculture›Water›Water quality
Environment›Water›Water Quality›Sediments

Language

English

Other languages

Chinese