Minutes
of the 5th Conference of
East
Asia and Pacific Regional Network of ILTER
The 5th Conference of East
Asia and Pacific Regional Network of ILTER was held in Beijing, China
on September 6-7, 2004. The major themes of the meeting were to present the
latest progress of the networks, widely exchange ideas and experiences, discuss
the work plan for 2004-2007 and initiate collaborative research projects. This
meeting was sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and organized by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural
Resources Research (IGSNRR). More than 30 participants attended the meeting,
including 19 representatives from Australia,
China (CERN), China-Taipei, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines,
Thailand and USA. Ten representatives of long-term ecological
monitoring and research networks in China, and graduate students. Present at the meeting were also Dr. Zhang
Xian-en, Director-General of the Department of Basic Research, Ministry of
Science and Technology of P.R. China, Prof. Liu Jian, Deputy Director of the
Bureau of Science and Technology for Natural Resources and Environment, CAS;
Dr. Cao Jinhua,
Assistant Director of Bureau of International Cooperation, CAS, Prof. Li
Xiubin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural
Resources Research and Dr. Hen-biau King, Chair of ILTER Network.
The meeting was chaired
by Prof. Zhao Shidong, Chair of the East Asia
and Pacific Regional Network of ILTER. During the meeting, representatives
of the regional network presented the current status and progress of each
network, as well as the prospects and challenges they are facing. It was made
clear that members of the regional network are very active and over the past
two decades outstanding results have been achieved in LTER in the region,
particularly the study on the structure, functions, dynamics and management
of ecosystems and biodiversity. Nevertheless, the participants agreed that
realizing the great gaps of LTER among different countries and regions, all
the networks in the region should learn from each other and improve the coordination
among them.
Professor Zhao Shidong
presented a progress report on the East Asia
and Pacific Regional Network of ILTER
Dr. Rod Keenan of the
Bureau of Rural Sciences, provided a report on Current
Developments of LTER Research in Australia.
Professor CAO Mingkui
presented a background and current status of the Chinese
Ecosystem Research Network (CERN).
Professor Yau-Lun Kuo
presented a report on the Recent Activities
in Taiwan Ecological Research Network.
Drs. Lee and Kim presented
a report on Research Activities of the Korea
LTER Network.
Dr. J.Tsogtbaatar presented
a report on the Mongolia LTER and the Hovsgol
Project.
Dr Patrick Bourgeron
presented a report on the U.S. LTER and
the U.S. ILTER Committee.
Dr. Kuraji Koichiro
provided a report on the Japanese Ecosystem
Research Network and the Japanese Long-Term Ecological Research Program
Dr. Shamsudin Ibrahim
presented a report on The Status of Long
Term Ecological Research In Peninsular Malaysia.
Dr. Victor Amoroso
presented a report on the Status and Activities
of the Long-Term Ecological and Biodiversity Research in Mindanao, Philippines
Dr. Wichan Eiadthong
presented a report on Long Term Ecological
Research in Thailand
Dr. John Vande Castle
presented a report on the Summary of
the ILTER Network During 2003 and 2004
Dr. Hen-biau King gave
Remarks on the Development of East Asia-Pacific
Regional Network of International LTER
Dr. Hen-biau King provided
background leading to a proposal for a workshop on
Decomposition Processes of Organic Matter in the East Asia-Pacific LTER Sites
Dr. Eun-Shik Kim provided
information on the IX
INTECOL Congress Montreal, Canada August 7-12, 2005 and suggestions for
an ILTER Symposium.
Dr. John Vande Castle
gave a presentation on Network
Information System Development In the U.S. LTER Program leading to a proposal
for an East Asia and Pacific Regional Network Information Management workshop
proposal.
Based on the discussion of the
participants, decisions for action items are as follows:
1) Organization of a training workshop on
information management in China
in 2005
Trainers
from US, UK
or other regions will be invited to facilitate the workshop and participants will
include information managers from the sites and networks of the region. CERN
will take charge of logistical arrangements. The draft proposal will be
developed by Dr. Rodney Keenan and distributed to the attendees for comments.
2) Expansion of network-based studies on
decomposition of organic matter
The participants agreed that a project on
decomposition of organic matters is of great significance to the scientific
community in the region and should be expanded. A draft proposal on this issue
will be prepared by Dr. Hen-biau King and distributed to other attendees for
comments.
3) Development of a brochure and website for the
regional network
Based on
up-to-date information on the networks of the region, a brochure and website
will be developed for the regional network. This will be jointly led by Profs.
Zhao Shidong and Eun-Shik Kim.
4) Bylaws of the regional network
It was agreed
that the regional network should follow the bylaws of ILTER. Some comments were incorporated, including
the replacement of ‘country’ with ‘network.’
5) Membership of the regional network.
New members are
encouraged to join the regional network. The process of application should follow the procedures
stipulated in the ILTER bylaws.
6) Venue and timing of next meeting
Based on the planned
application of the Japanese Ecological Research Network (JERN) to join ILTER, JERN
with the agreement of the participants, the 6th Conference of East
Asia and Pacific Regional Network of ILTER is scheduled to be hosted in Japan in March
2006.
After the meeting, participants visited the Institute
of Geographic Sciences and Natural
Resources Research, CAS and the Synthesis Research Center of CERN in Beijing on the afternoon
of September 7, 2004. The visit included
presentations on the Information Management and Geographic Information Systems
used by CERN. The participants were
impressed with the achievements they have made over the past years and
congratulated them on their success.
From 9-12
September, 2004, seven representatives of the networks visited one of the sites
of CERN, Changbai Mountain Forest Ecosystem Research Station in Jilin Province
for an excursion. They visited the field
plots and experiments. They were greatly impressed by the facilities and
achievements of the site.
Bilateral and multilateral exchanges
through networking programs are encouraged in the region. Based on the discussion between Dr. Rodney Keenan and Prof. Zhao
Shidong, they have agreed to enhance collaboration between the Australia LTER
Network and CERN in coming years. The following steps will be taken:
1)
Promoting joint research on forest
ecology
In 2005, CERN will
invite Australian scientists to visit some forest sites of CERN, and then
Chinese scientists will visit Australian sites which may take place in 2006.
Based on the bilateral visits, Australian and Chinese scientists will discuss
the possible fields for collaboration in the future. A study on watersheds will
be the first priority for discussion.
2) Enhancing collaboration on nature reserve
management
Dr. Rodney Keenan will to take this
message back to his colleagues and look for potential collaborations in Australia. If
possible, we will work together for possible collaboration between Changbai
Nature Reserve and some Australian reserves.
All the participants agreed that the
progress and results of the discussion on the issues mentioned above should be
forwarded to Prof. Zhao Shidong.
Notes:
The ILTER
Network was set up in 1993, followed by the establishment of East Asia and Pacific Regional Network in 1995. Since then,
four meetings have been held in the region, including China-Taipei, Japan,
Korea and Mongolia in 1995,
1997, 1999 and 2001 respectively. The 5th Conference had been scheduled
to be hosted in China
in 2003 but postponed until 2004 due to the outbreak of SARS.
