我国区域尺度生态系统管理中的几个重要生态学命题

生态系统管理学是研究生态系统管理的理论与实践技术,相关政策和管理策略的综合性应用生态学。当前,综合研究全球或区域尺度生态系统管理模式及其相关的重大科学问题不公是人类社会可持续发展的迫切需要,也是生态系统管理学的重要发展方向和科学任务,为此,本文系统地论述了生态服务功能、可持续性、复杂性和不确定性的综合评价与生态学机制,自然资源保护、生态系统健康以及退化生态系统恢复的生态学基础,生态系统管理的基础生态学过程,生态系统适应性管理的理论与实践,生态系统网络研究,监测和成果集成,区域尺度生态系统管理的综合性专题研究等一系列重要生态学命题,讨论了这些生态学命题的国内外研究进展及其发展方向。     

Effectiveness of entropy-based functions in the analysis of ecosystem state and development

Following the advances in the field of the thermodynamics of far-from-equilibrium systems, several ecological orientors (indicators able to describe the stage and orientation of ecosystem development) incorporating entropy terms have been proposed. Although most of the proposed functions have a good theoretical basis and have proved to perform adequately as ecological indicators, their suitability as ecological orientors has yet to receive a full confirmation in real case studies. The aim of the present contribution is to examine how several entropy-based indicators (exergy, structural information, entropy production, specific entropy production and the Eco-exergy index) perform as orientors when applied to a special case of ecological succession, i.e. eutrophication, in a homogeneous set of shallow lakes lying along a trophic gradient, from oligotrophy to hyper-eutrophy. The results show that a coherent pattern of response emerge, which is also consistent with the classical ecological theory. In particular, the maximisation of storage and the minimisation of specific entropy production are confirmed as the most reliable principles of ecosystem development, whereas the maximisation of dissipation (as entropy production) appears as a debatable criterion of development.     

生态系统健康评价——概念构架与指标选择

在探讨生态系统健康概念构架的基础上,寻求对管理景观中的生态系统健康进行整体性评价的合适指标.健康的生态系统不仅在生态学意义上是健康的,并能维持健康的人类群体及有利于社会经济的发展.健康生态系统的一般特征是恢复力、多样性和生产力.建立生态系统健康评价指标的第一步是指标选择原则的确定,根据生态系统健康评价的目的和指标筛选的原则,把生态系统健康指标体系(Ecosystem Health Indicaror,EHI)分为生物物理指标、生态学指标和社会经济指标.     

生态系统健康评价—概念构架与指标选择

在探讨了生态系统健康概念构架的基础上,寻求对管理景观中的生态系统健康进行整体性评价的合适指标,健康的生态系统不仅在生态学意义上是健康的,并能维持健康的人类群体及有利于社会经济的发展,健康生态系统的一般特征是恢复力,多样性和生产力,建立生态系统健康评价指标的第一步是指标选择原则的确定,根据生态系统健康评价的目的和指标筛选的原则,把生态系统健康指标体系（Ecosystem Health Indicator,EHI)分为生物物理指标,生态学指标和社会经济指标。     

Revisiting the food component of the ecological footprint indicator for autonomous rural settlement models in Central Italy

The aim of this work is to design a model of sustainable rural settlement to ensure food self-sufficiency. The strategic objective of this study is to verify how the development of rural settlements based on this model contributes to overall sustainability. The sustainability assessment is based on an ecological footprint indicator introduced by Rees (1992) and developed by Rees and Wackernagel (1994).The operational objective of this work is to develop an ecological footprint of autonomous food systems model that is able to determine the land area needed to ensure the food self-sufficiency of an Italian settlement while varying the number of components and the diet followed. The model is also intended to determine the food component of the ecological footprint indicator.Model development started with the identification of the average diet for a community, which was determined from organic farming criteria, crop layouts and livestock farming characteristics necessary to meet demand. The research demonstrated that by promoting food self-sufficient rural settlements, the food component of the ecological footprint indicator is lowered by 47.32% compared to the national average and by 8.11% compared to the world average.The development of this model has also highlighted how the ecological footprint indicator is not valid for assessing the autonomous sustainability of a community, leading to a systematic underestimation of humanity's true impact.     

