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| Chinese Ecosystem Research Network | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chinese Ecosystem Research Network |
| Native name | 中国生态系统研究网络 |
| Formation | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Beijing |
| Leader title | Director |
Chinese Ecosystem Research Network
The Chinese Ecosystem Research Network is a national scientific network coordinating ecological research across People's Republic of China, linking long-term sites, observatories, and laboratories to study terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. It integrates field stations, research institutes, and universities to investigate biodiversity, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem services, interfacing with policy bodies, funding agencies, and international programs. The network supports longitudinal studies that inform conservation, climate adaptation, and land-use planning across major Chinese biomes.
The mission emphasizes long-term ecological monitoring, hypothesis-driven experiments, and data sharing to inform decision-making in China. It seeks to harmonize methods among institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and regional research centers. Objectives include tracking carbon and nitrogen cycling relevant to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, assessing biodiversity in relation to directives from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (China), and contributing standardized datasets to initiatives like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the International Long Term Ecological Research Network.
Origins trace to pilot programs in the 1980s and 1990s involving the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and provincial academies such as the Yunnan Academy of Forestry. Early milestones include establishment of flagship sites linked to institutions like the Institute of Botany, CAS, the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, and the Institute of Zoology, CAS. Expansion occurred alongside national programs such as the 863 Program and the 973 Program, and further integration during China's participation in multinational efforts like the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems project.
Programs span carbon flux, water balance, biodiversity, and disturbance ecology across ecosystems including temperate forests, subtropical forests, alpine meadows, deserts, and wetlands. Representative projects involve collaborations with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS, South China Botanical Garden, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, and regional universities such as Nanjing University and Sun Yat-sen University. Experimental networks have implemented manipulations inspired by work from groups associated with the Max Planck Society, Wageningen University, and the Smithsonian Institution to test responses to warming, drought, and nitrogen deposition.
Membership comprises site directors, principal investigators, and institutional partners from national academies, provincial research institutes, and universities including Zhejiang University, Lanzhou University, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Southwest University, and Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences. Governance features steering committees, technical working groups, and data committees modeled after frameworks used by the International Long Term Ecological Research Network and the World Meteorological Organization. Funding and oversight involve agencies such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China, provincial science commissions, and cooperating organizations like UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Field infrastructure includes flux towers, soil laboratories, remote sensing validation sites, and experimental plots hosted at reserves such as Fengqiu Ecological Experimental Station, Tiantong National Field Research Station, and alpine sites in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecosystems. Instrumentation and analytical capacity draw on partnerships with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, European Space Agency, and domestic institutes including the China Meteorological Administration and the National Earth System Science Data Center. Data management aligns with international standards promoted by Group on Earth Observations, with repositories interoperable with projects like NEON and the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments.
Contributions include quantification of carbon sinks in China's forests, insights into permafrost thaw impacts on greenhouse gas emissions across the Qinghai, improved understanding of nitrogen deposition effects on species composition in Yangtze River Delta wetlands, and evidence informing reforestation and afforestation programs such as the Grain for Green initiative. Collaborative publications have appeared alongside researchers from University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Australian National University documenting ecosystem responses to land-use change, climate warming, and extreme events.
The network partners with global programs and institutions including the International Long Term Ecological Research Network, Future Earth, World Wildlife Fund, United Nations Environment Programme, and bilateral collaborations with teams at University of Tokyo, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, ETH Zurich, and CSIRO. These partnerships facilitate data exchange with infrastructures like FluxNet, joint expeditions with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, and capacity building through workshops hosted with the Royal Society and the National Science Foundation.
Activities include training graduate students and postdocs at universities including Beijing Normal University and Sun Yat-sen University, public outreach with conservation NGOs like China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, and policy briefs informing ministries and provincial authorities during events associated with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The network's long-term datasets have been used in national assessments and contributed to reports authored by panels such as the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.
Category:Ecology organizations Category:Research networks