主要从事生态系统碳循环与全球变化研究。基于样带调查、控制实验和数据整合等手段，重点开展：（1）湿地碳收支与温室气体排放；（2）草地管理与固碳效应。主要成果包括：
1.量化了湿地春融期CO2 脉冲式排放对全年排放的贡献，发现水文特征对CO2排放的时空变异及其对气候变化的响应具有重要的调节作用 (Yu et al., 2020)。该研究纠正了“湿地非生长季CO2贡献小”的传统认知，为完善湿地碳循环模型提供了建议；比较了生长季静态箱、自动箱与涡度相关等方法测定的湿地甲烷排放的差异特征 (Yu et al., 2013)；并基于CH4MOD和TEM模型的区域适用性，重新评估了2000-2010年全球湿地甲烷的排放强度 (Li et al., 2020)，为降低全球尺度甲烷模拟的不确定性提供了新途径。
2.评估了围栏封育后青藏高原草地土壤有机碳的变化速率与时间动态。发现土壤碳的增加速率在封育的前期保持相对稳定，但在封育后期(10年后)显著降低，并估算了该区域草地封育后土壤的碳汇强度 (Yu et al., 2019)。研究明确了景观尺度上退化高寒草地管理的碳汇作用，助力于我国草地固碳管理国家政策的制定。
3.揭示了围栏封育对内蒙古温带草地生态系统主要功能的调控机制。发现围栏封育后草地主要碳组分的增加与土壤水分状况的改善有关，且土壤水分调控的封育作用在区域尺度上具有普适性 (Yu et al., 2021)；明确了围栏封育能够提升草地生态系统多功能性，但削弱了植物多样性与多功能性之间的促进关系，且加剧了干旱对多功能性的负面影响(Yu et al., 2024)。该研究对于优化草地固碳管理措施与生物多样性保护驱动的草地可持续管理具有重要作用。
主持的科研项目包括：
1.国家自然科学基金面上项目，“内蒙古不同草地类型适宜的封育期限与土壤有机碳变化研究”，62万元，2017.1-2020.12，项目负责人
2.国家科技重大专项课题，“海河、淮河流域水生植物入侵种调查编目”，200万元，2016.1-2018.12，课题共同负责人
3.科技部国家重大科学研究计划子课题，“全球变化背景下增加土壤固碳能力的管理措施”，29万元，2014.1-2018.12，子课题负责人
4.科技部基础工作专项子课题，“中国水生植物标本采集、生物多样性编目和植被资源普查”，41万元，2013.6-2018.5，子课题负责人

代表性论文（带“*”为通讯作者）
1. Lingfei Yu, Hao Wang, Yonghui Wang, Zhenhua Zhang, Litong Chen, Naishen Liang, and Jin-Sheng He*. Temporal variation in soil respiration and its sensitivity to temperature along a hydrological gradient in an alpine wetland of the Tibetan Plateau.Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 2020. 282-283:107854. (中科院一区)
2. Lingfei Yu*, Yue Chen, Wenjuan Sun, and Yao Huang. Effects of grazing exclusion on soil carbon dynamics in alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau.Geoderma. 2019. 353: 133-143. (中科院一区)
3. Lingfei Yu, Wenjuan Sun, Haiyang Zhang, Nan Cong, Yuan Chen, Jinjiao Hu, Xin Jing*.Grazing exclusion jeopardizes plant biodiversity effect but enhances dryness effect on multifunctionality in arid grasslands.Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2024.Accept. (中科院一区)
4. Lingfei Yu*, Wenjuan Sun*, and Yao Huang. Grazing exclusion enhances plant and topsoil carbon stocks in arid and semiarid grasslands. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2021. 320: 107605. (中科院一区)
5. Lingfei Yu, Hao Wang, Guangshuai Wang, Weimin Song, Yao Huang, Sheng-Gong Li, Naishen Liang, Yanhong Tang, and Jin-Sheng He*. A comparison of methane emission measurements using eddy covariance and manual and automated chamber-based techniques in Tibetan Plateau alpine wetland.Environmental Pollution. 2013. 181: 81-90. (中科院二区).