差异化的生态公益林生态补偿标准——以北京市为例

生态补偿本质是生态系统服务的购买,因此生态补偿标准的制定必须基于生态系统所提供的生态服务价值。2004年开始,北京市逐步对生态公益林进行生态补偿,但补偿项目仍然采用了一刀切的标准制定模式。森林生态系统因树种和林龄的不同,提供的生态系统服务存在较大差异。另外,生态公益林所处的区域位置也决定着其生态系统服务价值发挥的稳定性和相对重要性,是生态补偿标准的制定中必须要考虑的因素。因而,有必要基于生态系统的生态服务价值量核算,并综合考虑生态系统的立地环境、区域定位和资源稀缺度因素,构建差异化的生态公益林生态补偿方案。依据该方案计算的北京生态公益林补偿标准范围在176元/hm~2到2168元/hm~2,其中延庆区和怀柔区的生态公益林补偿标准较高,中心城区和房山区的补偿标准较低。补偿标准的全市平均值为1265元/hm~2,与北京现行山区生态林生态补偿项目的补偿标准相当。构建的公益林生态补偿标准,体现了生态系统的生态服务价值以及生态服务的区位相对重要性差异,为动态化、多元化的公益林生态补偿方案建立提供了可能。     

生态系统可持续性的一个测度框架

生态系统可持续性是指生态系统持久地维持或支持其内在组份、组织结构和功能动态健康及其进化发展的潜在和显在能动性的总和.它是由生态整合性、自维持活力、自调节力和自组织力所构成的1个四元能力体系.生态系统持续性是由系统自身的组份、结构和功能动态来体现的.因此,对系统组份、结构和功能动态的辨识和评估是测度生态系统持续性的方法论基础.本文提出了1个由12项测度内容和30多类测度变量组成的生态系统可持续性的指标度量框架,反映了生态系统持续性的基本特点.从测度方法上看,基于指标的测度方法是生态系统持续性的基本测度方法,但它需要和整合测度方法相结合,以便提供一个完整的测度途径.     

生态系统健康评价的研究进展

生态系统健康评价是环境管理和生态系统监控的基础,生态系统监控可促进生态系统健康评价。首先介绍了生态系统健康概念的产生,发展及其不同的内涵,并着重回顾和讨论了生态系统健康评价指标及其存在的问题,生态系统健康评价指标包括生态指标,物理化学指标,人类健康与社会经济指标3大类,生态指标是反映生态系统特征和状态的生物指标,它分为生态系统,群落和种群与个体等不同层次的指标或指标体系,物理化学指标是检测生态系统的非生物环境的指标。人类健康与社会经济指标着眼于生态系统对人类生存与社会发展的支持作用,采用经济参数和社会发展的环境压力指标等来衡量生态服务的质量与可持续性,根据其敏感程度和功能性,生态系统健康评价指标分为早期预警指标,适宜程度指标和诊断指标3类,一个完整的生态系统评价应包括上述3大类指标或指标体系,但在具体的评价实践中往往因评价目的和对象的不同而有所选择,生态系统健康评价目前有两个亟待解决的问题,如何有效确立评价标准与参照系以及如何正确区分人为压力和自然干扰。     

生态系统管理学的概念框架及其生态学基础

系统地要领了生态系统管理学产生的历史背景和发展进程,讨论了生态系统管理的一些基本概念,生态学基础,管理目标及管理体制与实施方式,详细地论述了生态系统的生态学完整性与边界和时空尺度,生态系统的结构,功能与生态系统整体性,生态系统演替与系统动力学特性,生态系统的干扰与系统稳定性,生态系统的复杂性与不确定性,生态系统多样性与可持续生态系统,生态模型与数据收集和监测,人类活动对环境影响的双重性等生态学基础问题,阐述了在维持生态系统产品和服务功能的可持续性总体目标下,各类生态系统管理的具体目标。     

