Egrets roost in the Fenhe River in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, Jan. 3, 2024. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

By Staff Reporters

Ecological monitoring is a basis for objectively and accurately understanding regional ecological conditions, as well as scientifically implementing ecological protection and restoration.

According to a work plan jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China will establish an ecological quality monitoring network, and has identified the first batch of 55 National Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Stations, including Xishuangbanna station (forest) in Yunnan province and Changzhou plain water network station (wetland) in Jiangsu province.

Covering major types of ecosystem

At the crack of dawn, Shen Wei and his colleagues at the Changzhou plain water network station go out to collect samples from waters, before returning to the laboratory to analyze them.

"We have observed Novaculina chinensis, a national second-class protected animal, and it has been found several times in succession, which shows that the ecological condition of the lake is gradually improving," said Shen, deputy head of ecology department of Changzhou environmental monitoring center. 

"Listed as the first batch of the national monitoring station, our work has also ushered in an upgrade: from focusing on the plain water network to the comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes and grasslands," said Pan Chen, director of Changzhou environmental monitoring center.

The first batch of 55 National Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Stations covers major ecosystem types, including key protection regions and urban agglomerations with intensive human activity. According to the MEE, ecological monitoring network takes biodiversity and habitats as monitoring objects, including the species composition, structure and function of the biological community, and aims to realize all-round monitoring of various ecosystems within 100 kilometers of the station.

Integrated system

"Millions of pieces of monitoring data are collected every year, in terms of biology, meteorology, hydrology and soil, " said Yuan Shengdong, a researcher at CAS Xishuangbanna tropical rainforest ecosystem research station. Yuan added that it is hard to have new findings over a short period, and long-term data is necessary to figure out the dynamic changes in tropical rainforests.

After being selected as the national ecological quality comprehensive monitoring station, the work efficiency of the station is expected to improve. Advanced tools such as satellites, planes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) will be used to coordinate with ground monitoring, thus constructing an integrated ecological monitoring technological system, according to the MEE.

The satellite remote sensing, as the main means of ecological supervision, covers a large scope all day, which can find surface changes and problems in a timely manner. The UAVs are more flexible and respond rapidly. Equipped with visible infrared, hyperspectral, lidar and other payloads, they can help verify the problems found by satellites. Ground monitoring, mainly through cameras and patrols, can also detect and prevent human interference activities in a timely manner. 

Improving protection

Ecological monitoring should not only present the status quo and changes in regional ecological environment, but also improve the ability to detect ecological damage.

"Every routine monitoring of the Gehu Lake is helpful for the optimization and adjustment of pollution prevention and control measures," said Pan, adding that the Changzhou plain water network station will adopt the integrated system to carry out regular monitoring of the region.

"For example, cyanobacteria bloom is a prominent problem plaguing the management of Taihu Lake. The monitoring station uses the monitoring data collected over the years to study the competitive growth mechanism of aquatic grasses and cyanobacteria, providing technical support for scientific and accurate restoration of the ecological environment," said Pan.

At present, the results of ecological monitoring have played an important role in supporting the work of national ecological environmental protection supervision projects, said Jiang Huohua, director of ecological and environmental monitoring department of the MEE.

According to Jiang, the monitoring procedure will be further standardized, and data will be collected, processed and shared on a unified platform. In the next step, the MEE will set up more stations in the ecological monitoring network, to achieve a broader coverage of the key and fragile areas, and provide technical support for the construction of a modern and beautiful China with harmonious coexistence between man and nature.