Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

An integrated systems approach to plateau ecosystem management—a scientific application in Qinghai and Tibet plateau

  • Published:
Information Systems Frontiers Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a global trend of the shortage of nature resources, such as water and wildlife, which have suffered dramatic losses due to over-use, pollution, habitat loss, and, increasingly, changes caused by global warming. To make the planet more sustainable, abundant data has to be collected and analyzed from ecosystems for scientific decision-making, restoring and preserving natural resources. In this paper, an integrated systems approach has been proposed for the data acquisition and analysis in information management of an ecosystem; it is a direct extension of an agriculture ecosystem enterprise information system (AEEIS) developed by Xu et al. (Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics 3:5–17, 2008). The challenges in system development have been discussed, and the significance of the developed system has been illustrated through a thorough discussion and a case study on the genetic coding and expression of antelopes. In the case study, an IoT-based enterprise information system (EIS) has been applied to investigate the effects of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) on the adaptation mechanism to high altitude hypoxia. Two remarkable conclusions are (i) the levels of the STAT3 mRNA and protein vary from one tissue to another, and the highest level is in the lung tissue, and (ii) Tibetan antelope’s expression of STAT3 mRNA and protein are higher than that from plain sheep. Based on the fact that a Tibetan antelope has a higher adaptability to hypoxia; it has illustrated that the hypoxic STAT3-specific expression is one of the molecular bases of high altitude hypoxia adaptation in Tibetan antelope.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

AEEIS:

Agriculture ecosystem enterprise information system

bp:

Base pair

cDNA:

Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid

CDS:

Coding sequence

DBD:

Deoxyribonucleic acid binding domain

DNase:

Deoxyribonuclease

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

mRNA:

Messenger ribonucleic acid

MnSOD:

Manganese superoxide dismutase

NST:

Non shivering thermogenesis

ORF:

Open reading frames

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA ends

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

RT-PCR:

Real-time polymerase chain reaction

SH2:

Src homology 2 domain

SoS:

System of systems

STAT3:

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3

TAD:

Transcription activation domain

UTR:

Untranslated region

UCP1:

Uncoupling proteins 1

VEGF:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

References

  • Aguirre, A. (2009). Wile canids as sentinels of ecological health: A conservation medicine perspective. Parasties & Vectors, 2(S7), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alam, S., Chowdhury, M. M. R., & Noll, J. (2011). Interoperability of security-enabled internet of things. Wireless Pers Commun, 61, 567–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandyopadhyay, D., & Sen, J. (2011). Internet of things: Applications and challenges in technology and standardization. Wireless Pers Commun, 58, 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bi, Z. M. (2011). Revisit system architecture for sustainable manufacturing. Journal of Sustainability, 3(9), 1323–1340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bi, Z. M., Lang, S. Y. T., Shen, W. M., & Wang, L. (2008). Reconfigurable manufacturing systems: The state of the art. International Journal of Production Research, 46(4), 967–992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bi, Z. M., & Zhang, W. J. (2001). Modularity technology in manufacturing: Taxonomy and issues. International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 18(5), 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, G. (2010). Complex adaptive digital ecosystems. New York: Proceedings of the International Conference on Management of Emergent Digital EcoSystems.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H. W., Yu, R. F., Liaw, S. L., & Huang, W. C. (2010). Information policy and management framework for environmental protection organization with ecosystem conception. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 7(2), 313–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, X., Guan, A., Qiu, X., Huang, H., Liu, J., & Duan, H. (2012). Data configurations in railway signaling engineering—an application of enterprise systems techniques. Enterprise Information Systems. doi:10.1080/17517575.2012.705021.

  • Chen, Z., & Han, Z. C. (2008). STAT3: A critical transcription activator in angiogenesis. Medicinal Research Reviews, 28, 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiang, D. M.-H., Lin, C.-P., & Chen, M.-C. (2011). The adaptive approach for storage assignment by mining data of warehouse management system for distribution centres. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(2), 219–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • China Tibet Information Center, 2012. Tibetan Antelopes, [available online], http://zt.tibet.cn/tibetzt-en/antelope/protection/pr_02.htm.

