TITLE:
Developing Ecosystem Maps Using Eco-Geological Information for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
AUTHORS:
Mohammad Imam Hasan Reza, Saiful Arif Abdullah
KEYWORDS:
Biodiversity, Conservation Planning, Ecosystem Management, Habitat Classification, Planning
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.6 No.6,
May
18,
2016
ABSTRACT: Ecosystem
maps are vital to represent ecological patterns and processes in a region. It enables
the use of ecosystem goods and services as a robust unit for a variety of applications,
including conservation planning, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures,
resource management, and the economic estimation of ecosystem benefits. As different
elements of eco-geological components, such as the geological, soil, and biotic
assemblages organize an ecosystem; here, we developed an ecosystem map of the State
of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia, using geology, soil, elevation, and land-use data.
Landsat ETM+ images, ASTER Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, and digitized soil
and geological data were integrated to develop a map of the types of ecosystem for
2005. We found 19 different natural ecosystems in the studied region that represented
approximately 35% of the total land area. Among the natural ecosystems, peat-swamp
forest represents highest (at ~10%), while montane ericaceous forest representing
the lowest (at ~0.008%) and the hill dipterocarp quartz forest, lowland dipterocarp
sandstone forest, upper dipterocarp quartz forest, and mangrove forest are representing
approximately 6.4%, 4.6%, 3% and 2.6% of the total land area respectively. These
data can be used to prioritize the areas deserving attention due to their value
for biodiversity conservation and for the production of goods and supply of ecosystem
services. In addition to a variety of ecological and environmental aspects, such
an ecosystem map has potential use for the sustainable management of natural resources
at the national, regional, continental, and global scales.