Geography and Ecology

Geography and ecology are viewed as coming closer to each other in their interests, suggesting the prospects of common research in the area of the man-nature relationship. Both disciplines allow for investigation at the planetary, regional and topologic (or local) levels. Landscape ecology is regarded as a useful approach to the study of geosystems and for investigation of natural regimes, which are conceptualized as the driving force in the physical-geographic process. Models of ecosystems represent useful supplements to structural-dynamic models of geosystems. Human ecology cannot be treated as the entire content of geography, as Barrows proposed, but does represent one of the key concepts in geography, particularly in reference to the man-nature relationship. Both geography and ecology can collaborate usefully in resolving some of the broad problems of our time, such as optimization of the natural environment and long-term prediction of resource management. A related paper appeared in Soviet Geography, October 1970.