The ecosystem approach to environmental assessment: moving from theory to practice

The ecosystem approach to environmental management is viewed by many as being fundamental to the development of appropriate management strategies. While this approach represents a major advance in the way researchers view environmental assessment, the approach in itself does not provide practical information as to what questions to ask and what tools to use in assessing and managing ecosystems. Similarly, the concept of ecosystem health, as it is usually defined, has little practical value for ecosystem managers. We suggest the next stage in environmental assessment will be the development of specific frameworks designed to assess individual ecosystems. Of primary importance is the need to consider the basic structure and function of the ecosystem itself. Such consideration, together with explicit identification of anthropogenic stresses particular to the system, serves to identify those components most at risk and those issues most deserving of attention. Researchers should explore critical linkages between environmental stressors and their observable, measurable and predictable effects on ecological parameters and use this understanding to develop a management strategy that incorporates appropriate ecological indicators. The importance of these considerations will be illustrated using examples from the Northern River Basins Study.     

基于生态系统服务和生态系统健康的生态风险评价——以长株潭城市群为例

基于生态系统服务和生态系统健康的生态风险评估框架为城市群生态风险管理和国土生态修复提供新的视角。以生态风险评估框架为基础,综合运用生态系统服务、生态系统健康评估模型以及相关分析法对长株潭城市群展开生态风险评价,并对风险程度进行分类。结果表明:(1)城市群的城市化水平提升,区域生态风险也随之增加。生态系统服务价值、生态系统组织、生态系统活力、生态系统弹性等生态指数呈现下降趋势。(2)人工表面比率和生态指数之间的Pearson相关系数表明,人工表面比率与生态指数之间存在负相关关系,人工表面比率是生态风险提升的关键因素。(3)城市群人工表面比率要控制在36%以下,以进行生态风险管理和国土生态修复。总的来说,评价框架可以作为区域生态风险的评价终点。     

Extrapolation in Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessments: Proceedings of a Symposium

A symposium was conducted in April 1998 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL) to explore issues of extrapolation in human health and ecological risk assessments. Over the course of three and one half days, leading health and ecology experts presented and discussed research methods and approaches for extrapolating data among taxa and across levels of biological organization, through time, and across spatial scales. The intended result of this symposium was enhanced interaction among a diverse array of scientists, policymakers, and risk assessors to promote identification of approaches for reducing the uncertainties of extrapolation in risk assessment.     

Approaches for Integrated Risk Assessment

Recognizing the need to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of risk assessments globally, the World Health Organization's International Programme on Chemical Safety, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the European Commission, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development developed a collaborative partnership to foster integration of assessment approaches used to evaluate human health and ecological risks. The objectives of this effort included: improving understanding of the benefits of integration, identifying obstacles to the integration process, and engaging key agencies, organizations, and scientific societies to promote integration. A framework with supporting documentation was developed to describe an approach for integration. Four case studies were constructed to illustrate how integrated risk assessments might be conducted for chemical and nonchemical stressors. The concepts and approaches developed in the project were evaluated in an international workshop. The goal of this effort was international acceptance of guidance for integrated risk assessment.     

Integrated Risk Assessment — Results from an International Workshop

The World Health Organization's International Programme on Chemical Safety and international partners have developed a framework for integrated assessment of human health and ecological risks and four case studies. An international workshop was convened to consider how ecological and health risk assessments might be integrated, the benefits of and obstacles to integration, and the research and mechanisms needed to facilitate implementation of integrated risk assessment. Using the case studies, workshop participants identified a number of opportunities to integrate the assessment process. Improved assessment quality, efficiency, and predictive capability were considered to be principal benefits of integration. Obstacles to acceptance and implementation of integrated risk assessment included the disciplinary and organizational barriers between ecological and health disciplines. A variety of mechanisms were offered to overcome these obstacles. Research recommendations included harmonization of exposure characterization and surveillance methods and models, development of common risk endpoints across taxa, improved understanding of mechanisms of effect at multiple scales of biological organization, and development of methods to facilitate comparison of risks among endpoints.     

Ecosystem health synthesis: can we get there from here?

This paper provides a synthesis of the presentations made by participants at the International Symposium on Aquatic Ecosystem Health (July 23–26, 1990, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). A working definition of the ecosystem concept and a framework for defining ecosystem health, are proposed, based on both hard and soft science. Assessment of ecosystem health can be approached either from the bottom up (reductionist approach) or from the top down (holistic approach). The Symposium clearly followed the former approach; present approaches to science and management are also generally reductionist. It is argued that realistic solutions require primarily holistic approaches; such are often claimed but rarely attained. Reductionist approaches are useful for diagnosis and prediction (i.e., warning of potential problems), provided that they are based on appropriate statistical, biological, and societal levels of significance.     

