Journal Articles
72. Liao, C., Kao-Kniffin, J., Reid, M., Zhang, W., Tshabalala, P., Andrus, E., Butler-Jones, Z., LaPoint, J., Zhou, S., Rafols, R., Shin, S., Ichihara, M., Pereira, A., Butler, N., Tu, Y., McCouch, S. 2025. Rice Farming for Climate Change Adaptation in the Northeastern US. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402181122
71. Tu Y., Rafols R., Xu Y., Butler N., Ababneh L., Tao F., Ramanathan R., Houlton, B., Liao, C. Scaling Up Enhanced Rock Weathering for Equitable Climate Mitigation. Communications Sustainability (accepted in principle).
70. Lee, Y., Liao, C. Determinants of Solar Energy Access in Urban and Rural Areas of Ethiopia: Implications for Equitable Climate Transitions. npj Climate Action. doi.org/10.1038/s44168-025-00328-0
69. Zhou, S., Liao, C., Wei, Z., Chi, G. Heat and Air Pollution Shape Divergent Mortality Patterns across Rual and Urban America. npj Environmental Social Sciences (accepted).
68. Nelson, R., Njagi, J., Culotta I., Newell, E., Zhou, S., Mosdossy K., Alaba, E., Liao, C., Lehmann, J., Midega, C. 2026. Synergistic Pathways to a Circular Bionutrient Economy. Global Food Security. doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2025.100898
67. Sun, Y., Wu, L., Fu, H., Zhang, Y., Zhou, S., Lee, Y., Liao, C. 2025. Urban Land Use Efficiency Enhancement Through Regional Economic Cooperation Network in Urban Agglomeration: Evidence From Yangtze River Delta, China. International Regional Science Review. doi.org/10.1177/01600176251404393
66. Shin, S., Nam, Y., Wolf, S., Park, M., Okello, O., Mabaya, E., Liao, C. 2025. Adding Values to Voluntary Carbon Market through Small-Scale Agroforestry. Climate and Development, doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2025.2574074
65. Liao, C., Agrawal, A. 2025. Divergent Outcomes of Large-Scale Land Transactions in Ethiopia: A Quantitative Comparative Analysis. Ecological Economics, 230, 108531.
64. Wu, S., Liao, C., Yu, L. 2025. The Potential of Collective Action in Promoting Sustainable Rangeland Management: Evidence from Pastoral China. Ecology & Society, 30(3):39.
63. Lambertucci, S., Frantzeskaki, N., Villasante, S., Wickson F., Zinngrebe Y., Reyes-García, V., Bennett E., O’Brien K., Calderón-Contreras R., Liao, C., Garibaldi L., Shannon L., Singh P., Smith, P., Leventon J., Ley D., Ricketts, T., Hayman, D., Gosnell, H., McElwee P., Biggs, R., Carr E., Agrawal, A. 2025. Challenges for transforming academia towards a ‘science for and with society’ paradigm. Nature Sustainability, doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01612-x
62. Li, Y., Lu, D., Yu, X., Liao C. 2025. Emerging nature education practices in China: Evidence from lesson plans. Integrative Conservation, doi.org/10.1002/inc3.70040.
61. Wu P., Liu M., Zheng, M., Liao C., Hua X., Fei D., Bai Y., Zhou Y., Zhou Y., Huang, Q. 2025. Relocation for improved ecosystem service and human wellbeing? Evidence from Fuping, Hebei, China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 35 (7): 1556-1574.
60. Tu, Y., Chen, B., Liao, C., Wu, S., An J., Lin, C., Gong, P., Chen, B., Hong, W., Xu, B. 2025. Global inequality in infrastructure access and the associated disparity in health outcomes. Nature Human Behaviour. doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02208-3
59. Yuan Y., Santamouris, M., Xu, D., Geng X., Li, C., Cheng, W., Su L., Xiong, P., Fan Z., Wang X., Liao, C. 2025. Surface Urban Heat Island Effects Intensify More Rapidly in Lower Income Countries. npj Urban Sustainability, doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00198-9.
58. Lee, Y., Liao, C. 2024. Upholding Household Agency in Climate Mitigation and Socio-Technical Energy Transition in Ethiopia. Energy Policy, 188 (2024) 114067.
57. Liao, C. 2024. Beyond Linear Pathways: An Interconnected Framework for Understanding the Climate-Migration Nexus. International Migration, 62 (6) 284-288.
