Ontological investigation of a multiscale ecosystem classification using the "National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units" as an example

Alexandre Sorokine; Thomas Bittner; Chris Renschler

doi:10.1007/s10707-006-9830-0

Ontological investigation of a multiscale ecosystem classification using the "National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units" as an example

Alexandre Sorokine, Thomas Bittner, Chris Renschler

Geospatial Data Modeling

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents a formalized ontological framework for the analysis of multiscale classifications of geographic objects. We propose a set of logical principles that guide such geographic classifications. These principles are represented as definitions and axioms of the first-order predicate logic. Then we demonstrate an application of these principles with a practical example of the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units. The study presents a minimal set of entities and relation need for such formalizations and emphasizes the need to distinguish clearly between classes of ecosystems and ecosystems-individuals physically located on the Earth surface. The ontological framework proposed in the paper has the potential to be used to facilitate interoperability between such geographic classifications.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	313-335
Number of pages	23
Journal	GeoInformatica
Volume	10
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10707-006-9830-0
State	Published - Sep 2006

Funding

Acknowledgements Support for the second author from the Wolfgang Paul Program of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and from the National Science Foundation Research Grant BCS–9975557: Geographic Categories: An Ontological Investigation, is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the helpful suggestions of the anonymous reviewers of this paper.

Funders	Funder number
National Science Foundation	BCS–9975557
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

Keywords

Geographic classifications
Multiscale classifications
Principles

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10.1007/s10707-006-9830-0

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Ontological investigation of a multiscale ecosystem classification using the "National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units" as an example

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