Sino-Japan Center for Arid Land Ecology

Foreign partner: Shizuoka University (SU), Japan

    The cooperation between Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography (XIEG) and Shizuoka University as well as relevant Japanese scientific research institutions began with the joint investigation in Taklimakan Desert and the cooperative research in wild fruit forest resources, ecological environment protection and management of Xinjiang Tianshan Mountains in the 1980s. In 2001, Japanese Ministry of Environment and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) jointly established a quantitative remote sensing monitoring system for arid areas at the Fukang station. The system has expanded its monitoring scope from desert ecosystems in arid areas in the past to the current farmland and mountain ecosystems. At present, it is running well with continuous improvement. In 2009, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement on establishing the Sino-Japan Center for Arid Land Ecology. Since then, they have conducted cooperative research on desert, farmland and grassland ecosystems in arid areas and mountain snow ecology by utilizing the support of projects funded by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and international cooperation projects funded by the CAS and Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.Through exchange visits, annual meetings of the joint research center and academic seminars on "monitoring, simulation and management of the ecosystems in arid lands of Central Asia", the two sides have made fruitful achievements in professional training, personnel exchange, academic communication and scientific research. Through the cooperation, the research level of both sides in arid areas has been greatly improved. Therefore, the cooperation agreement was renewed in 2014. The center has created a good platform for cultivating young scientists and improving academic exchanges of Sino-Japanese cooperation in ecology and hydrology research in arid areas.

Chinese contact: Li Lanhai

Contact information: lilh@ms.xjb.ac.cn