56. Shin, S., Ichihara, M., Sokourenko, K., Liao, C. 2024 Everyday Climate Adaptations Enhance Smallholder Agriculture and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ecology & Society 29 (4).
55. Yuan, Y., Li, X., Wang, H., Geng, X., Gu, J., Fan, Z., Wang, X., Liao, C. 2024. Unraveling the Global Economic and Mortality Effects of Rising Urban Heat Island Intensity. Sustainable Cities and Society, 116 (2024) 105902.
54. Shuai, C., Liao, C., Qu, S., Chen, X., Zhao, B., Zou, J., Xu, M. Scaling of Development Indicators in Countries and Its Origin. iScience, 27, 110497.
53. Zhang L., Huang Q., Qiu J., Liao, C., Liu Z., He C., Chen P., Zhou Y., Bai Y., Bryan B. 2024. Conceptualizing and quantifying virtual flows of ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services, 69 (2024) 101651.
52. Fu, H., Cai, M., Jiang P., Fei D., Liao, C. 2024. Multi-objective optimization of spatial pattern towards low-carbon transition in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Landscape Ecology, (2024) 39:156.
51. Fu, H., Li, Y, Jiang, P., Zhou, S., Liao, C. 2024. Transition Towards Sustainable Diets: Multi-Objective Optimization of Dietary Pattern in China. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 48 (2024) 14-28.
50. Liao, C., Agrawal, A. 2024. Towards a Science of ‘Land Grabbing’. Land Use Policy, 137 (2024) 107002.
49. Liao, C., Liu, J., Agrawal, A. 2024. Sustainability Governance for Agrarian Transformation under Climate Change. Sustainability Science, doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01422-0
48. Liao, C., Jung, S., Brown, D., Agrawal, A. 2024 Does Land Tenure Change Accelerate Deforestation? A Matching-Based Four-Country Comparison. Ecological Economics, 215 (2024) 108011.
47. Soto, G., Wilcox S., Clark P., Fava F., Jensen N., Kahiu N., Liao C., Porter B., Sun Y., Barrett, C. 2024. Mapping Rangeland Health Indicators in East Africa from 2000 to 2020. Earth System Science Data (accepted).
46. Sun, X., Liu, H., Liao, C., Nong H., Yang, P. 2024. Understanding recreational ecosystem service supply-demand mismatch and social groups’ preferences: Implications for urban–rural planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 241 (2024) 104903.
45. Liao, C., Nolte, K., Brown, D., Lay, J., Agrawal, A. 2023. The Carbon Cost of Agricultural Production in the Global Land Rush. Global Environmental Change, 80 (2023) 102679.
44. Fu, H., Hong, N., Liao, C. 2023. Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Chinese Urban Recovery and System Resilience Under the Pandemic New Normal. Cities, 140 (2023) 104385.
43. Fang, G., Sun, X., Liao, C., Xiao, Y., Yang P., Liu, Q. 2023. How Do Ecosystem Services Evolve Across Urban–Rural Transitional Landscapes of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region in China: Patterns, Trade-Offs, And Drivers. Landscape Ecology, (2023) 38:1125–1145.
42. Wang, Z., Fu, H., Liu, H., Liao, C. 2023. Urban development sustainability, industrial structure adjustment, and land use efficiency in China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 89 (2023) 104338.
41. Wang, X.*, Liao, C., Brandhorst, S.*, Clark, P. 2022. Sedentarization as an adaptation to socio-environmental changes? Everyday herding practices in pastoralist communities in Southern Ethiopia. Ecology & Society, 27(3). *Graduate Mentee
40. Fu, H., Zhao, S., Liao, C. 2022. Spatial Governance of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration Towards Low-Carbon Transition. China Agricultural Economic Review, 14(4), 774–798.
39. Agrawal, A., Brandhorst, S., Jain, M., Liao, C., Pradhan, N., Solomon, D. 2022. From Environmental Governance to Governance for Sustainability. One Earth, 5(6): 615-621.
38. Ye, C., Chen, M., Chen, R., Liao, C. 2022 Rural–Urban Governance toward Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 232(7): 1405-1408.
37. Liao, C., Agrawal, A. 2022. Sustainable and Just Energy Transitions in the Global South (Introduction to A Special Issue). World Development, 152:105798.
36. Yin, D., Huang, Q., He, C., Hua, X., Liao, C., Inostroza, L., Zhang, L., Bai, Y. 2022. The Varying Roles of Ecosystem Services in Poverty Alleviation among Rural Households in Urbanizing Watersheds. Landscape Ecology, 37: 1673–1692.
