Ecosystems geography: Alternative methods of ecogeographic analysis.

摘要

Ecosystems geography, or ecogeographic analysis, is the study of the distribution, pattern, structure, and identification of ecosystem boundaries at different levels of detail. Ecological regionalization frameworks are becoming increasingly popular as a logical means of spatially organizing the landscape for the conservation of natural resources, management of the environment, and analysis of spatially distributed ecological phenomenon.; The objective of this research is to utilize the cartographic modeling and image analysis and processing capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing to conduct an ecogeographic analysis of the state of Indiana utilizing readily available ecological criteria. The purpose is to demonstrate the use of these technologies in the field of ecosystems geography and compare the resulting regionalization schemes with those developed through traditional methods of ecological regionalization; specifically those of Lindsey et al. (1969) and Homoya et al. (1985). Further, an alternative approach to the delineation of ecosystem boundaries is presented which provides a means of conveying information concerning the variation within and breadth and magnitude of change between adjacent ecological systems through the generation of an ecological surface.; Two alternative methods of ecogeographic analysis, referred to as indicator species analysis and multivariate cluster analysis, are demonstrated. While each results in a significantly different ecological regionalization scheme for the state of Indiana, both compare favorably to existing ecological divisions of the state based on traditional methods of ecogeographic analysis. It is suggested that these methodologies may provide resource managers and researchers with a means of defining regionalization frameworks for the management, conservation, and analysis of spatially distributed phenomenon that are tailored to the specific management or research initiative at hand.