陆地生态系统临界转换理论及其生态学机制研究进展

Research advances in critical transition and its ecological mechanisms of terrestrial ecosystems

随着气候变化和人类活动对陆地生态系统双重扰动的不断加剧,越来越多的研究已经意识到生态系统结构和功能会发生难以预知的突变,并且恢复起来需要很长时间。开发判别典型生态系统临界转换的早期预警模型及理解其生态学机制成为生态学研究的热点。目前,基于跨越多个时空尺度的理论和实验研究,提出了多种预警陆地生态系统临界转换的理论框架和指标体系。为了更深入理解和构建预警生态系统临界转换的理论框架,本文从临界转换的理论方法及生态学过程机制两方面梳理了生态系统临界转换的研究进展。研究认为,突变理论和临界慢化理论是预测和预警生态系统状态转换的基础理论方法;自组织理论和反馈机制是塑造生态系统多稳态的核心生态学机制。理解生物与环境多要素之间的级联关系网络,明确生态系统关键参数的输入与输出变量之间的平衡关系及作用机制,是构建生态系统临界转换的理论框架和模型的基础。这些理论认知可为生态系统灾变预警、生态修复及环境治理等研究提供参考。

With the exacerbating disturbances of climate changes and human activities to terrestrial ecosystems,more and more studies realize that ecosystems are at the risk of shifts without warning in structural and functional states and recovery from perturbations require more time.Developing an early warning model to identify critical transition and understanding its ecological mechanism of typical ecosystems have become hotspot in ecological researches.At present,based on theoretical and experimental researches across multiple spatiotemporal scales,a variety of theoretical frameworks and indicators of early warning signals(EWSs)were proposed to signal terrestrial ecosystem critical transition.Here,in order to more thoroughly understand and construct theoretical frameworks and indicators of early warning signals,we reviewed advances in critical transitions from aspects of theoretical methods and processing mechanisms.Catastrophe theory and critical slowing down(CSD)are the two basic theories for early-warning ecosystem state transitions.Self-organization and feedback mechanisms are the primary ecological mechanisms to shape alternative stable state.Understanding cascade effects networks(CENet)among biological and environmental elements,and clarifying the equilibrium relationships between input and output of key ecosystem parameters are theoretical foundation of critical transition model.These theoretical cognitions could provide useful references to early warning of ecosystem disasters,ecological environment management and restoration.