The Yunnan Dianchi Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Station (Credit: IHB)

The Yunnan Dianchi Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Station, led by the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was included in the Third Batch of Ecological Quality Comprehensive Monitoring Stations announced by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The station is strategically located within the Sichuan-Yunnan Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Area, one of 80 key regions identified in the national ecological protection plan. Situated at the core of the Sichuan-Yunnan ecological barrier, the station supports water conservation, biodiversity protection, and climate regulation efforts.

The Dianchi Station serves as a core monitoring platform that integrates ecological observation, scientific research, technical support, and decision-making services. Its primary focus is plateau lake ecosystems in the central Yunnan region.

The station is a collaborative effort established with several key partners, including the Kunming Dianchi Plateau Lakes Research Institute, the Yunnan Provincial Ecological Environment Monitoring Center, the Kunming Municipal Ecological Environment Monitoring Station, and the Yunnan Academy of Forestry and Grassland Sciences.

Operating on a "one station, multiple sites" model, the Dianchi Station utilizes existing infrastructure from provincial and national observation stations, including the Dianchi Lake Ecosystem Yunnan Provincial Field Scientific Observation and Research Station and the Yunnan Central Yunnan Plateau Forest Ecosystem National Positioning Observation and Research Station. The facilities span more than 35,000 square meters.

The station's monitoring scope covers ecological quality sample plots throughout the Kunming area, with concentrated focus on three major plateau lakes: Dianchi Lake, Yangzonghai Lake, and Yilong Lake, as well as their watersheds. As the only comprehensive ecological monitoring station in this specific region, the Dianchi Station serves a unique and irreplaceable role in regional ecological observation and research.

The station integrates scientific expertise from its partner institutions to operate an aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem monitoring platform covering the three lakes and surrounding nature reserves. Using sky-earth integration monitoring technology, the station conducts biodiversity monitoring, remote sensing data calibration, and ecological factor measurement.

This data provides technical support for ecosystem health assessments, biodiversity conservation, water conservation efforts, and soil erosion control.

The station also diagnoses water ecological problems and evaluates the effectiveness of restoration efforts in plateau lakes, strengthening regional capacity for ecological risk identification and emergency response.

The Dianchi Station aims to provide robust data, technical solutions, and a scientific research platform to support sustainable development within the plateau lake basins.