山地景观生态学研究进展

山地环境对全球变化的高度敏感性及其在陆地淡水资源与生物资源方面的巨大影响,推动山地景观生态学迅猛发展。在系统分析2000年以来山地景观生态学文献计量基础上,针对山地景观生态学主要学科方向与科学问题,以山地垂直带谱结构分布模式与形成机制,山地景观生态功能的分布格局与驱动因素,山地景观生态结构与格局对全球变化的响应等三大领域为重点,综述了自2000年以来的主要研究进展和取得的新认识,归纳了每个领域现阶段存在的主要前沿问题。围绕上述山地景观生态学重点领域,提出了山地景观生态学未来重点发展的6个研究方向:全球山地环境变化综合观测网络与方法、山地多维景观生态格局与时空变化规律及其驱动机制、整合景观生态学方法的林线动态与机制研究、山地生物生产力和物种多样性变化与模拟、景观生态水碳耦合循环变化与影响、山地垂直带谱结构理论与模式等,为进一步推动山地景观生态学发展、准确理解山地环境对全球变化的响应规律及其影响提供理论参考。

Research progress and future perspectives on the landscape ecology of mountainous areas

The environment in mountainous areas is sensitive to global change; recent changes in the mountain environment have had profound effects on terrestrial freshwater and biological resources. Recent studies on these changes have dramatically improved our understanding of landscape ecology in mountainous areas. We analyzed publications on landscape ecology in mountainous areas from 2000 onwards, reviewed the main advances and new findings, and addressed key topics for future studies. These key findings and topics include mechanisms of vertical distributions of the vegetation belt, landscape ecosystem functioning and its driving factors, and changes in ecosystem structures and patterns in response to global change. We also propose six key areas of focus for future studies:1) an integrated network for monitoring the global mountain environment; 2) spatial and temporal patterns of mountain landscape ecology at multiple scales and the mechanism of its formation; 3) mechanisms of tree-line formation and tree-line dynamics studied using landscape ecology methods; 4) observations and simulations of ecosystem productivity and biodiversity in response to global change; 5) changes in the coupling of carbon and water cycles as a result of global change, 6) theory and modeling of mountain altitudinal belt structure. We believe this review could facilitate studies on landscape ecology in mountainous areas and predictions of the response of mountainous areas to global change.