Geozone

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The term geozone (s) (also geographic zones or zonal model ) is used here as a generic term for all models of the bio- and geosciences to divide the earth's surface into zones according to various natural features. In this context, a "zone" is a delimitable area with striking similarities between different natural parameters , which (in the narrower sense of the definition) extends roughly parallel to the latitudes in a belt-like manner around the earth and whose emergence can be attributed in particular to similar climatic conditions

Altitude levels are therefore not geo-zones, although the defining factor here too is the climate. Biogeographical models that have no direct relation to the climate (such as the flora or fauna kingdom ) are also not counted among the geo-zones!

term

"Geozonal" is composed of the ancient Greek words "γη / ge" (prefix earth) and "zṓnē" (girdle). The term describes one of the geographical scale levels between "global" and "regional".

The term "geozone" may not be used. a. based on a suggestion by the geographer Josef Birkenhauer and is used almost exclusively in connection with the didactics of geography, especially in schools and textbooks. So he is z. B. used in the manual of geography lessons as a collective term for the different models for the division of the earth, which deal with the climate-dependent manifestations of natural spaces. In the same way, the geo-zones appear in numerous curricula . Since the term is simply composed of the words "earth" and "zone" in an undifferentiated manner, it is well suited as a lexical generic term for all types of zones.

The term is therefore used rarely and inconsistently in science and literature. Often synonyms are geographical zone and zonal models . The terms used also in various publications Geoecological zone , vegetation zone , Flore zone , Biozone and ecozone are collectively known as Zonal models of biogeography referred and thus as the second sub-point of the geographic zones subdivided (→ foundation and structure) . ( Geological zone is a term from geology that has no relation to the geographical zones described here)

The partial aspects to which value is placed are different for all models; but the climate is always a determining factor, followed by the vegetation. The plants and their typical formations in particular are receiving more attention: on the one hand, they are relatively easy to grasp and map, on the other hand, a special index function of the plants is assumed. This means that fairly reliable conclusions can be drawn from a plant formation about other factors such as climate and soil, but also existing animals.

Basis and structure

Climates

Due to the spherical shape of the earth, the angle of incidence of the sun's rays from the equator to the poles becomes increasingly flat. This means that the radiation energy (mathematically calculable) decreases accordingly. This is the primary cause for the emergence of the different climates on the planet and thus the climatic zones as the basis of all geozonal models.

With the so-called climate classifications , the climatologists created detailed models that already show great similarities with the biogeographical models.

Zonal models of biogeography

The second branch of geo-zones comprises the models derived from the climate and other secondary characteristics (flora, fauna, water balance, soil, etc.), the zonal models of biogeography . The term “landscape zone” is sometimes used as a generic term

The diversity of geozonal models

The following map animation shows 11 maps of different geozonal models one after the other and illustrates their differences. (Loop duration approx. 3 minutes) :

 1. Satellite map of the earth (hybrid of satellite imagery and physical map of the land)
 2. solar irradiation , Simplified (red = strong, white = low)
 3. Lighting climates ( tropics and polar circles as limits)
 4. climates (genetic)
 5. climates, effective (according to Köppen / Geiger )
 6. Vegetation zones
 7. Vegetation zones, simplified
 8. FAO eco-zones
 9. Zonobiome (according to Walter and Breckle )
10. Eco- zones (according to Schultz)
11. Finally, again satellite image

map The selection of those used for a geo-zone model Data and parameters (such as solar radiation, temperature, precipitation, plant cover, soils, fauna, etc.) vary depending on the author and purpose. While the vegetation zone models consist of a large number of zones, the eco zone model (Schultz), for example, manages with just nine zones. The boundaries between the zones are also chosen very differently. In addition, there are inevitably deviations, since the transitions in reality are fluid and each author must therefore make his own determination.
(Note: The cards used in the animation vegetation zones , FAO ecozones , Zonobiome and ecozones are also available as a static Wikipedia cards.)

History of science

Medieval geo-zone model of the earth based on the world map of zones by Johannes de Sacrobosco. With the black and white original, south is up.

The first known reference to the zonal division of the earth according to typical weather conditions can be found in Parmenides in the 5th century BC. BC, who differentiated an equatorial burned zone and, symmetrically, a temperate and a cold zone in the northern and southern hemisphere. In the Geographica of the ancient Greek scholar Strabo from the 1st century BC BC five zones were also distinguished, which were derived from the spherical shape of the earth according to the angle of incidence of the sun. These and similar ancient zonal divisions were continued into the Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon monk Alkuin taught this model in the early Middle Ages and it is impressively illustrated in the work "Tractatus de Sphaera" by the scholar Johannes de Sacrobosco from the 15th century (see modified illustration).

