Ecosystems are becoming damaged or degraded as a result of stresses especially associated with human activities.A healthy ecosystem is essential to provide the services that humans and the natural environment require ...Ecosystems are becoming damaged or degraded as a result of stresses especially associated with human activities.A healthy ecosystem is essential to provide the services that humans and the natural environment require and has tremendous social and economic value.Exploration of the definition of ecosystem health includes what constitutes health and what it means to be healthy.To evaluate ecosystem health,it is necessary to quantify ecosystem conditions using a variety of indicators.In this paper,the main principles and criteria for indicator selection,classification of indicators for different kinds of ecosystems,the most appropriate indicators for measuring ecosystem sustainability,and various methods and models for the assessment of ecosystem health are presented.Drivers,sustainability,and resilience are considered to be critical factors for ecosystem health and its assessment.Effective integration of ecological understanding with socioeconomic,biophysical,biogeochemical,and public-policy dimensions is still the primary challenge in this field,and devising workable strategies to achieve and maintain ecosystem health is a key future challenge.展开更多
Pollution and climate change are among the most challenging issues for countries with developing economies,but we know little about the ecological risks that result when these pressures occur together.We explored dire...Pollution and climate change are among the most challenging issues for countries with developing economies,but we know little about the ecological risks that result when these pressures occur together.We explored direct effects of,and interactions between,environmental pollution and climate change on ecosystem health in the Bohai Sea region of Northern China.We developed an integrated approach to assess ecological risks to this region under four scenarios of climate change.Although ecological risks to the system from pollution alone have been declining,interactions between pollution and climate change have enhanced ecological risks to this coastal/marine ecosystem.Our results suggest that current policies focused strictly on pollution control alone should be changed to take into account the interactive effects of climate change so as to better forecast and manage potential ecological risks.展开更多
The multiple,complex and systemic problems of the agriculture-food-water-environment nexus(“Nexus”)are among the most significant challenges of the 21st century.China is a key site for Nexus research amidst profound...The multiple,complex and systemic problems of the agriculture-food-water-environment nexus(“Nexus”)are among the most significant challenges of the 21st century.China is a key site for Nexus research amidst profound socio-environmental problems.The policy implications of these problems have been authoritatively summarized elsewhere.This study presents discussions at an international workshop in Guangzhou that asked instead“What science is needed to deliver the growing policy commitments regarding these challenges?And,What changes are needed to the science itself?”Understanding and effective intervention regarding the Nexus calls for a paradigm shift:to a new kind of science of(capacity for)international,interdisciplinary,and impactful research working with and within complex socio-natural systems.We here argue that science must become proactive in approach,striving only for“minimal harm”not“silver bullet”solutions,and adopting an explicitly long-term strategic perspective.Together,these arguments lead to calls for reorienting science and science policy in three ways:from short-term remediation to longer-term optimization;from a focus on environmental threats to one on the opportunities for international collaborative learning;and toward supporting new forms of scientific career.We bring these points together by recommending a new form of scientific institution:a global network of collaborative Nexus Centres,under the umbrella of a global Food Nexus Organization akin to those of the human genome and proteome.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41371488,41420104004)the International Scientific Cooperation Program with Grant No.2012DFA91150)the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KZZD-EW-TZ-12).
文摘Ecosystems are becoming damaged or degraded as a result of stresses especially associated with human activities.A healthy ecosystem is essential to provide the services that humans and the natural environment require and has tremendous social and economic value.Exploration of the definition of ecosystem health includes what constitutes health and what it means to be healthy.To evaluate ecosystem health,it is necessary to quantify ecosystem conditions using a variety of indicators.In this paper,the main principles and criteria for indicator selection,classification of indicators for different kinds of ecosystems,the most appropriate indicators for measuring ecosystem sustainability,and various methods and models for the assessment of ecosystem health are presented.Drivers,sustainability,and resilience are considered to be critical factors for ecosystem health and its assessment.Effective integration of ecological understanding with socioeconomic,biophysical,biogeochemical,and public-policy dimensions is still the primary challenge in this field,and devising workable strategies to achieve and maintain ecosystem health is a key future challenge.
基金This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2017YFC0505704)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41420104004 and No.71761147001)+1 种基金the Key Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KFZD-SW-322)the Key Technology R&D Program of Tianjin(16YFXTSF00380).
文摘Pollution and climate change are among the most challenging issues for countries with developing economies,but we know little about the ecological risks that result when these pressures occur together.We explored direct effects of,and interactions between,environmental pollution and climate change on ecosystem health in the Bohai Sea region of Northern China.We developed an integrated approach to assess ecological risks to this region under four scenarios of climate change.Although ecological risks to the system from pollution alone have been declining,interactions between pollution and climate change have enhanced ecological risks to this coastal/marine ecosystem.Our results suggest that current policies focused strictly on pollution control alone should be changed to take into account the interactive effects of climate change so as to better forecast and manage potential ecological risks.
基金the funding of the European Union EuropeAid for the SEW-REAP project(ECRIP 348-010)that has sponsored the work behind this article.
文摘The multiple,complex and systemic problems of the agriculture-food-water-environment nexus(“Nexus”)are among the most significant challenges of the 21st century.China is a key site for Nexus research amidst profound socio-environmental problems.The policy implications of these problems have been authoritatively summarized elsewhere.This study presents discussions at an international workshop in Guangzhou that asked instead“What science is needed to deliver the growing policy commitments regarding these challenges?And,What changes are needed to the science itself?”Understanding and effective intervention regarding the Nexus calls for a paradigm shift:to a new kind of science of(capacity for)international,interdisciplinary,and impactful research working with and within complex socio-natural systems.We here argue that science must become proactive in approach,striving only for“minimal harm”not“silver bullet”solutions,and adopting an explicitly long-term strategic perspective.Together,these arguments lead to calls for reorienting science and science policy in three ways:from short-term remediation to longer-term optimization;from a focus on environmental threats to one on the opportunities for international collaborative learning;and toward supporting new forms of scientific career.We bring these points together by recommending a new form of scientific institution:a global network of collaborative Nexus Centres,under the umbrella of a global Food Nexus Organization akin to those of the human genome and proteome.
