Role of Landform in Differentiation of Ecosystems at the Mesoscale (Landscape Mosaics)

A map showing the upper four levels of Ecomap down to the section level has been published for the entire U.S. These upper levels are based on macroclimatic conditions and the plant formations determined by those conditions. Delineation of the remaining, finer-grained subdivisions has been left for local development. Within the same macroclimate, broad-scale landforms break up the climatic pattern that would occur otherwise and provide a basis for further differentiation of mesoscale ecosystems, known as landscape mosaics. This paper suggests how different levels of landform differentiation could be correlated with landscape mosaics at different levels of resolution. Introduction Ecomap (1993) is an eight-level, nested, hierarchical and multi-factor approach to classifying and mapping ecosystem units (Table 1). The approach (herein referred to as the National Hierarchy) has been adopted by the Forest Service to provide a framework on which National Forest planning and assessment could be built.