Abstract:The term of ecological models refers to a wide variety of types of models which simulate variousecosystem phenomena on different scales. Ecological models could be classified into various types according to different criterion. In this review ecosystem simulation models are summarized in four aspects. 1) Individual and population dynamics models describe the simulation of germination, growth and mortality of individual plants in an ecosystem, and the intraspecific and interspecific competition as well. The Gap model and Soil-Plant-Atmosphere model are included here．2)Community and ecosystem models simulate the replacement of plant species through the succession of ecosystems， including the transform ation of vegetation types and the corresponding changes (influences)in biogeochemical cycling．The ecosystem productivity model，biogeochemical cycling and succession models are applied to the community responses to global climate changes．3) The study of landscape ecosystem models consist of stochastic model and process-based landscape model，including temporal and spatial dynamic changes．The former is to simulate dynamic changes of comunity pattern in succession process，while the latter to spatial configuration of each ecosystem of which the landscape is made up．4) Biosphere and global ecosystem are related with the atm osphere and climate principally through the exchanges of energy， water and elements．Because of the limitations of equilibrium terestrial biosphere models， new generation models，such as TEM, CENTURY，FBM，Biome-BGC，CASA and so on，are critically needed for assessing and predicting the primary production and biogeochemical cycles of the biosphere in changing global environments． The goal of dynamic biosphere modeling is to model dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems caused by natural and anthropogenic disturbances，as well as the interactions of energy，water and the atmosphere． At last， in combination with the practice the prospect of the development of ecosystem simulation models in all aspects is given.
