Since 1989, with the World Bank loans China has gradually established an eco-system field positioning research system consisting of 29 field stations (CAS) of good research basis. The stations represent the following Eco-systems: agriculture, forest, grassland, lake, marine, wetland and desert. Meanwhile the sub-centers of water, soil, atmosphere, biology, aquatic system and a Synthesis Center were also established, the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network was founded. The CERN Synthesis Center was officially set up in 1990 as an organization under the Commission For Integrated Survey of Natural Resources, CAS.

During the establishment period of CERN (1989--2000), CERN Secretariat was set up within the Synthesis Center to organize and implement CERN affairs including CERN construction planning, purchasing of instrument and equipment, staff training, information system construction and data collection, achievement publishing and etc.; the Secretariat also organized important scientific research plans such as Chinese eco-system productivity and carbon azote cycle, the structure function and changing law of eco-system. In 2000, the CAS Commission For Integrated Survey of Natural Resources united with the Institute of Geographical Sciences, the Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources was established and it entered into the Knowledge Innovation Base of CAS. The Chinese Ecosystem Research Network Synthesis Center was set up at the same time. Apart from doing CERN monitoring data collection, management and sharing, and CERN achievement publishing, the center is mainly in charge of organizing regional and national changing trend prediction of resources, ecology and environment; conducting important scientific researches; and releasing national key regions and main ecosystem situation reports; to provide information and consultancy for decision making and planning of the related key issues concerning national economic construction.