基于近海健康评价现有体系的我国普适海洋健康评价“双核”新框架的构建

海洋生态环境保持健康状态是人类可持续开发利用海洋资源环境的基础,而近海海洋生态环境的健康状况综合评价可为海洋生态环境良性发展以及社会经济决策提供科学依据。首先对国际上3种代表性的海洋环境健康综合评价方法的应用特点进行了对比分析,并归纳了我国海洋生态环境健康评价的状况,在此基础上,以指标体系法重构了一个双核结构的综合评价框架,其中内核评价以海洋生态系统的自身状态为主,外核评价则主要反映海洋之于人类经济社会的贡献,以期能够科学、准确、全面的评价我国近海海洋环境健康状况。     

生态完整性与生态系统健康的区别及适用范围

生态完整性和生态系统健康是生态系统管理的重要目标;在具体评价工作中经常出现两个概念混淆或误用的情况。对比分析结果;二者在概念内涵、管理目标、价值观念、参比基准和评价方法五个方面存在差异:（1）生态完整性强调自然性;而生态系统健康强调可持续性和社会价值;（2）生态完整性的目标方向为无人类干扰的自然状态;而生态系统健康则是基于社会需求构建理想状态;（3）生态完整性基于自然保护价值观;而生态系统健康则基于功利保护价值观;（4）生态完整性评价的参比基准为自然或历史状态;而生态系统健康基准则为可达到的最优值或公认的标准值;（5）生态完整性评价指标主要包含物理、化学指标和生物指标;而生态系统健康在此基础上还增加了管理指标和经济指标。生态完整性和生态系统健康概念提出的背景和评价逻辑具有一定的相似性;因此存在一定交集;但是前者的适用对象是自然生态系统;后者的适用对象是受人为活动强烈扰动和人工修复后的生态系统。建议在厘清概念内涵差异的基础上;根据评价对象的生态地理区背景、人类干扰强度以及管理目标;选择适用的评价方法。     

A method for lake ecosystem health assessment: an Ecological Modeling Method (EMM) and its application

Ecosystem health is a newly proposed concept that sets new goals for environmental management. Its definition, indexing and assessment methods are still being perfected. An Ecological Modeling Method (EMM) for lake ecosystem health assessment is proposed in this paper. The EMM's procedures are: (1) to analyze the ecosystem structure of a lake in order to determine the structure and complexity of the lake's ecological model; (2) to develop a model having ecological health indicators, by designing a conceptual diagram, establishing model equations, estimating model parameters and being integrated with ecological indicators; (3) to compare the simulated and observed values of important state variables and process rates (i.e. model calibration) in order to evaluate the applicability of the model to lake ecosystem health assessment; (4) to calculate ecosystem health indicators based on the developed model; and (5) to assess lake ecosystem health according to the values of the ecosystem health indicators. The EMM was applied, as a case study, to the ecosystem health assessment of a eutrophic Chinese lake (Lake Chao) between April 1987 and March 1988. A relative order of health states from poor to good was determined as follows: August–October 1987 > April–May 1987 > June–July 1987 > November–December 1987 > January–March 1988. These results compared quite favourably with the actual current conditions at Lake Chao. The EMM method, therefore, was suitable in assessing lake ecosystem health at Lake Chao.     

湿地生态系统健康研究进展

湿地作为一个生态系统 ,具有多种功能和价值 ,是人类最重要的环境资本之一 ,被称为“自然之肾”。湿地在蓄洪防旱、调节气候、控制土壤侵蚀、促淤造陆、降解环境污染等方面起着极其重要的作用。湿地拥有丰富的野生动植物资源 ,是众多野生动植物特别是珍稀水禽的繁殖和越冬地。不仅如此 ,湿地向人类提供大量的生产和生活资料 [1] 。然而 ,近些年来一些地区的湿地状况令人担忧 ,具体表现城市化、工业化、路基建设、农业开发及废物处理等造成湿地面积的缩小 ;水利、灌溉、水库蒸发、河流及地下水过度提取 ,沼泽地排水、挖渠、土地开荒、筑堤造…     

