Theoretical basis of ecology for the influence of global change on resources, environment, and ecosystems.

Abstract

With the deepening of global change research, the applied problems such as global change risk and response for social sustainable development, temporal and spatial allocation of resources and environmental elements and impact assessment of ecosystem are becoming a new trend in the research field of global change. Based on the ecological framework, we focused on clarifying the connotations of resources and the environment and their components. Resources refer to all substances consumed by organisms in the process of producing organic matter from inorganic matter and transferring energy and matter among organisms. These include inorganic resources (e.g., solar radiation, CO2, O2, water, and mineral elements) and organic resources (as a source of food for other organisms). In contrast, the environment can not be consumed or depleted by organisms. In addition, we described the components of global change and the associated variations of resources and environmental factors, as well as current research progress on the responses of ecosystem to global change. We scientifically described the processes and mechanisms of global change in terms of their influence on resources, the environment, and ecosystems within a theoretical framework based on ecological principles. Our goal was to provide a strong theoretical foundation for future research on coping with the risks of global change.