  • Duan, L., Street, W. N., & Xu, E. (2011). Healthcare information systems: Data mining methods in the creation of a clinical recommender systems. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(2), 169–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duan, L., & Xu, L. D. (2012). Business intelligence of enterprise systems: A survey. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 8(3), 679–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Filby, C. E., Hooper, S. B., & Wallace, M. J. (2010). Partial pulmonary embolization disrupts alveolarization in fetal sheep. Respiratory Research, 11, 42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, C., Zhang, G., Yang, J., & Liu, X. (2011). Study on the contract characteristics of internet architecture. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(4), 495–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fu, X. Y., Schindler, C., Improta, T., Aebersold, R., & Darnell, J. E., Jr. (1992). The proteins of ISGF23, the interferon alpha-induced transcriptional activator, define a gene family involved in signal transduction. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA, 89, 7840–7843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong, W., Wang, L., Yao, J. C., Ajani, J. A., Wei, D., Aldape, K. D., Xie, K., Sawaya, R., & Huang, S. (2005). Expression of activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 prediets expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in and angiogenic phenotype of human gastrie cancer. Clinical Cancer Research, 11, 1386–1393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, M. J., Zhang, J., Ellis, L. M., Semenza, G. L., Evans, D. B., Watowich, S. S., & Gallick, G. E. (2005). HIF-l alpha, STAT3, CBP/P300 and Ref-1/APE are components of a transcriptional complex that regulates Src-dependent hypoxia-induced expression of VEGF in pancreatic and prostate carcinomas. Oncogene, 24, 3110–3120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, Q., Kong, Y., Yu, Z. B., Bai, L., & Xiao, Y. B. (2011). Hypoxia-induced SOCS3 is limiting STAT3 phosphorylation and NF-κB activation in congenital heart disease. Biochimie, 93, 909–920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu, S., Tang, Y., Cui, X., Kato, T., Du, M., Li, Y., & Zhao, X. (2005). Energy exchange between the atmosphere and a meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 129, 175–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haghikia, A., Stapel, B., Hoch, M., & Hilfiker-Kleiner, D. (2011). STAT3 And cardiac remodeling. Heart Failure Reviews, 16, 35–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, G., & Li, L. (2009). A mathematical model of infectious diseases. Annals of Operations Research, 168(1), 41–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Igvaldsen, J., & Guiia, J. (2012). Industrial application of semantic process mining. Enterprise Information Systems, 6(2), 139–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, J., Chang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2012). Advances in intelligent grid and cloud computing. Information Systems Frontiers, 14(4), 823–825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karastic, H., & Baker, K. S. (2004). Infrastructing for the long-term: Ecological information management. Big Island, HI: Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii international Conference on System Sciences, 5–8 January 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leeman, R. J., Lui, V. W., & Grandis, J. R. (2006). STAT3 As a therapeutic target in head and neck cancer. Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy, 6, 231–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leinninger, G. M., & Myers, M. G., Jr. (2008). LRb signals act within a distributed network of leptin-responsive neurones to mediate leptin action. Acta Physiologica (Oxford, England), 192, 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin, S. (1998). Ecosystems and the biosphere as complex adaptive systems. Ecosystems, 1, 431–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Ge, R., Zhou, S., & Valerdi, R. (2012). Guest editoral: Integrated healthcare information systems. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicin, 16(4), 515–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., & Liu, J. (2012). An efficient and flexible web service-based multidisciplinary design optimsation framework for complex engineering systems. Enterprise Information Systems, 6(3), 345–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Xu, L., Jeng, A., Naik, D., Allen, T., & Frontini, M. (2008). Creation of environmental health information system for public health service: A pilot study. Information Systems Frontiers, 10(5), 531–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Ricardo, V., & Warfield, J. (2008). Advances in enterprise information systems. Information Systems Frontier, 10, 499–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, S., Xu, L., Wang, X., & Wang, J. (2012). Integration of hybrid wireless network in cloud services oriented enterprise information systems. Enterprise Information systems, 6(2), 165–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Z., Yu, G., Xiao, X., Li, Y., Zhao, X., Ren, C., Zhang, L., & Fu, Y. (2007). Modeling gross primary production of alpine ecosystems in the Tibetan plateau using MODIS images and climate data. Remote Sensing of Environment, 107, 510–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, Y., Duan, X., Zhao, C., Xu, L. D. (2012). System Science: Methodological Approaches. CRC Press, ISBN: 9781439895511

  • Lu, Y., Zhou, J., Xu, C., Lin, H., Xiao, J., Wang, Z., & Yang, B. (2008). JAK/STAT and PI3K/AKT pathways form a mutual transactivation loop and afford resistance to oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 21, 305–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martens, B., & Teuteberg, F. (2012). Decision-making in cloud computing environments: A cost and risk based approach. Information Systems Frontiers, 14(4), 871–893.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meulen, S. van der, Brils, J. (2008). Ecosystem services (ES) in river basin management – background information and discussion document. [avaliable online], www.riskbase.info/media.php?mId=6087.

