Aldo Leopold in "The land Ethic" described conservation as harmony that exists between man and the environment. According to him, man must learn to preserve the environment. He further ascertains the fact that a land ethic alone cannot be used to prevent change in the environment and its management; however, it is useful in establishing the continued use of the resources effectively and in their natural state. Therefore, man who is the conqueror has the mandate to watch over the land that he is a part of.
There exists a biotic relationship between man and land therefore mans actions will always affect the land he lives in. The changing lifestyles in the world today have resulted in an inevitable change in the way man uses land. The characteristics of land are determined by the characteristics of the men who live on it. Progress is inevitable in the environment since conservation is these days hardly ever considered. Leopold urges people to practice the conservation that they deem profitable to them and their land and leave the rest to the government. He went further to show that through a study conducted in 1930 where farmers were asked to adopt certain farming techniques for a reward. Once the study was over, the farmers ceased implementing the new techniques and only continued with those that were of economic gain to them.
According to the land pyramid, food chains were short and simple and the pyramid was low and squat, however, as a result of the trend of evolution things have become more complex. This is in order to suit the changing world trends. He compares the world to a circuit where if one component of the circuit changes, the other parts must adjust to it. This ensures the flow of energy from plants to animals is uninterrupted. Moreover, erosion has also resulted in changes in the environment where soils and matter are transported to other regions. Transportation has also resulted in changes in the land. This is because plants are taken from one location and replanted in another different location thus resulting in change. Everything in our environment leads to change, therefore man has to adapt to the evolving world in order to survive.
