7月9日：生态与环境科学学院校级学术报告通知

讲座一： The role of the science of urban ecology in creating green, healthy, resilient and liveable cities and towns in the future

主讲人： Mark J. McDonnell （Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology），城市生态实验室讲座教授

主持人：象伟宁 教授

时间：2014年7月09日（周三）上午8:30-9:15

地址：闵行校区 生科辅楼城市生态实验室一楼119会议室

报告简介：

The growth of cities and towns is one of the most serious ecological problems facing China and the world. There are currently 90 cities in China with populations over 1 million people. It is predicted that by 2035, 70% of the Chinese population will live in cities. The increase in the number of people living in cities, coupled with the magnitude and intensity of human activities, has resulted in significant impacts to local, regional and global environments. The creation and expansion of cities produce new types of land-cover, which typically result in the loss of native habitats along with associated increases in impermeable surfaces. These changes in land-use result in habitat loss and landscape fragmentation, toxification of the biosphere, loss of ecosystem function, invasion of exotic species and the loss of native biotic diversity. The daily activities of humans also create novel disturbance regimes that result in new selection pressures on the plants and animals in cities. The predicted increases in the number and size of human settlements in China and especially in developing countries around the world, over the next 20 years, coupled with the predicted changes in climate has created an unprecedented call for scientific information to guide management strategies and mitigation options for sustainable, liveable cities and towns in the future. Understanding the impact that urbanisation has on the ecology of cities will help to identify measures that can be taken to minimise the detrimental effects on ecological patterns and processes. In this presentation I will share with the audience what I have learned from my 30 years’ experience investigating the ecology of urban ecosystems. Finally, I will suggest some future directions for urban ecology research and how we can use this knowledge to create green, liveable, healthy and sustainable cities for people and nature.

讲座二：Overview of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a Long-Term Ecological Research Project in a U,S. Urban Region

主讲人： Steward Pickett （Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies）

主持人：象伟宁 教授 时间：2014年7月09日（周三）上午9:15-10:00

地址：闵行校区 生科辅楼城市生态实验室一楼119会议室

报告简介：

The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) is a Long-Term Ecological Research project that investigates metropolitan Baltimore as a social-ecological system. One of two competitively funded LTERs in urban areas in the United States, the program brings together biological, physical, and social scientists to discover how the ecological, built, and social components of Baltimore interact and how they change over time. BES uses several theories: (i) spatial patch dynamics of biophysical and social factors; (ii) watersheds as integrative tools; and (iii) the human ecosystem framework. These frameworks support empirical research on urban biota, nutrient, and energy budgets, as well as biotic and structural classifications appropriate to urban design. Our research brings together measurements and models from biophysical and social sciences. BES investigates (i) the structure and change of the urban ecosystem; (ii) the fluxes of matter, energy, capital, and population in the metropolis; and (iii) how ecological information affects the quality of the local and regional environments. The science is being applied to urban design, evaluating urban sustainability, and understanding mechanisms of resilience in the changing urban system.