  • Miller, D. (2003). Tibet environmental analysis for USAID program. [available online], http://www.case.edu/affil/tibet/documents/MillerUSAIDTibetenvironmentalanalysis.pdf.

  • Mitton, N., & Simplot-Ryl, D. (2011). From the internet of things to the internet of the physical world. Comptes Rendus Physique, 12, 669–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niu, G., Briggs, J., Deng, J., Ma, Y., Lee, H., Kortylewski, M., Kujawski, M., Kay, H., Cress, W. D., Jove, R., & Yu, H. (2008). Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 is required for hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha RNA expression in both tumor cells and tumor-associated myeloid cells. Molecular Cancer Research, 6, 1099–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okamatsu-Ogura, Y., Nio-Kobayashi, J., Iwanaga, T., Terao, A., Kimura, K., & Saito, M. (2011). Possible involvement of uncoupling protein 1 in appetite control by leptin. Experimental Biology and Medicine (Maywood, N.J.), 236, 1274–1281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potter, W. D., Deng, X., Somasekar, S., & Liu, S. (2000). Forest ecosystem management via the NED intelligent information system (pp. 629–638). New Orleans, Louisiana: IEA/AIE’00 Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Industrial and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems: Intelligent Problem Solving: Methodologies and Approaches.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schnase, J. L., Cushing, J., Frame, M., Frondorf, N., Landis, E., Maier, D., & Silberschatz, A. (2003). Information technology challenges of biodiversity and ecosystems informatics. Information Systems, 28, 329–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sehaller, G. B. (1998). Wildlife of the Tibetan steppe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semenza, G. L. (2009). Regulation of oxygen homeostasis by hypoxia-inducible factor 1. Physiology, 24, 97–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, X., Li, L. X., Yang, L., Li, Z., & Choi, J. Y. (2012). Information flow in reverse logistics: An industrial information integration study. Information Technology and Management, 13(4), 217–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T., & Foggin, J. (1999). The plateau (ochotona curzoniae) is a keystone species for biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau. Animal Conservation, 2, 235–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sommerville, M. M., Milner-Gulland, E. J., & Jones, J. P. G. (2011). The challenges of monitoring biodiversity in payment for environmental service interventions. Biological Conservation, 144, 2832–2841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stankey, G. H. (2006). Learning to manage a complex ecosystem: adaptive management and the northwest forest plan. Department of Agriculture of United States, Research Paper PNW-RP-567, [available online] http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_rp567.pdf.

  • Stephanou, A., & Latchman, D. S. (1999). Transcriptional regulation of the heat shock protein genes by STAT family transcription factors. Gene Expression, 7, 311–319.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, J. L., Kreitinger, K., Ralph, C. J., Green, M. T. (2011). Information ecosystem management: science and process for landbird conservation in the western United States. Biological Technical Publication, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, BTP-R1014-2011.

  • Storz, J. F., Scott, G. R., & Cheviron, Z. A. (2010). Phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in vertebrates. Journal of Experimental Biology, 213, 4125–4136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suh, N. (2005). Complexity: Theory and Applications. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-517876-9.

  • Sun, Y., & Bhattacherjee, A. (2011). Multi-level analysis in information systems research: The case of enterprise resource planning system usage in china. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(4), 469–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szaro, R. C., Berc, J., Cameron, S., Cordle, S., Crosby, M., Martin, L., Norton, D., O’Malley, R., & Ruark, G. (1998). The ecosystem approach: Science and information management issues, gaps, and needs. Landscape and Urban Planning, 40, 89–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang, Y. (2012). Long-term monitoring of alpine ecosystems on the Tibetan plateau in relation to the early detection and prediction of climate warming,” [available online], http://www.env.go.jp/earth/kenkyuhi/report/pdf/09_1_3.pdf.

  • Tyberghein, L., Verbruggen, H., Pauly, K., Troupin, C., Mineur, F., & de Clerck, O. (2012). Bio-oracle: A global environmental dataset for marine species distribution modeling. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21, 272–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uckelmann, D., Harrison, M., Michakelles, F. (2011). Architecting of the Internet of Things. Springer, ISBN. 978-3-642-19156-5.

  • United Nations Population Fund (2009). State of World Population 2009. [available online], www.unfpa.org/swp/2009/en/pdf/EN_SOWP09.pdf.

