A process model based ecosystem assessment and management system

The Loess Plateau covers an area of 640,000 km² in the upper and middle reaches of China´s Yellow River. The natural environment of this region is complex and variable and is considered as one of the major ecologically fragile areas in China. In the last two decades, with dramatic changes in population, agricultural cultivation patterns and regional climate, uncertainty surrounding the potential to achieve a sustainable agro-ecosystem in this region has increased. The agro-ecosystem conservation is the dominant challenge in the light of the complex ecological condition; significant spatial heterogeneity and serious ecological degradation. Ecological modeling is an effective tool in the quest to solve ecological problems. Scenario simulation is an important way of tracing nutrient dynamics and optimizing management practices for an ecosystem. From the temporal and spatial perspectives, however, relying solely on historical data will lead to a certain delay in the management policy research. Particularly, more errors will be introduced in the simulated results due to the ecosystem factors, which fluctuate frequently with time, and increasing uncertainty of the whole system. Considering the challenges aforementioned, an ecosystem assessment and management (EAM) system was set up based on process model, wireless sensor, and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies. The system uses a mobile GIS platform for real-time data collection, and a combination of weather information and soil properties are used as inputs for the process based model to predict soil nutrients, moisture, greenhouse gas emissions, yield, etc. The EAM systems use historical data to initialize and the actual data to optimize the simulations. Real-time information was used to calibrate the simulation results, optimizing the simulation parameters to improve the accuracy of the system simulation results. The system can be used to evaluate the impact of different management methods on - he ecological system and identify best management practices. Currently, this system has been applied in the Loess Plateau to assess different management practices impact on soil carbon, nitrogen and crop yield. The EAM platform provides important information for the ecosystem management and protection.