美国国家生态观测站网络（NEON）是一个以研究区域至大陆尺度重要环境问题的国家网络，它是由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）于2000年提出建立的。NEON的目标是通过网络式的观测、试验、研究和综合分析，阐明环境变化的成因和后果，预测环境变化的趋势并提出相应的对策。它是一个由17个区域网络组成的国家生态学研究和环境教育平台。该网络的建成，将为促进生态学的发展、人才培养以及保障美国的生物和生态安全发挥重要作用。由美国国家科学院国家研究委员会的地球与生命研究部任命的专家委员会于2003—2004年对NEON的原设计和建设方案进行了评估，充分肯定了建立NEON的必要性，但同时对原设计和建设方案提出了一些重大修改意见。新的方案建议NEON应重点关注生物多样性、物种组成与生态系统功能、生物地球化学循环的生态学影响、气候变化的生态学内涵、传染病的生态学和演化、入侵种以及土地利用和栖息地的丧失这6个美国国家层次当前所面临的最严峻的环境挑战。未来的NEON将由研究这些问题所设置的6个国家网络组成。深入研究NEON的概念、设计方案和实施计划，对于我国国家生态观测和研究网络的建设具有重要的参考意义。

National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), proposed by National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2000, would be a nationwide network that focuses on the pressing environmental challenges at regional and continental scales in the United States. It aims at determining the causes and effects of environmental change, predicting the trends of environmental change and proposing the responses through network-based observation, experiment, research and synthesis analysis. It will also serve as a platform for national ecological study and public education, consisting of 17 regional networks. It will play a significant role in facilitating the ecological development, training ecologists of next generations and maintaining the biological and ecological security of the nation. In 2003—2004, the Committee on NEON nominated by the Board on Life Science of the Division on Earth and Life Studies under National Academy of Sciences, after reviewing the original concept of NEON, strongly endorsed the necessity to build NEON, but proposed some findings and recommendations. According to the new vision of the committee, NEON should be focused on the six critical environmental challenges that the nation faces, including biodiversity, species composition and ecosystem functioning; ecological aspects of biogeochemical cycle, ecological implcations of climate change, ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, invasive species and land use and habitat alteration. NEON would be composed of six observatories that address these issues. It is, therefore, of great importance to explore the concept, design and implementation plans of NEON for the development of national ecological observation and research network in China.