title: [Advances in research on ecological land classification].
abstract: Land classification is the base of land evaluation, land planning and land management, and plays an important role in the sustainable development of forestry resource. Ecological land classification (ELC) is the main approuch and direction of land classification. Along with the development of landscape ecology and 3S techniques, developing of ecological classification system (ECS) becomes the keystone of ELC. The definition, history, basic characteristics of ELC, the theory of ECS and its' prospects were systematically reviewed in this paper. The prospects were also described for the development of ECS methodology and the application of ELC. The general direction of ecological land research, which was a multi-factors and multi-levels syntheses based on the multi-objects administration of resource (forest, land and waters), was the combination of quantificational and qualitative research. It is necessary to carry out relevant researches in China.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016. xiaobaoying@sina.com
authors.forename: Baoying
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Gao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Guofan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shao
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002965:Classification; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004463:Ecology; D012106:Research; D012987:Soil
chemical_list: D012987:Soil