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Scale of Ecosystem Units

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Ecosystem Geography

Abstract

Scale implies a certain level of perceived detail. Suppose, for example, that we carefully examine an area of intermixed grassland and pine forest. At one scale, the grassland and the stand of pine each appear spatially homogeneous and look uniform. Yet linkages of energy and material exist between these ecosystems. Having determined these linkages, we intellectually combine the locationally separate systems into a new entity of higher order and greater size. These larger systems represent patterns or associations of linked smaller ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 240 W Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA

    Robert G. Bailey

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  1. Robert G. Bailey
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Correspondence to Robert G. Bailey .

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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Bailey, R.G. (2009). Scale of Ecosystem Units. In: Ecosystem Geography. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89516-1_2

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