Role of Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment

Ecological models are useful tools for evaluating the ecological significance of observed or predicted effects of toxic chemicals on individual organisms. Current risk estimation approaches using hazard quotients for individual-level endpoints have limited utility for assessing risks at the population, ecosystem, and landscape levels, which are the most relevant indicators for environmental management. In this paper, we define different types of ecological models, summarize their input and output variables, and present examples of the role of some recommended models in chemical risk assessments. A variety of population and ecosystem models have been applied successfully to evaluate ecological risks, including population viability of endangered species, habitat fragmentation, and toxic chemical issues. In particular, population models are widely available, and their value in predicting dynamics of natural populations has been demonstrated. Although data are often limited on vital rates and doseresponse functions needed for ecological modeling, accurate prediction of ecological effects may not be needed for all assessments. Often, a comparative assessment of risk (e.g., relative to baseline or reference) is of primary interest. Ecological modeling is currently a valuable approach for addressing many chemical risk assessment issues, including screening-level evaluations.     

Marine ecosystem regime shifts: challenges and opportunities for ecosystem-based management

Regime shifts have been observed in marine ecosystems around the globe. These phenomena can result in dramatic changes in the provision of ecosystem services to coastal communities. Accounting for regime shifts in management clearly requires integrative, ecosystem-based management (EBM) approaches. EBM has emerged as an accepted paradigm for ocean management worldwide, yet, despite the rapid and intense development of EBM theory, implementation has languished, and many implemented or proposed EBM schemes largely ignore the special characteristics of regime shifts. Here, we first explore key aspects of regime shifts that are of critical importance to EBM, and then suggest how regime shifts can be better incorporated into EBM using the concept of integrated ecosystem assessment (IEA). An IEA uses approaches that determine the likelihood that ecological or socio-economic properties of systems will move beyond or return to acceptable bounds as defined by resource managers and policy makers. We suggest an approach for implementing IEAs for cases of regime shifts where the objectives are either avoiding an undesired state or returning to a desired condition. We discuss the suitability and short-comings of methods summarizing the status of ecosystem components, screening and prioritizing potential risks, and evaluating alternative management strategies. IEAs are evolving as an EBM approach that can address regime shifts; however, advances in statistical, analytical and simulation modelling are needed before IEAs can robustly inform tactical management in systems characterized by regime shifts.     

The Concept of Data Utility in Health Risk Assessment: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective

Human and ecological health risk assessments and the decisions that stem from them require the acquisition and analysis of data. In agencies that are responsible for health risk decision-making, data (and/or opinions/judgments) are obtained from sources such as scientific literature, analytical and process measurements, expert elicitation, inspection findings, and public and private research institutions. Although the particulars of conducting health risk assessments of given disciplines may be dramatically different, a common concern is the subjective nature of judging data utility. Often risk assessors are limited to available data that may not be completely appropriate to address the question being asked. Data utility refers to the ability of available data to support a risk-based decision for a particular risk assessment. This article familiarizes the audience with the concept of data utility and is intended to raise the awareness of data collectors (e.g., researchers), risk assessors, and risk managers to data utility issues in health risk assessments so data collection and use will be improved. In order to emphasize the cross-cutting nature of data utility, the discussion has not been organized into a classical partitioning of risk assessment concerns as being either human health- or ecological health-oriented, as per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund Program.     

基于有害干扰的森林生态系统健康评价指标体系的构建

在分析国内外提出的众多森林生态系统健康评价指标的不足后,对评价指标进行研究和筛选。最终在森林生态系统健康评价指标体系的构建上提出了一个新的思路,即从森林火灾、林业有害生物、大气污染、人为有害干扰以及森林生态系统内部的增益干扰5个方面选取20个指标构建森林生态系统健康评价指标体系。其中森林火灾干扰包括平均降水量、平均气温、郁闭度、海拔、坡度、坡向、易燃树种的比例和林道距离8个指标,林业有害生物包括有害生物等级、危害程度和寄主树的比例3个指标,大气污染干扰通过叶片、土壤和污染物的分析测定,人为有害干扰包括森林经营措施、采伐措施和林下植被管理3个方面,而森林生态系统内部的增益干扰由物种多样性、群落结构和近自然度3个指标构成。同时对关键评价指标的意义进行了具体分析。此指标体系摒弃传统的评价观念,结合了近年来影响全国森林健康的几个重要原因,更能准确的反应目前森林生态系统的健康状况。研究思路和方法的提出在一定程度上可以丰富森林生态系统健康评价研究理论与方法体系。