生态系统健康评价方法初探

生态系统是维持人类环境的最基本单元,生态系统功能主要体现在两个方面：一是生态服务功能（service);二是价值功能（goods)这两种功能是人类生态和发展的基础,生态系统健康是保证生态系统功能正常发挥的前提,结构和功能的完整性,具有抵抗干扰和恢复能力（resilience)、稳定和可持续性是生态系统健康的特征,生态系统健康评价需要基于生态系统的结构、功能过程来确定指标,包括生态系统的完整性,适应性和效率,生态系统健康评价主要有两种方法：一是指示物种评价,二是结构功能指标评价,结构功能指标评价包括单指标评价,复合指标评价和指标体系评价,指标体系评价中又包括自然指标体系评价,社会－经济－自然复合生态系统指标体系评价,本文针对生态系统健康的不同评价方法进行了对比研究,同时,针对不同的生态系统类型应选择其健康评价方法方面进行了简要的阐述。     

生态系统管理的概念及其要素

生态系统管理起源于传统的自然资源管理和利用领域,形成于本世纪９０年代。它是指基于对生态系统组成、结构和功能过程的最佳理解,在一定的时空尺度范围内将人类价值和社会经济条件整合到生态 营中,以恢复或维持生态系统整体性和可持续性。生态系统管理要求收集被管理系统核心层次的生态学数据并监测生态系统的变化过程。生态系统管理的要素包括：有明确的管理目标,有确定的系统边界昨单元,基于对生态 深刻理解,有适宜的尺度     

Cumulative biomass curves describe past and present conditions of Large Marine Ecosystems

Implementing the Ecosystem Approach in marine ecosystems is moving from preliminary steps—dedicated to defining the optimal features for indicators and developing efficient indicator frameworks—towards an operational phase where multisector marine management decisions are executed using this information. Within this operational context, emergent ecosystem properties are becoming quite promising as they have been demonstrated to be globally widespread and repeatable, and to be quite effective in detecting significant state variations of complex systems. Biomass accumulation across TLs (CumB‐TL) combines two important emergent properties of an ecosystem (energy flow, in terms of transfer efficiency, and storage, expressed as biomass), both amenable to detecting rapid ecosystem change. However, for further application, it is crucial to understand which types of drivers an indicator is sensitive to and how robust it is in relation to modifications of the external conditions and/or the system state. Here we address some outstanding questions of these CumB‐TL curves related to their sensitivity to various drivers by carrying out a global scale assessment (using data from 62 LMEs) over six decades (1950–2010). We confirm the consistency of the S‐pattern across all the LMEs, independent from latitude, ecosystem, environmental conditions, and stress level. The dynamics of the curve shape showed a tendency to stretch (i.e. decrease of steepness), in the presence of external disturbance and conversely to increase in steepness and shift towards higher TL in the case of recovery from stressed conditions. Our results suggest the presence of three main types of ecosystem dynamics, those showing an almost continuous increase in ecological state over time, those showing a continuous decrease in ecological state over time, and finally those showing a mixed behaviour flipping between recovering and degrading phases. These robust patterns suggest that the CumB‐TL curve approach has some useful properties for use in further advancing the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach, allowing us to detect the state of a given marine ecosystem based on the dynamics of its curve shape, by using readily available time series data. The value of being able to identify conditions that might require management actions is quite high and, in many respects, represents the main objective in the context of an Ecosystem Approach, with large applications for detecting and responding to global changes in marine ecosystems.     

Indicators quantifying small pelagic fish interactions: application using a trophic model of the southern Benguela ecosystem

