Abstract:Freshwater shallow lakes of small-to-medium size are distributed across the eastern plain areas of China. Influenced by a high rate of urbanization and intense human disturbance due to rapid economic development, these lakes are facing such environmental problems as eutrophication and ecological service function loss. A case study was conducted on the lakes in the Wujiang District, in Suzhou City, to the southeast of Taihu Lake. Based on ecological characteristics of shallow lakes, a conceptual framework of lake ecosystem health was put forward to establish the lake ecosystem health evaluation system. Four factors and 12 indices were selected to describe the state of lake health. The factors include the ecological faltor, the environmental factor, human disturbance, and ecological construction. Results show that water quality degradation and extensive human exploitation are the critical causes of the imbalance of the lake ecosystem. Based on these results, ecological restoration and construction measures are formulated for a typical lake, Sanbaidang Lake, providing a scientific basis for lake ecosystem management and protection.