Working Draft Framework, Version 2, June 4, 1996
Definition Source: None
1.2.1 Ecological Capacity: The overall ability of an ecosystem to maintain its natural, original, or current condition and to produce goods and services. This includes both the current stock and the ability of an ecosystem to produce more of a specific resource. This includes surface and subsurface renewable resources. This includes both land and ocean ecosystems.
------1.2.1.1 Air Capacity
------1.2.1.2 Biodiversity Capacity
------1.2.1.3 Contribution to Global System
------1.2.1.4 Cultural and Spiritual Capacity
------1.2.1.5 Human Habitat Capacity
------1.2.1.6 Productive Capacity
------1.2.1.7 Soil Capacity
------1.2.1.8 Water Capacity
1.2.3 Ecosystems, Estuarine: Those ecosystems consisting of tidal catchments and adjacent tidal wetlands that are usually semi-enclosed by land but have open, partly obstructed, or sporadic access to the open ocean, and in which ocean water is at least occasionally diluted by freshwater runoff from the land. This ecosystem extends to the high-tide mark. The Estuarine System also includes offshore areas of continuously diluted sea water.
------1.2.3.1 Benthic Estuarine
1.2.2 Ecosystems, Land: An area on the Earth's land surface, extending to high-tide mark, with a characteristic physical environment and biological community.
------1.2.2.1 Agricultural Land
------1.2.2.2 Barren Land
------1.2.2.3 Forest Land
------1.2.2.4 Perenial Snow or Ice
------1.2.2.5 Rangeland
------1.2.2.6 Tundra
------1.2.2.7 Urban
------1.2.2.8 Water Systems
------1.2.2.9 Wetland
1.2.4 Ecosystems, Marine: Those ecosystems consisting of the open ocean overlying the continental shelf and its associated high-energy coastline, extending to the high-tide mark. Shallow coastal indentations or bays without appreciable freshwater inflow are also considered part of the marine system.
------1.2.4.1 Benthic Marine
1.2.5 Global Subsystems: Those portions of the Earth system containing a common media governed by a comon set of physical laws and spanning the entire globe. For purposes of sustainable development, Global Subsystems extend from the Lithosphere (outermost layer of the Earth's crust) to an altitude of approximately 110 nautical miles (660 km). Global Subsystems include the atmosphere and the ionosphere. Global Subsystems do not include the magnetosphere, which extends below 110 nautical miles only in the far polar regions.
------1.2.5.1 Atmosphere
------1.2.5.2 Ionosphere
------1.2.5.3 Lithosphere
------1.2.5.4 Oceans
1.2.6 Non-Renewable Resources: The ability of an ecosystem to produce the raw materials necessary for economic activities. This includes non-renewable resources, such as metals, minerals, and fossil fuels. This includes all non-renewable resources found both on and below the surface of the Ecosystem.
------1.2.6.1 Non-Renewable Subsurface Resources
------1.2.6.2 NonRenewable Surface Resources