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
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.
