2012.09 – 2019.06: Ph.D. in Physical Geography, Lanzhou University 

2017.09 – 2019.03: Joint Ph.D. Program, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany 

2008.09 – 2012.06: B.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Lanzhou University

Eco-hydrological processes in cold and arid regions 

Multi-scale soil water transport mechanisms and preferential flow 

Hydrological modeling and parameter inversion in ungauged mountainous areas 

Application of Machine Learning and Geophysics in Hydrology

2024.08 – Present: Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University 

2019.08 – 2024.07: Young Researcher , School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University

Vadose Zone Hydrology

Integrated Experiment of Physical Geography

Soil Hydrology and Ecological Restoration

Field Observation Technology and Data Mining

Seminars on Advances in Hydrological and Water Resources Research

Editorial Board: Youth Editorial Board Member of Acta Ecologica Sinica 

Guest Editor: Guest Editor for Water

Committee Member: Member of the 1st Hydrogeophysics Professional Committee (2025.07 – 2030.06) 

Journal Reviewer: Water Resources Research, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Journal of Hydrology, Catena, Geoderma, Remote Sensing, etc.

1. Multi-scale Observation Networks & Data Benchmarking
Established a multi-scale, nested hydrological observation network covering the full environmental gradient of the Qilian Mountains, ranging from micro-pore to macro-watershed scales. By integrating 814 in-situ standard profiles with multi-source environmental factors and machine learning, we developed a high-precision (90-m resolution) Soil Hydraulic Property (SHP) benchmark for the northeast Tibetan Plateau. Validations confirm this benchmark reduces saturated hydraulic conductivity (e.g. Ks) estimation errors by 40.5% compared to the international Rosetta3 model. Additionally, this work elucidated vegetation-soil co-evolution mechanisms, quantifying how vegetation degradation physically weakens soil water-conducting capacity by altering bulk density.

2. Soil Water Transport Mechanisms (Profile & Hillslope)
Challenging the traditional "static parameterization" of preferential flow, we identified a significant non-linear threshold effect of soil bulk density, proving that loose substrates (<1.4 g/cm3) inhibit preferential pathways due to strong hygroscopicity. At the hillslope scale, we integrated high-density monitoring with Time-Lapse 3D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (TL-3D-ERT) to achieve "4D visualization" of deep interflow. This revealed a "Shallow Soil Reservoir + Underlying Bedrock Conduit" dual-system, where bedrock preferential flow contributes over 50% of deep storage gain and moves an order of magnitude faster than matrix flow, refining the classical "fill-and-spill" theory.

3. Hydrological Modeling in Data-Scarce Regions To address simulation uncertainties caused by unreliable meteorological data in mountainous regions, we developed a modular hydrological simulation system driven solely by soil moisture observations. This includes the SM2D percolation algorithm (which corrected mechanism biases in leakage thresholds), the ISWB evapotranspiration algorithm (requiring no meteorological input), and an improved SM2RAIN algorithm for rainfall inversion. Furthermore, we are pioneering the use of deep learning models as "physical diagnostic probes," establishing a coupling relationship between model attention weights and subsurface hydrological connectivity.

Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation of Gansu Province (Academic Year 2018-2019)

PI: "Precise identification of pollution sources and tracing of pollutant migration paths," Sub-project of National Key R&D Program (No. 2023YFC3706900), 2024–2027.

PI: "Formation mechanism of interflow in typical arid areas of Qilian Mountains and its impact on watershed runoff," NSFC General Program (No. 42371023), 2024–2027.

PI: "Hydrological process simulation in alpine mountains considering dynamic vegetation-soil synergistic changes," Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. lzujbky-2025-ytC04), 2025–2027.

Key Member: "Mechanism and multi-scale effects of soil hydrological properties on hydrological processes in mountainous areas," NSFC Key Program (No. 42030501), 2021–2025.

Published over 30 academic papers, with 14 as first or corresponding author, including:

Kang, W. M., Tian, J.*, Xue, D. X., Bogena, H. R., Huisman, J. A., & He, C. S.* (2026). Characterization of Preferential Flow Occurrence During Freeze-Thaw Cycles. Water Resources Research. 

Xiong, T., Tian, J.*, Niu, B. N., Wang, Y. Z., Xiang, H., Huang, H. Y., Kang, W. M., Zhang, B. Q.*, & He, C. S. (2025). Soil moisture response to rainfall and its controls on hillslopes in alpine mountain areas of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology. 

Xue, D. X., Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., Kang, W. M., & He, C. S. (2025). Evaluating the effect of vegetation type and topography on infiltration process in an arid mountainous area: Insights from continuous soil moisture monitoring network. Agricultural Water Management. 

Tian, J., Kang, W. M., Zhang, B. Q., Wang, X. J., Shang, Z. Y., & He, C. S.* (2024). Drainage estimation across mountainous regions from large-scale soil moisture observations. Geoderma. 

Xue, D. X., Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., Kang, W. M., Zhou, Y. X., & He, C. S. (2024). Effects of vegetation types on soil wetting pattern and preferential flow in arid mountainous areas of northwest China. Journal of Hydrology. 

Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., Wang, Y. B., Pei, L. N., & He, C. S. (2023). Vertical partition patterns of infiltration within soil profile and its control factors at large-scale arid mountainous areas. Journal of Hydrology. 

Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., Wang, X. J., & He, C. S. (2023). In situ observations of soil hydraulic properties and soil moisture in a high, cold mountainous area of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Science China Earth Sciences. 

Kang, W. M., Tian, J.*, Bogena, H. R., Lai, Y., Xue, D. X., & He, C. S. (2023). Soil moisture observations and machine learning reveal preferential flow mechanisms in the Qilian Mountains. Geoderma. 

Lai, Y., Tian, J.*, Kang, W. M., Guo, S. C., Zhou, Y. X., & He, C. S.* (2023). Estimating evapotranspiration from soil moisture using the improved soil water balance method in cold mountainous areas. Journal of Hydrology X. 

Kang, W. M., Tian, J.*, Lai, Y., Xu, S. Y., Gao, C., Hong, W. J., Zhou, Y. X., Pei, L. N., & He, C. S. (2022). Occurrence and controls of preferential flow in the upper stream of the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China. Journal of Hydrology. 

Lai, Y., Tian, J.*, Kang, W. M., Gao, C., Hong, W. J., & He, C. S.* (2022). Rainfall estimation from surface soil moisture using SM2RAIN in cold mountainous areas. Journal of Hydrology. 

Tian, J., Han, Z. B., Bogena, H. R., Huisman, J. A., Montzka, C., Zhang, B. Q., & He, C. S. (2020). Estimation of subsurface soil moisture from surface soil moisture in cold mountainous areas. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 

Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., He, C. S., Han, Z. B., Bogena, H. R., & Huisman, J. A. (2019). Dynamic response patterns of profile soil moisture wetting events under different land covers in the Mountainous area of the Heihe River Watershed, Northwest China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 

Tian, J., Zhang, B. Q., He, C. S., & Yang, L. X. (2017). Variability in Soil Hydraulic Conductivity and Soil Hydrological Response Under Different Land Covers in the Mountainous Area of the Heihe River Watershed, Northwest China. Land Degradation & Development.

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