35. Fu, H., Wang, Y., Mao, L., Hong, N., Wang, Z., Zhao, S., Liao, C. 2022. The Spatial Pattern and Sustainability of Zhongyuan Urban-Rural System in Its Development Trajectory. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 232(7): 1261-1280.
34. Liao, C., Nolte, K, Sullivan, J. Brown, D., Lay, J., Althoff, C., Agrawal, A. 2021. Carbon Emissions from the Global Land Rush and Their Potential Mitigation. Nature Food, 2, 15–18.
33. Fei, D., Liao, C., Yang, H. 2020. Student Returnees from China’s COVID-19 Epicenter: Spatio-temporal Movement and Impact of Tracing. Social Science & Medicine, 287 (2021) 114371.
32. Williams, T., Trush, S., Sullivan, J., Liao, C., Chesterman, N., Agrawal, A., Guikema, S., Brown, D. 2021. Land-use changes associated with large-scale land transactions in Ethiopia. Ecology & Society, 26(4):34.
31. Liao, C., Erbaugh, J., Kelly, A., Agrawal, A. 2021. Clean Energy Transitions and Human Well-Being Outcomes in Lower and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 145 (2021) 111063.
30. Chen, C., Long, X., Li, Z., Liao, C., Xie C., Che, S. 2021. Exploring the Determinants of Urban Green Space Utilization Based on Microblog Check-in Data in Shanghai, China. Forests, 2021, 12 1783.
29. Liao, C., Fei, D., Huang, Q., Jiang L., Shi, P. 2021. Targeted Poverty Alleviation through Photovoltaic-Based Intervention: Rhetoric and Reality in Qinghai, China. World Development, 137 (2021) 105117.
28. Fu, H., Zhang, Y., Liao, C., Mao, L., Wang, Z., Hong, N. 2020. Investigating PM 2.5 Responses to Air Pollutants and Meteorological Factors at Multiple Temporal Scales. Scientific Reports, 10:15639.
27. Liao, C., Agrawal, A., Clark, P., Levin, S., Rubenstein, D. 2020. Landscape Sustainability Science in the Drylands: Mobility, Rangeland and Livelihoods. Landscape Ecology, 35, 2433–2447.
26. Khatami, R., Southworth, J., Muir, C., Caughlin, T., Ayana, A., Brown, D., Liao, C., Agrawal, A. 2020. Operational Large-Area Land Cover Mapping: An Ethiopia Case Study. Remote Sensing, 2020, 12, 954.
25. Liao, C., Jung, S., Agrawal, A., Brown, D. 2020. Socio-Environmental Patterns of Large-Scale Land Transactions: Evidence from Ethiopia, Liberia, Cambodia, and Peru. Land Degradation and Development, 31 (10), 1241-1251.
24. Liao, C., Qiu, J., Chen, B., Chen, D., Fu, B., Georgescu, M., He, C., Jenerette, D., Li, X., Li, X., Li, X., Qiuying, B., Shi, P., Wu, J. 2020 Advancing Landscape Sustainability Science: Theoretical Foundation and Synergies with Innovations in Methodology, Design, and Application. Landscape Ecology, 35, 1-9.
23. Fei, D., Liao, C. 2019. China’s Eastern Industrial Zone in Ethiopia: Unpacking the Enclave. Third World Quarterly, 41 (4), 623-644.
22. Jung, S., Liao, C., Agrawal, A., Brown, D. 2019. Evidence on the Impacts of Forestry Concessions on Wealth in Liberia. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 6(5): 961-1000.
21. Hajjar, R., Ayana, A., Rutt, R., Hinde, O., Liao, C., Keene, S., Bandiaky-Badji, S., Agrawal, A. 2019. Capital, Labor, and Gender: The Consequences of Large-Scale Land Transactions on Household Labor Allocation. Journal of Peasant Studies, 47 (3), 566-588.
20. Liao, C., Fei, D. 2019. Poverty Reduction through Photovoltaic-Based Development Intervention in China: Potentials and Constraints. World Development, 122: 1-10.
19. Liao, C., Clark, P., DeGloria, S. 2018. Bush Encroachment Dynamics and Rangeland Management Implications in the Horn of Africa. Ecology and Evolution, 00: 1–10.
18. Agrawal, A. Hajjar, R., Liao, C., Rasmussen, L., Watkins, C. 2018. Editorial Overview: Forest Governance Interventions for Sustainability through Information, Incentives, and Institutions. Current Opinions in Environmental Sustainability, 32, A1–A7.
