On December 9, 2020, the project "Comprehensive Assessment of Shenyang Urban Ecosystem Temporal and Spatial Dynamics and Ecological Functions," undertaken by the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, held an Expert Consultation Workshop in the form of offline (in Shenyang) and online video conference. 

A total of 13 experts including Academician Li Tianlai of Shenyang Agricultural University, Prof. Liu Shirong of Chinese Academy of Forestry, Prof. He Xingyuan of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, CAS, Prof. An Jingwen of Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Prof. Lu Xiujun of Shenyang Agricultural University, Prof. Wang Hexin of Dalian University, Prof. Song Youtao of Liaoning University, Liu Yonghui, senior engineer from the Liaoning Forestry Development Service Center, Prof. Wang Kelin from the Institute of Subtropical Agricultural Ecology, CAS, Prof. Tang Danling from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, CAS, and Prof. Wu Zhijie, Prof. Guo Shuhai and Prof. Fang Yunting from IAE, formed an expert consultation team. Academician Li Tianlai served as the head of the expert team. More than 30 people including Qu Changling, deputy director of the Natural Resources Bureau of Shenyang City, Hao Xin, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of IAE, Zhuo Junchen, deputy director of IAE and core members of the project investigator's (Prof. Zhu Jiaojun) research team, attended the workshop.  

Fang Yunting on behalf of IAE extended a warm welcome to the participants and spoke out about the criteria for evaluating the project. After that, Zhu Jiaojun gave a detailed report on the project undertook by himself. The expert team confirmed that the project researchers applied innovative methods and advanced technology, accumulated huge volume of data, and reached reliable conclusions, and that these research results would provide a theoretical basis for the ecological civilization construction and land use, protection and planning in Shenyang City. 

At the workshop, members of the expert consultation team had a heated discussion on ecological environment, urban positioning and development strategy, and urban living conditions of Shenyang City. They suggested that researchers of the project conduct more research on urban living conditions, ecological asset assessment, and the linkage between urban and rural environment. Then, Qu Changling said that the main purpose of the project is to make clear the status of Shenyang's ecological environment and natural resources to better advance the harmonious development of Shenyang in economy, society, environment, food security and other important aspects during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. 

Academician Li Tianlai suggested that researchers of the project should fully understand the ecological bottom line of Shenyang and problems of Shenyang urban development, evaluate the relationship between ecological issues and economic construction in different urban blocks of Shenyang, and assess the contribution of the surrounding blocks to environmental quality in core area of the city. He hoped that IAE would continue to strengthen the cooperation with the Shenyang Municipal Government, conduct in-depth research on the ecological environment of Shenyang, and provide scientific and technological support for establishing a beautiful metropolis. 

Introduction to the project "Comprehensive Assessment of Shenyang Urban Ecosystem Temporal and Spatial Dynamics and Ecological Functions":  

This project is one of the important cooperation content between IAE and Shenyang municipal government, aiming to make a comprehensive assessment of Shenyang urban ecosystem dynamic and ecological functions, find out the problems of Shenyang urban ecosystem and the related causes, propose countermeasures and strategies for the restoration of a healthy urban ecosystem, and provide an ecological blueprint for land protection and land use planning in Shenyang in the future. The project was led by Zhu Jiaojun, and jointly undertaken by IAE and Shenyang Planning Institute, Shenyang Agricultural University, the Institute of Geography Science and Natural Resources Research of CAS, as well as other research institutions. So far, the project team has made a preliminary report on Shenyang Urban Ecosystem Temporal and Spatial Dynamics and Ecological Functions.