The voyages of discovery and the subsequent European colonization of the world from the 16th century onwards produced extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna of the continents. This led to the first geozonal models two centuries later. Horace-Bénédict de Saussure laid the foundations for biogeography in 1779. A little later, Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to describe large-scale relationships between plants as an association , which, however, did not anticipate the term known from plant sociology, but oriented himself towards similar growth forms (Today is this is called a formation ). Augustin-Pyrame de Candolle founded geobotany in 1855. In 1838 the German botanist August Grisebach published the fundamental work "On the influence of climate on the limitation of natural flora". In his Vegetation der Erde (1872) he shows ecological interrelationships which influence these formations and justifies the model of the vegetation zones . Oscar Drude , the co-founder of plant ecology, developed this model further in the 1880s and 90s.

Based on these approaches, which take the external shape and structure of the vegetation as the main criterion, other authors develop the concept of the biome , which includes all living beings in a spatial section. The structure, which goes back to Clements (1916) and Carpenter (1939), reorganizes communities according to plant formations, but is based on a more abstract, global approach: the large-scale plant formations that prevail in the respective macroclimate are decisive . In 1929 Siegfried Passarge divides the earth into landscape belts.

In 1936 Wladimir Peter Köppen published the Geographical System of Climates , which is the first objective climate classification of the earth . It was then further developed by Rudolf Geiger and is still the basic reference system for climatic geography today. In ecology one relies more often on the climate classification according to Carl Troll and Karlheinz Paffen , which appeared in 1964 and divides the earth's surface into five climatic zones.

Tischler's (1950) bioregions , the ecoregions by Bailey & Hogg (1968) or the zonobiome by Walter & Breckle (1983) go further in the direction of an ecosystematic classification . Here the biomes are more closely related to certain landscape areas and the mutual influence of climate, soil, vegetation and animals is described. Müller-Hohenstein (1989) uses the term geo-ecological zones . In 1988 Jürgen Schultz created the model of the eco-zones , which has an even more extensive combination of features than the previous models. More recent work mostly only refines existing models through the use of satellite data.

literature

  • Dieter Heinrich, Manfred Hergt (1994): dtv atlas on ecology. 3. Edition. Munich: Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv); 3228. - ISBN 3-423-03228-6
  • G. Grabherr: Color Atlas of Earth's Ecosystems. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8001-3489-6 .
  • J. Schultz: Handbook of the eco-zones. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8252-8200-7 .
  • W. Frey, R. Lösch: Textbook of Geobotany. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-437-25940-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.school-scout.de/extracts/22580/22580.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.school-scout.de  
  2. ↑ a b c Heinz Nolzen (ed.): "Handbuch des Geographieunterrichts, Vol. 12/2, Geozonen", Aulis Verlag Deubner & Co. KG, Cologne 1995
  3. ^ Josef Birkenhauer (1986): Notes on a Transformed Regional Geography: a West German view. Geography Vol. 71, No. 2: 131-135.
  4. ↑ Dieter Böhn, Dieter Börsch, Helmuth Köck (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Geographieunterrichts. Aulis publishing house.
  5. ↑ Heinz Nolzen (Ed.): Handbuch des Geographieunterrichts, Vol. 12/2, Geozonen , Aulis Verlag Deubner & Co. KG, Cologne 1995
  6. ↑ http://dokumente-online.com/okozonen-mitschrift.html
  7. ^ Richard Pott: General Geobotany. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2005, ISBN 3-540-23058-0 .
  8. ↑ Dieter Heinrich; Manfred Hergt (1994): dtv-Atlas zur Ökologie. 3. Edition. Munich: Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv); 3228. - ISBN 3-423-03228-6 .
  9. ↑ Foundations. Landscape zones and spatial analysis. Geography 11 Lower Saxony by Hans-Ulrich Bender, Ulrich Kümmerle and Norbert von der Ruhren by Klett Ernst / school book (May 2000)
  10. ↑ DC Money: "Landscape Zones and Ecosystems. (...) Characteristics and Development", 6 different volumes, Klett Ernst / Schulbuch (1980 - 1997)
  11. ↑ Frithjof Altemüller: Foil book Climate and Landscape Zones of the Earth: 65 foil pictures for daylight projection: with explanations and worksheets for practical student work. , Klett-Perthes 1999
  12. ^ Marie Sanderson: The Classification of Climates from Pythagoras to Koeppen . In: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society . tape 80 , no. April 4 , 1999.
  13. ↑ http://lv-twk.oekosys.tu-berlin.de/project/lv-twk/02-intro-1-twk.htm
  14. ↑ S. Passarge: The landscape belt of the earth . Shepherd, Breslau 1929.
  15. ↑ Anselm Kratochwil, Angelika Schwabe: Ecology of the living communities. Biocenology. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, pp. 75-76. ISBN 3-8252-8199-X .