Three indicators quantifying interactions between species are developed for an upwelling system to provide useful measures for the comparison of marine ecosystem structure and function. Small pelagic fish are dominant in upwelling systems, and by definition, they are pivotal in a wasp-waist upwelling system. The indicator of interaction strength (IS) quantifies the effect that a change in biomass of one group has on abundance of other groups. The functional impact (FI) indicator quantifies the trophic impacts of species on their own and other functional groups or feeding guilds. The trophic replacement (TR) indicator quantifies the trophic similarity between a species that is removed from an ecosystem and other species in that ecosystem, i.e. it quantifies the ability of one group to trophically replace another. A trophic model of the southern Benguela ecosystem is used as an example for the application of the indicators. The strong similarities in trophic functioning of the southern Benguela ecosystem in the anchovy-dominated system of the 1980s, and the 1990s when there was a shift towards greater sardine abundance, are explained by the mutual trophic replacement abilities of anchovy and sardine. Differences between the proposed indicators and mixed trophic impact assessment are highlighted, mainly resulting from the static versus dynamic nature of the models upon which they are based. Trophic indicators such as those presented here, together with other kinds of ecosystem indicators, may assist in defining operational frameworks for ecosystem-based fisheries management.     

Development and application of an integrated sustainability index for small-holder dairy farms in Rajasthan,India

In agrarian economy of developing nations like India, smallholder dairy production is an important enterprise and its sustainability is vital for ensuring livelihood and nutritional security to the masses. Studies on methodological aspects of farm sustainability at micro-level are limited, either confined to a particular dimension of sustainability or based on complex data requirement which is not feasible to obtain in the context of smallholder dairy farms. This study has developed a multi-attribute farm level sustainability assessment method encompassing economic, social and ecological dimensions of sustainability and has applied it to assess the sustainability of dairy farming in north-western part of India. Based on data from 120 dairy farms located in rural area of Jaipur district from the state of Rajasthan, the study computed the composite Sustainable Dairy Farming Index (SDFI). The overall substantiality status of the smallholder dairy farms in the study area was not encouraging, implying that it may not be viable for future generation to take up the enterprise. Among the three dimensions of sustainability, the average scores of ecological dimension were highest followed by the economic and social sustainability scores. Some of the core attributes like feed productivity, management of animal genetic potential and gender equality are particularly weak aspects of the dairy production system in India. The direct relationship of economic sustainability with herd size suggests for farmers with very small herds (one to two) animals, increasing the number of dairy animals to about five to six, would be a good strategy to economize on input costs and generate more marketed surplus of milk.     

A multi-indicator framework for mapping cultural ecosystem services: The case of freshwater recreational fishing

Despite recent interest, ecosystem services are not yet fully incorporated into private and public decisions about natural resource management. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are among the most challenging of services to include because they comprise complex ecological and social properties and processes that make them difficult to measure, map or monetize. Like others, CES are vulnerable to landscape changes and unsustainable use. To date, the sustainability of services has not been adequately addressed and few studies have considered measures of service capacity and demand simultaneously. To facilitate sustainability assessments and management of CES, our study objectives were to (1) develop a spatially explicit framework for mapping the capacity of ecosystems to provide freshwater recreational fishing, an important cultural service, (2) map societal demand for freshwater recreational fishing based on license data and identify areas of potential overuse, and (3) demonstrate how maps of relative capacity and relative demand could be interfaced to estimate sustainability of a CES. We mapped freshwater recreational fishing capacity at the 12-digit hydrologic unit-scale in North Carolina and Virginia using a multi-indicator service framework incorporating biophysical and social landscape metrics and mapped demand based on fishing license data. Mapping of capacity revealed a gradual decrease in capacity eastward from the mountains to the coastal plain and that fishing demand was greatest in urban areas. When comparing standardized relative measures of capacity and demand for freshwater recreational fishing, we found that ranks of capacity exceeded ranks of demand in most hydrologic units, except in 17% of North Carolina and 5% of Virginia. Our GIS-based approach to view freshwater recreational fishing through an ecosystem service lens will enable scientists and managers to examine (1) biophysical and social factors that foster or diminish cultural ecosystem services delivery, (2) demand for cultural ecosystem services relative to their capacity, and (3) ecological pressures like potential overuse that affect service sustainability. Ultimately, we expect such analyses to inform decision-making for freshwater recreational fisheries and other cultural ecosystem services.     