  • Van Kranenburg, R., Anzelmo, E., Bassi, A., Caprio, D., Dodson, S., Ratto, M. (2011). The Internet of things. 1st Berlin Symposium on Internet and Society, October 25–27, 2011.

  • Wegrzyn, J., Potla, R., Chwae, Y. J., Sepuri, N. B., Zhang, Q., Koeck, T., Derecka, M., Szczepanek, K., Szelag, M., Gornicka, A., Moh, A., Moghaddas, S., Chen, Q., Bobbili, S., Cichy, J., Dulak, J., Baker, D. P., Wolfman, A., Stuehr, D., Hassan, M. O., Fu, X. Y., Avadhani, N., Drake, J. I., Fawcett, P., Lesnefsky, E. J., & Larner, A. C. (2009). Function of mitochondrial Stat3 in cellular respiration. Science, 323, 793–797.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, E., Wermus, M., & Bauman, D. B. (2011). Development of an integrated medical supply information system. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(3), 385–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, L. (2011). Enterprise systems: State-of-the-art and future trends. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 7(4), 630–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, L., Liang, N., & Gao, Q. (2008). An integrated approach for agricultural ecosystem management. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics—Part C: Applications and Reviews, 38(4), 590–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, L., Wang, C., Bi, Z., & Yu, J. (2012). AutoAssem: An automated assembly planning system for complex products. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 8(3), 669–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, Q., Briggs, J., Park, S., Niu, G., Kortylewski, M., Zhang, S., Gritsko, T., Turkson, J., Kay, H., Semenza, G. L., Cheng, J. Q., Jove, R., & Yu, H. (2005). Targeting Stat3 blocks both HIF-1 and VEGF expression induced by multiple oncogenic growth signaling pathways. Oneogene, 24, 5552–5560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, S. Q., Yang, Y. Z., Zhou, J., Jing, G. E., Chen, Y. T., Wang, J., Yang, H. M., Wang, J., Yu, J., Zheng, X. G., & Ge, R. L. (2005). A mitochondrial genome sequence of the Tibetan antelope (pantholops hodgsonii). Genomics, Proteomics & Bioinformatics, 3, 5–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamauchi-Takihara, K., & Kishimoto, T. (2000). A novel role for STAT3 in cardiac remodeling. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, 10, 298–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Y. Z., Droma, Y. D., Jin, G. E., Bai, Z. Z., Ma, L., Yun, H. X., Cao, Y., Keishi, K. B., & Ge, R. L. (2007). Molecular cloning of hemoglobin alpha-chain gene from pantholops hodgsonii, a hypoxic tolerance species. Biochem. Mol. Biol., 40, 426–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, Y. H., Fan, Y. J., & Xu, L. D. (2012). EMG and EPP-integrated human-machine interface the paralyzed and rehabilitation exoskeleton. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 16(4), 542–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zdravkovit, M., Panetto, H., Trajanovic, M., & Aubry, A. (2011). An approach for formalising the supply chain operations. Enterprise Information Systems, 5(4), 401–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X. F., Yang, Y. Z., Pei, Z. W., Wang, S. Y., Chang, R., & Ge, R. L. (2011). Comparisons of endocrine hormones levels between Tibetan antelope and Tibetan sheep. Sheng Li Xue Bao, 63, 342–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Z., Valerdi, R., & Zhou, S. (2012). Guest editoral: Special section on enterprise systems. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 8(3), 630–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhuang, Q., He, J., Lu, Y., Ji, L., Xiao, J., & Luo, T. (2010). Carbon dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems on the Tibetan plateau during the 20th century: An analysis with a process based biogeochemical model. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19, 649–662.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This project has been supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2012CB518200), the Program of International Science and Technology Cooperation of China (Grant No.2011DFA32720) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.30393133).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for High Altitude Medical Sciences, Medical College, Qinghai University, Xining, 810001, China

    Fang Liu, Qin Ga, Quanyu Yang, Yingzhong Yang, Lan Ma, Tana Wuren & Rili Ge

  2. Department of Engineering, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, 46805, USA

    Zhuming Bi

  3. College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Eric L. Xu

Authors
  1. Fang Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhuming Bi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eric L. Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qin Ga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Quanyu Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yingzhong Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Lan Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Tana Wuren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Rili Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhuming Bi.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, F., Bi, Z., Xu, E.L. et al. An integrated systems approach to plateau ecosystem management—a scientific application in Qinghai and Tibet plateau. Inf Syst Front 17, 337–350 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-012-9406-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-012-9406-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation