主持和参加的科研项目：

1.       科技部国家重点研发计划 (2023YFF0805802)，“适应气候变化的空天地一体化物种资源动态监测技术体系构建与示范”，课题负责人；

2.       科技部国家重点研发计划 (2023YFE0112802)，“多种生态系统服务与生物多样性协同提升的综合森林管理影响评估”，子课题负责人；

3.       国家自然科学基金优秀青年基金项目(32022053)，森林群落构建机制，主持人；

4.       国家自然科学基金面上项目(31270495)，谱系相关的种间和种内相互作用对亚热带森林群落物种共存的影响，主持人；

5.       国家自然科学基金面上项目(32371600)，菌根真菌介导的同种密度制约对亚热带森林群落物种共存的影响，主持人；

6.       中国科学院青年促进会人才项目（2013058），主持人

代表性成果：

1.       Lei Chen, Nathan G. Swenson, Niuniu Ji, Xiangcheng Mi, Haibao Ren, Liangdong Guo, Keping Ma*. 2019. Differential soil fungus accumulation and density dependence of trees in a subtropical forest. Science,  366(6461):124-128.

2.       Lei Chen, Yunquan Wang, Xiangcheng Mi, Xiaojuan Liu, Haibao Ren, Jianhua Chen, Keping Ma*, Nathan J. B. Kraft. 2019. Neighborhood effects explain increasing asynchronous seedling survival in a subtropical forest. Ecology, 100(11): e02821.10.1002/ecy.2821.

3.       Lei Chen, Liza S. Comita, S. Joseph Wright, Nathan G. Swenson, Jess K. Zimmerman, Xiangcheng Mi, Zhanqing Hao, Wanhui Ye, Stephen P. Hubbell, W. John Kress, Maria Uriarte, Jill Thompson, Christopher J. Nytch, Xugao Wang, Juyu Lian, Keping Ma*. 2018. Forest tree neighborhoods are structured more by negative conspecific density dependence than by interactions among closely related species. Ecography. 41(7):1114-1123.

4.       Lei Chen, Mi Xiangcheng, Comita Liza, Zhang Liwen, Ren Haibao, Ma Ke-ping*. 2010. Community-level consequences of density dependence and habitat association in a subtropical broad-leaved forest. Ecology letters, 13, 695-704.

5.       Jianhui Ma, Lei Chen*, Xiangcheng Mi, Haibao Ren, Xiaojuan Liu, Yunquan Wang, Fang Wang. 2023. The interactive effects of soil fertility and tree mycorrhizal association explain spatial variation of diversity–biomass relationships in a subtropical forest. Journal of Ecology,  111, 1037-1049.