其他论文
6. Tingting Li, Yanyu Lu*,Lingfei Yu*, Wenjuan Sun, Qing Zhang, Wen Zhang, Guocheng Wang, Zhangcai Qin, Lijun Yu, Hailing Li, and Ran Zhang. Evaluation of CH4MODwetland and Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (TEM) used to estimate global CH4 emissions from natural wetlands.Geoscientific Model Development. 2020. 13: 3769–3788. (中科院一区)
7. Kai Yang, Yao Huang, Jingrui Yang, Chunhua Lv, Wenjuan Sun, Zhenghua Hu, Chunyan You,Lingfei Yu*. Do rice growth and yield respond similarly to abrupt and gradual increase in atmosphere CO2?Science oftheTotal Environment. 2024. 906: 167658. (中科院一区)
8. Lingfei Yu,Yao Huang, Feifei Sun, and Wenjuan Sun*. A synthesis of soil carbon and nitrogen recovery after wetland restoration and creation in the United States.Scientific Reports. 2017. 7: 7966.
9. Lingfei Yu and Dan Yu*. Differential responses of the floating-leaved aquatic plantNymphoides peltata to gradual versus rapid increases in water levels.Aquatic Botany.2011. 94:71-76.
10. Lingfei Yu, Dan Yu*, Chunhua Liu, and Dong Xie. Flooding effects on rapid responses of the invasive plantAlternanthera philoxeroides to defoliation.Flora. 2010. 205: 449-453.
11. Lingfei Yu and Dan Yu*. Responses of the threatened aquatic plantOttelia alismoides to water level fluctuations.Fundamental and Applied Limnology. 2009. 174: 295-300.
12. Hao Wang,Lingfei Yu, Litong Chen, Zhenhua Zhang, Xuefei Li, Naishen Liang, Changhui Peng, Jin-Sheng He∗. Carbon fluxes and soil carbon dynamics along a gradient of biogeomorphic succession in alpine wetlands of Tibetan Plateau.Fundamental Research. 2023. 3: 151-159.
13. 杨元合,石岳,孙文娟,常锦峰,朱剑霄,陈蕾伊,王欣,郭焱培,张宏图,于凌飞,赵淑清,徐亢,朱江玲,沈海花,王媛媛,彭云峰,赵霞,王襄平,胡会峰,陈世苹,黄玫,温学发,王少鹏,朱彪,牛书丽,唐志尧,刘玲莉,方精云*.中国及全球陆地生态系统碳源汇特征及其对碳中和的贡献.中国科学:生命科学.2022. 52: doi: 10.1360/SSV-2021-0362
14. Wenjuan Sun, Josep G. Canadell, Lijun Yu,Lingfei Yu, Wen Zhang, Pete Smith, Tony Fischer, and Yao Huang*. Climate drives global soil carbon sequestration and crop yield changes under conservation agriculture.Global Change Biology. 2020. 26: 3325-3335.
15. Yonghui Wang, Chao Song,Lingfei Yu, Zhaorong Mi, Shiping Wang, Hui Zeng, Changming Fang, Jingyi Li, and Jin-Sheng He*. Convergence in temperature sensitivity of soil respiration: Evidence from the Tibetan alpine grasslands.Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 2018. 122: 50-59.
16. Hao Wang,Lingfei Yu, Zhenhua Zhang, Wei Liu, Litong Chen, Guangmin Cao, Haowei Yue, Jizhong Zhou, Yunfeng Yang, Yanhong Tang, and Jin-Sheng He*. Molecular mechanisms of water table lowering and nitrogen deposition in affecting greenhouse gas emissions from a Tibetan alpine wetland.Global Change Biology. 2017. 23: 815-829.
17. Feifei Sun, Wenjuan Sun*, Yao Huang, Wen Zhang,Lingfei Yu, and Jiating Wang. Precipitation does not amplify the efficiency of fencing measures for temperate grassland restoration: A case study in northern China based on remote sensing.Ecological Engineering, 2017. 105: 252–261.
18. XunYu Hu, Yao Huang*, Wenjuan Sun, andLingfei Yu. Shifts in cultivar and planting date have regulated rice growth duration under climate warming in China since the early 1980s.Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2017. 247: 34–41.