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Classification and Research Methods of Ecosystem

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Contemporary Ecology Research in China

Abstract

The vast territory, diverse climate, rich landscape types, the numerous lakes, and vast sea in the east and south, relatively superior natural, historical and geographical conditions from tertiary and quaternary, make China one of the richest countries in ecosystem in the world. In this chapter, our topic include the main types of ecological system, crisscross band of ecological system, ecological security, ecological function area division, landscape pattern, ecological process, microbial ecology, and so on. Because rapid population growth and large-scale rapid urbanization process bring huge pressure on resources and environment, combined with the impact from the global climate warming and unreasonable land-use activities, ecological security has become a key focus areas of national security and sustainable development strategy. At present China still has not formed a unified evaluation index system and standard of evaluation methods to evaluate ecological security, and the exact meaning of ecological security is a lack of unified understanding. We still use static evaluation in most work at present, short in researching dynamic change, and the evolution trend of ecological security. Ecological security properties, assessment scales of time and space of theoretical basis, evaluation index system, and evaluation method are an important part of the study of ecology in China at present. To develop regional ecological function zoning plan, clarifying the main ecological problems of different ecological function areas has very important practical significance. Ecological regionalization has become the current macro and ecosystem ecology research hot spot. Using the theory of modern ecology, with full consideration regional ecological processes, ecosystem service functions, and ecological sensitivity to human activity intensity relationship on the basis of comprehensive functional zone is one of the ecology theories in practice. Ecological function regionalization is based on partition method and consolidation method. The relationship between landscape patterns and ecological processes and scale features is complex as landscape itself, and the simple concept of causality is not enough for quantitative research. The main research methods include landscape pattern index analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, and landscape model. The research contents involved in the evolution of the landscape pattern and drive process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Jixi Gao, Changxin Zou & Zhaoping Yang

  2. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Regional Eco-Process and Function Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (CRAES), Beijing, 100012, China

    Shihai Lv, Zhirong Zheng & Junhui Liu

  3. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Liding Chen, Bojie Fu & Changhong Su

  4. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Wenhua Li

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  1. Jixi Gao
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  2. Shihai Lv
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  3. Zhirong Zheng
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  4. Junhui Liu
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  5. Changxin Zou
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  7. Liding Chen
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  8. Bojie Fu
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  9. Changhong Su
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  10. Wenhua Li
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  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing, China

    Wenhua Li

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Gao, J. et al. (2015). Classification and Research Methods of Ecosystem. In: Li, W. (eds) Contemporary Ecology Research in China. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-48376-3_6

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