Improving Hierarchical Ecosystem Structures and Multicriteria Evaluation for Current Land Ecosystem Classification

Abstract

For the purposes of environmental management and planning, Land Ecosystem Classification (LEC) provides a systematic framework for organizing landscape resources. LEC attempts to capture Earth processes over large geographic areas that produce persistent ecosystem patterns across the landscape. Past studies have conducted a comprehensive examination of LECs implemented in the 300 Dry Domain of the United States and the 100 Polar Domain of Canada. In this paper, LECs were manipulated and simplified as the structure levels within a hierarchical system, making this approach applicable globally. This study introduced a Real-World Components Model and streamlined the LEC into the structural levels. The verification of the top-level Domain established physical links and connections of comparison bases at continental and global scales. The focal levels represented the primary components of national and regional ecosystem classification. The bottom level and its components were objectively defined in relation to the Ecological Sites or Ecosites. The result showed that the LEC dimension was effectively reduced to fewer than ten levels across its full range. The component effect and importance values interpreted the comprehension of organizational levels and the ecosystem structures. In conclusion, with the Real-World Component Model, we were able to quantitatively compare and assess the LECs based on the component effect values and the component importance values. The component effect values within the ecosystem hierarchies exhibited a significant relationship with the component importance values (R2=0.8025, P < 0.01) across the full range of the LECs at the global continental scale.