Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2017, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (1): 1-6.doi: 10.11934/j.issn.1673-4831.2017.01.001

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Regional Ecosystem Restoration by Ecological Regulation Approaches (ERA)

GAO Ji-xi, ZOU Chang-xin, WU Dan, WANG Yan   

  1. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China
  • Received:2016-12-19 Online:2017-01-25 Published:2017-01-22

Abstract:

In recent years, the eco-environmental situations in the country are getting severer, with the degradation of ecosystem functions posing a prominent problem, which is threatening ecological security and restraining economic and social development of relevant regions to a certain degree. Therefore, ecological restoration has become an issue attracting high attention. However, the current restoration pays too much attention to revegetation rather than function, to means rather than effects, and to parts rather than whole regions in processes. In view of the problems, the following concept and connotation of regional ecological regulation and restoration centered on "Decreasing Pressures on Environmental Resources and Increasing Efficiency of Ecosystem Functions" are put forward. The restoration of regional ecosystems should combine ecological projects with eco-societal regulation, instead of depending on ecological projects as its means; focus on large-scaled regions exposed to potential pressure, not just on local areas suffering severe ecological problems or damage; adopt a variety of means to reduce overall ecosystem pressure, improve regional ecological functions, and aim at ecological, economic and social benefits holistically, rather than satisfaction with revegetation. On such a basis, framework of approaches of regional ecological regulation and restoration was built up, and a technical flowchart plotted, encompassing the following five technical processes, i.e. problem recognition, diagnostic analysis, model construction, efficiency analysis and demonstration application, in an attempt to realize regionalization, perpetuation and benefit-maximization of ecological restoration.

Key words: ecological degradation, regulation and restoration, decreasing pressure and increasing efficiency, approaches

CLC Number: