| Designers, planners, scientists, and government agencies are interested in the organization and classification of the environment. This study derives ecological regions of Michigan based on the natural distribution of tree species native to Michigan by applying Geographic Information System and Principal Component Analysis. The data set includes 51 distribution maps of Michigan native trees. By applying Principal Component Analysis in Statistical Analysis Software, 10 principal dimensions are revealed with 10 accompanying regions explaining 84.9% of the variance. The 10 dimensions are Southern Mixed Vegetation Region, White Oak-NannyBerry Region, Hawthorn Patches, Striped Maple-Black Cherry Region, Tamarack Region, Sumac-Locust Region, Hickory-Honey Locust Region, Elm Region, Oak-Hickory Region, and Oak Mixed Region. Issues related to general landscape planning guidelines and principles for future development are discussed for each region.;Key words: Landscape Ecology, Landscape Architecture, Geography, Regional Science... |
