likely occur and consequences associated
with such shifts are prerequisite to the evaluation of these changes in terms of development and resource management decisions.
Ecoregion maps show the Earth’s surface
subdivided into areas based on large patterns
of ecosystems. These regions delimit large
areas within which local ecosystems recur
throughout the region in a predictable fashion. By observing the behavior of the different systems within a region, it is possible to
predict the behavior of an unvisited one.
Hence a map of this type can be used to
spatially extend data obtained from limited
sample sites. The results of observations at
representative sites from each region would
be potentially useful in detecting and monitoring climate change effects. Such a map
can aid with the design of a monitoring
network.
11. Different ecoregions produce different
conditions for fire as a natural process. In
some ecoregions fire may be infrequent,
rare, or even essentially absent. In other
ecoregions fire may recur in a pattern and
thereby present as a natural fire regime, but
fire regimes may differ even among fireadapted ecosystems. Results of research
studies about ecoregional fire regimes can
be used to assess burn probability across
the nation to identify areas of high risk.
This can help government agencies better
plan for wildfire hazards. They can also be
used as a baseline from which to assess natural fire regimes, which then can be used to
abate the threat of fire exclusion and restore
fire-adapted ecosystems.
12. Understanding natural processes and the
resultant natural patterns they form on a
particular
region
provides
essential
knowledge about the sustainability of
ecosystems, and that collective understanding and knowledge can inspire designs for
anthropogenic landscapes that sustain
themselves. Designed landscapes should
imitate the natural ecosystem patterns of
the surrounding ecoregion in which they are
embedded. By working with nature’s design,
people can create landscapes that function
sustainably like natural ecosystems.
14 Summary and Conclusions
139
with such shifts are prerequisite to the evaluation of these changes in terms of development and resource management decisions.
Ecoregion maps show the Earth’s surface
subdivided into areas based on large patterns
of ecosystems. These regions delimit large
areas within which local ecosystems recur
throughout the region in a predictable fashion. By observing the behavior of the different systems within a region, it is possible to
predict the behavior of an unvisited one.
Hence a map of this type can be used to
spatially extend data obtained from limited
sample sites. The results of observations at
representative sites from each region would
be potentially useful in detecting and monitoring climate change effects. Such a map
can aid with the design of a monitoring
network.
11. Different ecoregions produce different
conditions for fire as a natural process. In
some ecoregions fire may be infrequent,
rare, or even essentially absent. In other
ecoregions fire may recur in a pattern and
thereby present as a natural fire regime, but
fire regimes may differ even among fireadapted ecosystems. Results of research
studies about ecoregional fire regimes can
be used to assess burn probability across
the nation to identify areas of high risk.
This can help government agencies better
plan for wildfire hazards. They can also be
used as a baseline from which to assess natural fire regimes, which then can be used to
abate the threat of fire exclusion and restore
fire-adapted ecosystems.
12. Understanding natural processes and the
resultant natural patterns they form on a
particular
region
provides
essential
knowledge about the sustainability of
ecosystems, and that collective understanding and knowledge can inspire designs for
anthropogenic landscapes that sustain
themselves. Designed landscapes should
imitate the natural ecosystem patterns of
the surrounding ecoregion in which they are
embedded. By working with nature’s design,
people can create landscapes that function
sustainably like natural ecosystems.
14 Summary and Conclusions
139