17. Liao, C., Brown, D., Fei, D., Long, X., Chen, D., Che, S. 2018. Big Data‐Enabled Social Sensing in Spatial Analysis: Potentials and Pitfalls. Transactions in GIS. 00: 1-21.
16. Liao, C., Brown D. 2018. Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture for Synergistic Outcomes in Food Production, Ecosystem Services, and Smallholder Livelihoods. Current Opinions in Environmental Sustainability, 32, 53-59.
15. Liao, C. Clark, P., Shibia, M., DeGloria, S. 2018. Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Cattle Behaviors and Resource Selection Patterns in the Open Grazing System of East Africa. International Journal of Geographical Information Science. 32(7): 1523-1540.
14. Liao, C. 2018. Quantifying Multi-Scale Pastoral Mobility: Developing A Metrics System and Using GPS-Tracking Data for Evaluation. Journal of Arid Environments, 153, 88-97.
13. Liao, C., Clark, P. 2018. Rangeland Vegetation Diversity and Transition Pathways under Indigenous Pastoralist Management Regimes in Southern Ethiopia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 215, 105-113.
12. Liao, C. 2018. Modeling Herding Decision-Making in the Extensive Grazing System in Southern Ethiopia. Annals of American Association of Geographers, 108 (1): 260-276.
11. Liao, C., Clark, P., DeGloria, S., Barrett, C. 2017. Complexity in the Spatial Utilization of Rangelands: Pastoral Mobility in Borana, Ethiopia. Applied Geography, 86, 208-219.
10. Liao, C., Fei, D. 2017. Pastoralist Adaptation Practices under Non-Governmental Development Interventions in Southern Ethiopia. The Rangeland Journal, 39 (2): 189-200.
9. Fei, D., Samatar, A., Liao, C. 2017. Chinese-African Encounters in High-Tech Sectors: Comparative Investigation of Chinese Workplace Regimes in Ethiopia. Development Policy Review, 36 (S1): O455-O475.
8. Liao, C. Fei, D. 2017. Sedentarization as Constrained Adaptation: Evidence from Pastoral Regions in Far Northwestern China. Human Ecology, 45 (1): 23-35.
7. Liao, C., Ruelle, M., Kassam, K-A. 2016. Indigenous Ecological Knowledge as the Basis for Adaptation to Rangeland Vegetation Regime Shifts: Evidence from Pastoralist Communities in the Horn of Africa. Journal of Environmental Management, 182 (2016): 70-79.
6. Liao, C., Jung, S., Brown, D., Agrawal, A. 2016. Insufficient Research on Land Grabbing. Science, 353 (6295): 131.
5. Liao, C., Fei, D. 2016. Resilience of What to What: Evidence from Pastoral Contexts in East Africa and Central Asia. Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses, 4 (1): 14-29.
4. Liao, C., Barrett, C., Kassam, K.-A. 2015. Does Diversification Improve Livelihoods? Pastoral Households in Xinjiang, China. Development and Change, 46 (6): 1302-1330.
3. Liao, C., Morreale, S., Kassam, K.-A., Sullivan, P., Fei, D. 2014. Following the Green: Coupled pastoral migration and vegetation dynamics in the Altay and Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China. Applied Geography, 46, 61–70.
2. Liao, C., Sullivan, P., Barrett, C., Kassam, K.-A. 2014. Socioenvironmental Threats to Pastoral Livelihoods: Risk Perceptions in the Altay and Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, China. Risk Analysis, 34 (4): 640–655.
1. Wang M., Liao C., Yang S., Zhao W., Liu M., Shi P. 2012. Are People Willing to Buy Natural Disaster Insurance in China? Risk Awareness, Insurance Acceptance, and Willingness to Pay. Risk Analysis 32 (10): 1717–1740.
Book Chapters
2. Kassam, K-A., Liao, C., Dong S. 2016. Sociocultural and Ecological Systems of Pastoralism in Inner Asia: Cases from Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia in China and the Pamirs of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. In Dong, S., Kassam, K-A., Tourrand, J., Boone, R. (Ed) Building Resilience of Human-Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Developing World. Springer.
1. Liao, C., Fei, D. 2016. The Operationalization of Resilience in Pastoral Regions in East Africa and Central Asia. In Chandler, D., Coaffee J. (Ed) Routledge Handbook of International Resilience. Taylor & Francis Group.
Liao Research Group 