The Eye on Ecology: China’s Ecological Monitoring Records (Volume 1)

Typical temperate secondary forest ecosystem.

Greater Xing’an Mountains Biodiversity Conservation Priority Area.

Mixed ecosystem of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, planted forest, and bamboo forest.

Representativeness and Typicality.

Mixed forest of northern subtropical deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved trees.

Typical central subtropical forest ecosystem.

Typical southern red soil hilly area.

Native place and natural distribution center of Pinus densiflora in China and Northeast Asia.

The core area of the East Sichuan-West Hubei Endemism Distribution Center.

Core area of the East Sichuan-West Hubei Endemism Distribution Center.

Core area of the Nanling Mountains, a climate boundary between northern and southern China.

Well-preserved mixed forest ecosystem of evergreen deciduous and broad-leaved trees.

Evergreen coniferous forest, mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest, and complete horizontal zonation of evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Typical subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, mixed evergreen broad-leaved forests, and planted forests.

Typical karst peak-cluster depression ecosystem.

Typical island tropical rainforest ecosystem

The most representative subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem at the same latitude in China.

Center of Southwest China Karst and a typical fragile karst ecosystem in Southwest China.

One of the world’s most biodiverse areas for alpine plants.

Typical tropical rainforest and monsoon rainforest ecosystem.

The most complete vertical vegetation spectrum in the world.

An important water source for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and a “Central Water Tower” of China.

Typical Loess Plateau landform.

Key functional area of biodiversity conservation.

Typical northern agro-pastoral ecotone.

Typical temperate grassland ecosystem.

Typical meadow steppe ecosystem.

Alpine grassland ecosystem.

The world’s typical high-elevation comprehensive ecological quality monitoring station.

Representative climate and ecosystem types in Qilianshan.

Ili Valley Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station (“Ili Valley Station” for short) is located in Nalati Grassland, Xinyuan County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. This region is home to globally representative temperate alpine and subalpine meadows, mountain meadows, mountain steppes, desert steppes, and other ecosystems, and features a variety of grassland ecosystem types. It is one of the most biologically diverse areas in Xinjiang, and serves as a gene bank for wild flora and fauna.

Miyun Reservoir Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is located in Xiwengzhuang Town, Miyun District, Beijing, beside Miyun Reservoir, the largest source of drinking water in Beijing. The vegetation type is typical warm temperate forest ecosystem.

Bohai Rim Binhai Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is located in Beidagang Wetland, Binhai New Area, and Qilihai Wetland, Ninghe District, Tianjin. This region is characterized by a typical coastal wetland ecosystem in northern China and a semi-humid continental monsoon climate, and hosts a number of natural and constructed wetlands and abundant wildlife resources.

Sanjiang Plain Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is located in Jiansanjiang Honghe Farm, Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province. The Sanjiang Plain is one of the largest areas of marsh wetlands in China, featuring a wide variety of wetland types such as Carex Linnaeus, Phragmites australis, and Deyeuxia angustifolia marshes. It is characterized by diverse types, complex structures, and rich biodiversity. The Sanjiang Plain represents a typical wetland ecosystem in the temperate continental climate zone and exemplifies the cold-wet (long-term seasonal freezing and thawing) lowland marsh wetland types found at mid-latitudes in China.

Taihu Ecosystem Research and Field Observation Station is located on the shores of the Taihu Lake and consists of the Taihu Lake Water Quality and Cyanobacteria Comprehensive Observation Station (Suzhou) and the Taihu Ecosystem Research and Field Observation Station (Wuxi).

Changzhou Plain Water Network Station is located in the Taihu Lake Water Source Conservation Functional Area, Jiangsu Province. The Taohu-Gehu Wetland and Yixing-Liyang Low Mountains and Hills where the station is located are the biodiversity center of regional aquatic ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems, respectively.

Yancheng Binhai Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is located in Dafeng District, Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province. It lies on the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I), a World Natural Heritage site. This region is characterized as a typical alluvial plain with tidal flats, features a transitional climate zone between marine and monsoon climates, and is located in the transition zone between subtropical and warm temperate regions.

Poyang Lake Station in Jiangxi Province includes two locations: Lushan Station and Nanji Station. The station focuses on studying the eco-environment factors of Poyang Lake wetlands, hydrogeochemical elements and water quality of lake wetlands, and aquatic environments. It conducts long-term monitoring and comprehensive analysis of the current status and evolution patterns of the Poyang Lake ecosystem.

Honghu Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is located in the lakeside area of Honghu County-level City, Jingzhou, Hubei Province, which is part of the vital wetland ecological zone in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This region serves as an important habitat and wintering area for migratory waterfowl, and is hailed as the “gene bank” of wetland species in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Fuxian Lake Plateau Lake Station is situated on the picturesque northern shore of the Fuxian Lake in Yunnan, at an elevation of 1,728 m. The lake belongs to the Nanpan River Basin within the Xijiang Water System and is the largest oligotrophic deep lake in China with the best water quality and the highest storage capacity among inland freshwater lakes. Its overall water quality has long stood at Grade I.

Located in the Kubuqi Desert, China’s seventh largest desert, Kubuqi Comprehensive Ecological Quality Monitoring Station is part of the Ordos Plateau Functional Area of Wind Prevention and Sand Fixation. The site encompasses various landforms such as fixed sand dunes, semi-fixed sand dunes, mobile sand dunes, and inter-dune lowlands. With an intricate and varied ecosystem, this region is an eco-sensitive area within the Yellow River Basin and a priority area for building the ecological security shields in northern China.

Key functional area of wind prevention and sand fixation.

Typical elm sparse forest, shrub and grassland landscapes.

Mixed desert and oasis ecosystems in arid areas.

Desert-oasis ecotone.

Mountain-oasis-desert mixed ecosystem.

Typical area with acute urban-regional problems.

Typical subtropical urban wetland ecosystem.

Planted forest, subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, and wetland ecosystems.

Located at the intersection of the Yanshan-Taihangshan region and the Yellow River Basin, a priority area for ecological monitoring.

A trumpet-shaped tidal bay as the Qiantang River meets the East China Sea.

Temperate semi-enclosed bay subject to the impact of climate change and human activity.

Marine ecosystem with subtropical bay and tropical characteristics.

Typical marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds.

The Xisha Islands are characterized by sea-and-land duality, unique resources, and ecological fragility.