Integrated regional ecological research on the Loess Plateau: advancing the scientific understanding and methodological tools

The Loess Plateau is one of the most ecologically vulnerable regions in China. Meanwhile,it is also the pilot region in the large-scale ecological restoration of China. After decades of restoration,the ecological environment in the Loess Plateau has got significant improvement. However,new ecological problems occurred in this region simultaneously,making the sustainable development of large-scale ecological restoration and management becoming an attractive research topic. Research Center for Eco-Environment Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated with 9 other institutions for the proposal of the project entitled "Research on the mechanisms of regional ecosystems change and sustainability in the Loess Plateau region "according to the Guideline for the National Key Research and Development Program on Typical Ecological Restoration and Conservation Research issued in February 2016. Finally the proposal got approval and financial support after national level competitive evaluation process. The research background,research objectives,main contents,and working plan were introduced in this paper. This research project may provide important policy and decision support for the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau region.