Heshan station (112 °54' E, 22 °41' N) is located in Heshan County, Guangdong Province, China. It is one of the core stations of the Chinese Ecological Research Network (CERN) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS.). The station was co-established by South China Institute of Botany (Renamed as South China Botanical Garden in 2002), CAS and Heshan Institute of Forest Science in 1984 based on the experience and knowledge of previous studies in a degraded costal ecosystem. Natural Conditions：The station is located in the central part of Guangdong Province with a typical climate of south subtropical monsoon. The soil is laterite. The mean annual temperature is 21.7 C, the mean rainfall is 1700 mm, and the mean evaporation is 1600 mm. The region is a hilly agricultural zone with 78.6% of hilly land, 17.1% of farming land and 4.3% of water body. The zonal vegetation is evergreen broad-leaved forest of typical subtropics. Research Areas：The research areas of the station include but not limited to the followings: 1) Study on canopy water flux of Acacia mangiun forest in the hilly lands of South China by applying sap flow technique; 2) Ecosystem carbon cycling; 3) Conservation genetics of cryptocarya chinensis population in lower subtropical fragmented forest; 4) N2O emission from main types of agricultural and forest lands in tropical and lower subtropical region of China; 5) comparative study on restoration progress between degraded tropical and subtropical ecosystems; 6) effects of landfills on soil biota and water quality; 7) impacts of forest composition on restoration progress; 8) mechanisms of adaptation of invasive species; 9) effects of girdling and defoliation on plant resource use efficiency and soil processes (root exudation, soil respiration and soil biota); 10) confounding effects of manure application on eucalyptus forest and on NEP (Net Ecosystem productivity); 11) nematodes as bio-indicators of different ecosystems.