[Research basis of ecological thresholds and regime shifts in China].

Non-linear changes widely occur in ecosystems, which manifest as sudden changes in system state with increasing pressure. To explain these changes, ecologists proposed the concepts of ecological threshold and regime shift, and continuously improved the theory and method system. Mechanistic and empirical studies further deepen our understanding for evolution mechanism of the complex system, which begun to be implemented into the environmental management. In recent decades, a large number of quantitative studies on stress-response in various types of ecosystems in China. Results from those studies are closely related to the theory paradigms of ecological threshold and regime shift in essence. Based on the "China Ecological Thresholds and Alternative Stable States Database", we screened and summarized the relevant ecological thresholds and explained the mechanisms underlying regime shift for 10 ecosystem types, including river, lake, wetland, forest, grassland, estuary and ocean, farmland, desert, city, and tundra. We linked case studies with theory paradigms of ecological threshold and regime shift with the aim to integrate multi-field scientific achievements and resources as the basis for ecosystem complexity research, and promote their application in ecological monitoring, ecological security early warning, and ecological standards innovation.