LAND CLASSIFICATION AND ECOSYSTEM CLASSIFICATION

Earth, the ecosphere, is a unified functional ecosystem. Ecological la nd classification (ELC) and regionalization divides and categorizes th is unity into similar and dissimilar pieces - sectoral ecosystems - at various scales, in the interests of admiration and understanding. The recognition of land/water ecosystems in a hierarchy of sizes provides a rational base for the many-scaled problems of protection and carefu l exploitation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, wildlife and re creation. In forested terrain the protection of biodiversity, old grow th forests, watersheds and wildlife habitat depends on spatial-tempora l planning of forestry operations to maintain a preferred mosaic struc ture of local ecosystems within each ecological region. Without ecolog ical understanding and a good ELC, this is impossible. Conceiving the world as comprising nested land/water ecosystems that are the source o f life, elevates the role of Earth-as-context, an antidote to destruct ive anthropocentrism.