U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program, 1990-1998

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) was a national research program run by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development from 1990 to 2008 to develop the tools necessary to monitor and assess the status and trends of national ecological resources. Initially, resources included estuaries and coastal waters, wadeable streams, lakes, wetlands, forests, agroecosystems, arid areas, and landscape ecology. Later, this was narrowed down to just the aquatic resources. The EMAP field data described here were collected from 1990 to 1998. EMAP's goal was to develop the scientific understanding for translating environmental monitoring data from multiple spatial and temporal scales into assessments of current ecological condition and forecasts of future risks to our natural resources. EMAP aimed to advance the science of ecological monitoring and ecological risk assessment, guide national monitoring with improved scientific understanding of ecosystem integrity and dynamics, and demonstrate multi-agency monitoring through large regional projects. EMAP developed indicators to monitor the condition of ecological resources. EMAP also investigated designs that addressed the acquisition, aggregation, and analysis of multiscale and multitier data. Monitoring of the nation’s aquatic resources is now being routinely conducted by the National Aquatic Resource Surveys, run by U.S. EPA’s Office of Water.环境监测与评估计划（Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program，简称EMAP）是美国环境保护署（U.S. Environmental Protection Agency，简称EPA）研究与开发办公室于1990年至2008年实施的国家级研究计划，旨在开发必要工具以监测和评估全国生态资源的现状与变化趋势。计划初期，覆盖的生态资源类型包括河口、近岸海域、可涉水溪流、湖泊、湿地、森林、农业生态系统、干旱区域及景观生态学相关对象。后续，该计划的监测范围被缩减至仅涵盖水生资源。本文所述的EMAP实地监测数据，采集时段为1990年至1998年。EMAP的核心目标是形成科学认知，以将多空间尺度与多时间尺度的环境监测数据，转化为当前生态状况的评估报告以及自然资源未来风险的预测方案。该计划旨在推动生态监测与生态风险评估领域的科学发展，通过深化对生态系统完整性与动态变化的科学认知指导全国生态监测工作，并通过大型区域项目示范多机构协同监测的实施路径。EMAP开发了用于监测生态资源状况的指标体系。此外，EMAP还研究了适配多尺度、多层级数据的获取、整合与分析的方案设计。目前，全国水生资源监测工作已由美国环境保护署水资源办公室主管的国家水生资源调查（National Aquatic Resource Surveys）项目常态化开展。