Abstract

BackgroundThe ecosystem classification of land (ECL) has been studied for a couple of decades, from the beginning of the perfect organism system “top-down” approach to a reversed “bottom-up” approach by defining a micro-ecological unit. After comparing two cases of the ecosystem classification framework implemented in the different continental ecoregions, the processes were carefully examined and justified.ResultsTheoretically, Bailey’s upper levels of ECL (Description of the ecoregions of the United States, 2nd ed. Rev and expanded (1st ed. 1980). Misc. Publ. No. 1391 (Rev). Washington DC USDA Forest Service; 1995) were applied to the United States and world continents. For the first time, a complete ECL study was accomplished in Western Utah of the United States, with eight upper levels of ECOMAP (National hierarchical framework of ecological units. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, DC. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237419014_National_hierarchical_framework_of_ecological_units; 1993) plus additional ecological site and vegetation stand. China’s Eco-geographic classification was most likely fitted into Bailey’s Ecosystem Classification upper-level regime. With a binary decision tree analysis, it had been validated that the Domains have an empty entity for 500 Plateau Domain between the US and China ecoregion framework. Implementing lower levels of ECL to Qinghai Province of China, based on the biogeoclimatic condition, vegetation distribution, landform, and plant species feature, it had classified the Section HIIC1 into two Subsections (labeled as i, ii), and delineated iia of QiLian Mountain East Alpine Shrub and Alpine Tundra Ecozone into iia-1 and iia-2 Subzones. Coordinately, an Ecological Site was completed at the bottom level.Conclusions(1) It was more experimental processing by implementing a full ECL in the Western Utah of the United States based on the ECOMAP (1993). (2) The empty entity, named as Plateau Domain 500, should be added into the top-level Bailey’s ecoregion framework. Coordinately, it includes the Divisions of HI and HII and the Provinces of humid, sub-humid, semiarid, and arid for China's Eco-Geographic region. (3) Implementing a full ECL in a different continent and integrating the lower level's models was the process that could handle the execution management, interpreting the relationship of ecosystem, dataset conversion, and error correction.

Highlights

  • The ecosystem classification of land (ECL) has been studied for a couple of decades, from the beginning of the perfect organism system “top-down” approach to a reversed “bottom-up” approach by defining a microecological unit

  • Since the study area was with the plain, lower hills, and glacier mountains, the ecological sites in Fig. 7C showed a good relation with the elevation, slope, aspect, temperature, and water condition (Table 4) (Zhang et al 2008)

  • Bailey’s (1995) M310, M320 as Mountain Regimes of Tropic and Subtropical Division had left an empty entry for Qinghai-Tibet region in the world ecoregion scale

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Summary

Results

Bailey’s (1995) M310, M320 as Mountain Regimes of Tropic and Subtropical Division had left an empty entry for Qinghai-Tibet region in the world ecoregion scale. The United States and China have similar latitude ranges, except for China having the highest plateau in the southwest part of the region. The first study case in a dry domain area of western Utah of the United States, applying ten levels of ECL, would be more like a first tryout process based on the ECOMAP (1993). Based on the biogeoclimatic conditions, we classified Section HIIC1 into two Subsections (labeled as i, ii), and delineated iia of QiLian Mountain East Alpine Shrub and Alpine Tundra Ecozone into iia-1 and iia-2 Subzone. Ia-1, HuangShui River watershed Forest, Temperate Steppe Subzone was delineated under ia of QingHai East-North temperate Steppe Ecozone

Methodology and analysis
Evaluation and management
Discussion
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