Design and implementation of an index calculation system for forestry ecological assessment in China

In recent years, ecological issues have become increasingly serious with the development of modern society. An effective assessment for the ecological environment status is of great significance for the protection and construction of the ecological environment. We present the China Forestry Ecological Index Calculation System (CFEICS), which provides the quantitative measurement and qualitative evaluation for the forestry ecosystem status. However, a series of problems arises in the process of system design and implementation, including frequent changing of the ecological indicator system, low reporting rate but high error rate of ecological basic data, and long period and low efficiency of system development. To address the abovementioned problems, we first designed a database model by using a table-driven approach (TDA). Second, we implemented a reusable software system-the dynamic ecological data management system (DEDMS)-based on the TDA. The DEDMS contains data access, data verification, data statistics, index calculation, and index expression components. Third, we applied the DEDMS to the CFEICS and completed the final CFEICS. After practical test and application, the system was used as the official ecological index calculation system in Chinese forestry.