Abstract:

Forest ecosystems are a foundation of existence and development of human society. Therefore, the forest ecosystem health assessment is an important issue. This paper reviewed recent progress in the study on the assessment technology of forest ecosystem health from scale, indices, methods and standards. Then the paper analyzed the existing problems in present research. For example, the assessment indices are not comprehensive, the methods need to be improved, the standard is too subjective and the assessment result is inaccurate, etc. Therefore, the future research on forest ecosystem health assessment should be focused on theory exploration and research method improvement. First of all, the forest health mechanism needs to be understood more. And then assessment indices, means, methods and techniques should be improved to make the results more practicable. The health standards should be established for mainly forest vegetation in various areas. A comprehensive health assessment system for forest ecosystems should be developed aiming to supply bases for adjusting unhealthy forest, maintaining healthy forests and developing sustainable forestry.

Key words: forest ecosystem health, assessment indicators, assessment methods, assessment standards