Urban ecosystem health assessment: perspectives and Chinese practice

The concept of ecosystem health is a way to assess the holistic operations and development potential of urban ecosystems. Accelerated by the practical need for integrated ecosystem management, assessment of urban ecosystem health has been greatly developed and extensively applied in urban planning and management. Development is aimed at comprehensively evaluating the performance of urban ecosystems, identifying the limiting factors, and providing suggestions for urban regulation. The time has come for reviewing and establishing an instructional framework for urban ecosystem health assessment to shed light on certain essential issues of urban ecosystem health. Based on literature reviews and series of practice, a holistic framework of urban ecosystem health assessment is proposed. The framework covers the essential elements of urban ecosystem health and integrates three dimensions: theoretical foundation, assessment method, and practical application. Concrete assessment methods are also established, focusing on both external performance and internal metabolic processes. The practice of urban ecosystem health assessment in China is illustrated to briefly demonstrate the application of the established framework and methods. Some prospects are discussed for urban ecosystem health assessment and its application in urban planning and management.