What Is Global Ecology?

Ecology of biosphere, also known as global change ecology and global ecology, is a science that studies the ecological processes, ecological relationships, ecological mechanisms, ecological consequences, and ecological countermeasures of global change on a global scale.

Biosphere ecology is also called global ecology. The irrational development and utilization of natural resources by human beings has caused drastic and profound changes in the global environment in which human beings live. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, global warming, rising sea levels, and the expansion of the ozone hole have already posed great threats to the Earth's living systems, including humans, even ecological problems that occur in some local areas, such as The causes and impacts of desertification may be global.

The biosphere can not only provide humans with the necessary food, but also regulate the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide and maintain a relatively constant surface temperature. As the sole member of the "smart circle" on Earth, human survival and development depend on all living and inanimate matter in the biosphere. In the face of global change and its related ecological problems, human beings need to understand how global change affects various life systems on the planet, and whether and how much these life systems can slow down the occurrence of this drastic ecological change. Previous ecological studies centered on ecosystems cannot completely solve this problem. Global Ecology-A rapidly evolving, multidisciplinary, emerging discipline that will study and answer these questions.

Because the ecological processes involved in global ecology often occur at regional or even global scales, compared to traditional small and medium-scale ecological studies, we can also understand Global ecology as Large-Scale Ecology ecology). ^[1]

Global ecology is an emerging branch of ecology under the background that the intensity and breadth of human activities have developed to have a profound impact on the global environment and ecosystems. It originates from the study of the biosphere. Looking at the formation and development of global ecology, it can be divided into three stages:

(1) The intersection of macro and micro: ecological research includes individuals, populations, communities, ecosystems, landscapes, regions and larger scales (such as intercontinental and earth). Although the research on global ecology is carried out on a macro scale, some methods and techniques of physiological ecology, population and community ecology, and ecosystem ecology research are often the basic means of global ecological research. A basic idea of global ecological research is to think about problems from a macro perspective and solve problems with a small-scale approach. Therefore, global ecological research often has the characteristics of macro and micro intersections. Taking the biogeochemical cycle as an example, the biogeochemical cycle at the ecosystem level is the basis for analyzing the migration and transformation of life elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sparse, and phosphorus on a global scale.

(2) Interdisciplinary: The interaction mechanism between the biosphere and the atmosphere, soil, lithosphere and hydrosphere is one of the core contents of global ecology. As an important branch of ecology, global ecology is different from traditional biological ecology. It is closely related to geosciences and atmospheric sciences. This multi-disciplinary intersection can be clearly reflected in the setting of the IGBP core plan. IGBP has 9 core plans, namely the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Program (IGAC), the Global Joint Research on Children in the Ocean (JGOFS), Past Global Change (PAGES), Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystem (GCTE), Water Cycle and Biology (BAHC), Coastal Land-Sea Interaction (LOICZ), Global Marine Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC), Land Use and Land Cover Change Program (LUCC), Global Change and Mountain Regions (Global Change and Mountain Regions). These plans involve the exchange of matter and energy between the biosphere and other spheres, and cannot be accomplished by a single discipline.

(3) Combination of ancient and modern: The core content of global ecology is large-scale ecological processes, and these ecological processes often occur on long-term scales (hundred years, millennia or even longer time scales). Traditional modern ecological research can only observe and analyze ecological processes within a short time range (less than a hundred years), and can only theoretically explore ecological processes on a long-term scale. Quaternary palaeoecology or Quaternary ecology, which emerged in the late 1960s, focuses on the ecological processes since the Quaternary, and changes the traditional paleoecology to focus on biological strata. The state of the problem also makes up for the lack of long-term processes in ecological research (Liu Hongyan, 2002). Delcourt et al. (1988) introduced the concepts of Hierarchy and Scale in ecology to Quaternary paleoecology, and responded to environmental disturbances, biological responses, and vegetation patterns on different time and space scales. The changes are compared, and a framework for ecological research at different spatiotemporal scales is proposed. This framework closely combines the spatial and temporal processes of ecological phenomena. On the basis of this framework, ecology and palaeoecology are organically combined to better serve the mechanism research of global change, which has now become one of the main contents of global ecology. The combination of ancient and modern, or large spatial scale and long time scale, is another feature of global ecological research.

In the field of ecology, global ecology has become one of the fastest growing fields and one of the highest levels of modern science and technology. Although scientists from various countries have conducted a lot of research and exploration in the past 30 years, there are still many unknown fields in terms of the ecological mechanism of global change and its countermeasures. Looking to the future of global ecology, the following areas will be the focus of attention.

(1) The impact of natural and human factors on global change and the mechanism of interaction.

(2) The interaction of physiological processes and structures of the ecosystem.

(3) Buffering capacity of biodiversity and ecosystems.

(4) The relationship between key areas (such as mountainous regions, polar regions, and tropical rain forest distribution areas) and global change. In terms of research methods, the introduction of some social science methods will help to better understand the role of human beings in global change and the impact of global change on human society. In order to provide predictive capabilities for future global changes and their ecological responses, some more comprehensive models will continue to emerge, and digital earth technology also provides a better basis for global ecological models.

China plays an important role and influence in global change research, including two aspects: first, Chinese scientists have participated in international cooperation on many important projects, such as IGBP, MAB, and IPCC; second, China's global ecological research has distinctive This is: China has almost all types of terrestrial ecosystems on the earth; China has rich biodiversity; China has a unique monsoon climate and the continuum of life belts; The history of human activities Long and influential. These regional characteristics determine the irreplaceability of China's global ecological research. Its effective implementation will have a special effect and make its due contribution to the international scientific community. According to these characteristics, China has already or is working on some influential work in related fields, especially in combination with major national basic research programs. , Scientific and technological research projects, climbing plans, major fund projects, and China's IGBP plan and MAB plan and other projects have achieved some remarkable results. The development of China's global ecological research will not only help clarify the basic ecological issues in the region, but will also greatly enrich the research content of global ecology. ^[3]