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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2017, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (5): 1727-1734.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.201705.001

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Applications of eco-environmental big data: Progress and prospect

ZHAO Miao-miao1,2, ZHAO Shi-cheng3, ZHANG Li-yun1, ZHAO Fen1, SHAO Rui1, LIU Li-xiang1, ZHAO Hai-feng1, XU Ming1*   

  1. 1Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
    2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
    3Xinyang Agricultural and Forestry University, Xinyang 464000, Henan, China
  • Received:2016-08-02 Revised:2017-02-05 Published:2017-05-18
  • Contact: *E-mail: mingxu@igsnrr.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Ecosystem Services Monitoring and Value Evaluation in Qinghai (2013-N-556), the National Key Basic Research and Development Plan of China (2012CB417103), and the Project of Forestry Department of Sichuan Province (2009-204)

Abstract: With the advance of internet and wireless communication technology, the fields of ecology and environment have entered a new digital era with the amount of data growing explosively and big data technologies attracting more and more attention. The eco-environmental big data is based airborne and space-/land-based observations of ecological and environmental factors and its ultimate goal is to integrate multi-source and multi-scale data for information mining by taking advantages of cloud computation, artificial intelligence, and modeling technologies. In comparison with other fields, the eco-environmental big data has its own characteristics, such as diverse data formats and sources, data collected with various protocols and standards, and serving different clients and organizations with special requirements. Big data technology has been applied worldwide in ecological and environmental fields including global climate prediction, ecological network observation and modeling, and regional air pollution control. The development of eco-environmental big data in China is facing many problems, such as data sharing issues, outdated monitoring facilities and techno-logies, and insufficient data mining capacity. Despite all this, big data technology is critical to solving eco-environmental problems, improving prediction and warning accuracy on eco-environmental catastrophes, and boosting scientific research in the field in China. We expected that the eco-environmental big data would contribute significantly to policy making and environmental services and management, and thus the sustainable development and eco-civilization construction in China in the coming decades.