Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2021, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (4): 14-24.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2020.10.23

Previous Articles     Next Articles

A technical framework for ecosystem conservation and restoration

ZHOU Yan(), CHEN Yan*(), YING Lingxiao, YANG Chongyao   

  1. Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Natural Resources; Key Laboratory of Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100035, China
  • Received:2020-04-30 Revised:2020-07-20 Online:2021-07-25 Published:2021-07-25
  • Contact: CHEN Yan

Abstract:

Faced with the severe resources, environmental and ecological pressures, President XI Jinping proposed the concept of community of life consisting a full range of ecosystems, including mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands. By the end of 2019, 25 pilot projects for ecosystem conservation and restoration had been carried out in China. Although the previous efforts had achieved some results, there are still many problems, such as unclear conservation and restoration goals, insufficient scientific characterization, excessive engineering measures, lack of dynamic monitoring and evaluation, and difficulty in realizing harmonious coexistence between human and nature. In the current research, we built a four-level—regional (province), landscape, ecosystem and subproject level—technical framework for ecosystem conservation and restoration, based on the theories in landscape and restoration ecology and the concepts of nature-based solution, adaptive management, complex socio-economic-natural ecosystem, and ecosystem services. Under this framework, the technical requirements related to monitoring and managing the entire project implementation process were proposed, so as to provide the theoretical and technical supports toward integrated conservation, systematic restoration, and comprehensive management of a full range of ecosystems.

Key words: ecological conservation, ecological restoration, full range of ecosystems, landscape, ecosystem, adaptive management

CLC Number: