After more than a year of preparation, the Observation and Research Station Network for Northeast China Forest Ecosystems (or NE-Forest Network for short) was formally established on August 3, 2021. The founding meeting was held at the Qingyuan Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (i.e., Liaoning Qingyuan Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station) (referred to as Qingyuan Station hereinafter). 

More than 30 people from Inner Mongolia Daxinganling Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Heilongjiang Maoer Mountain Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Jilin Changbai Mountain Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, and Qingyuan Station attended the meeting. The meeting was held in the form of offline and online video meeting.  

At the meeting, the participants discussed and passed the constitution of the NE-Forest Network, and formed the Network's first council (and secretariat). Zhu Jiaojun, director of the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the meeting and made a speech. He pointed out the importance of establishing the forest network and the challenges faced by the research stations. He said that the NE-Forest Network will actively solve scientific issues or problems in the field of forest ecology, especially those cannot be solved by a single research station, and that the founding of the Network will be conducive to applying for big research funds, for example, the carbon sink forestry research that can make important contributions to national economic and technological development. 

At the meeting, Zhu Jiaojun was elected as the chairman of the Network's first council. Professor Zhang Qiuliang from Inner Mongolia Agricultural University and Professor Wang Anzhi from IAE will serve as the vice chairmen. 

The NE-Forest Network was founded to implement the comprehensive cooperation framework agreement signed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The main purposes and tasks of the Network are: to achieve complementary advantages through collaborative research and innovation; to provide a better platform for monitoring, studying and demonstrating the sustainable development status of forest ecosystems in Northeast China; to solve regional or national forestry and ecological problems that cannot be explained by a single research station; to establish long-term and stable cooperative relations between the forest research stations in Northeast China; to improve innovation and technical support ability of forest research stations in Northeast China; to serve the national ecological civilization construction, and meet the national needs for healthy forests and "green mountains"; and to solve frontier issues of international science and technology in the fields of forest ecology and forestry. 

At the meeting, the members of the NE-Forest Network discussed the book manuscript entitled "Quality, Operation Status and Optimal Management Model for Northeast China Forest Ecosystems." They also conducted in-depth discussions on the national needs of developing forestry in Northeast China, the status of Northeast China forest ecosystems, the trade-off between forestation and forest conservation and utilization, and how to effectively increase carbon-sink capacity in Northeast China. These exchanges of opinions provided good suggestions and countermeasures for the sustainable forest management in Northeast China.