Capacity,pressure, demand,and flow: A conceptual framework for analyzing ecosystem service provision and delivery

Ecosystem services provide an instinctive way to understand the trade-offs associated with natural resource management. However, despite their apparent usefulness, several hurdles have prevented ecosystem services from becoming deeply embedded in environmental decision-making. Ecosystem service studies vary widely in focal services, geographic extent, and in methods for defining and measuring services. Dissent among scientists on basic terminology and approaches to evaluating ecosystem services create difficulties for those trying to incorporate ecosystem services into decision-making. To facilitate clearer comparison among recent studies, we provide a synthesis of common terminology and explain a rationale and framework for distinguishing among the components of ecosystem service delivery, including: an ecosystem's capacity to produce services; ecological pressures that interfere with an ecosystem's ability to provide the service; societal demand for the service; and flow of the service to people. We discuss how interpretation and measurement of these four components can differ among provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. Our flexible framework treats service capacity, ecological pressure, demand, and flow as separate but interactive entities to improve our ability to evaluate the sustainability of service provision and to help guide management decisions. We consider ecosystem service provision to be sustainable when demand is met without decreasing capacity for future provision of that service or causing undesirable declines in other services. When ecosystem service demand exceeds ecosystem capacity to provide services, society can choose to enhance natural capacity, decrease demand and/or ecological pressure, or invest in a technological substitute. Because regulating services are frequently overlooked in environmental assessments, we provide a more detailed examination of regulating services and propose a novel method for quantifying the flow of regulating services based on estimates of ecological work. We anticipate that our synthesis and framework will reduce inconsistency and facilitate coherence across analyses of ecosystem services, thereby increasing their utility in environmental decision-making.     

Ecological potentials of biodiversity modelled from information entropies: Plant species diversity of North-Central European forests as an example

The paper deals with the hypothesis that ecosystems have well-defined potentials of biodiversity. These potentials can be quantified as information entropy of the corresponding ecosystem type. The hypothesis is verified for the diversity of plant species.

A vegetation database of North-Central European forests containing more than 12000 relevés is analyzed computationally. The samples are classified into ecosystem types that are homogeneous with respect to vegetation patterns, ecological site factors, and, implicitly, with respect to ecosystem processes. Growing numbers of relevés are selected randomly from the representatives of different ecosystem types and investigated mathematically.

Shannon information (product of logarithmic species number and evenness) obeys a hyperbolic saturation equation approaching a finite value on infinite area. This asymptotic limit defines the ecological potential of species diversity. Within a given plant-geographical region, it is determined by ecological site factors like climate and soil controlling interrelations between plants. Competition relationships and hence potentials of phytodiversity are altered by management significantly. The curve of evenness versus area size is hump-shaped. Maximum evenness is proportional to the ecological potential of species diversity. The area size where evenness attains its maximum can be interpreted as the minimum area of the respective forest type. The ecological potentials of plant species diversity modelled from information entropies correspond to vegetation patterns consisting of a limited number of plant species. These vegetation patterns are closely related to ecosystem processes like nutrient cycling, plant nutrition, evapotranspiration, microbial processes, or net-primary production. Revealing the relationships between vegetation patterns and ecosystem processes allows scaling functional information from local measurement scales up to regional scales.

It is suggested to explore genetic, proteomic, and species data in order to derive comprehensive ecological potentials of biodiversity on various levels from population to landscape. The expected results could improve the understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning as well as the sustainability of ecosystem management.     

A conceptual framework for ecosystem management based on tradeoff analysis

Three dimensions (natural, social and economic factors) in tradeoff analysis have not been focused in ecology. It is necessary to consider the multi-dimensions through a tradeoff analysis of disturbances to find their positive and negative effects (referred to as two-sidedness). We proposed an 11-step approach to integrate the concepts, methods and examples to understand ecological two-sidedness. We recommend that: (1) ecological complexity and large-scale systematic perspectives need to be integrated; (2) disparate disciplines should be integrated to classify the two-sidedness indicators; (3) models should be adopted to define the characteristic metrics of disturbed ecosystems; (4) researchers need to reconsider evaluation standards and for each indicator with marginal changes; and (5) initial decision-making should refer to the two-sidedness value and that final decision-making should be subject to debate. This approach has great significance for ecosystem management because decision-makers can obtain the superiority and inferiority of disturbance strategies and select optimal strategy.