Leopold talks about burning the good oak, the process of cutting it down, and how it will one day return to him in a different form. What is the significance of these detailed descriptions, and what do they illustrate about ecosystems?

Leopold saw through the rings of the good oak, and realized that humankind's conflicts are arbitrary from the perspective of nature. The good oak adds a layer that describes chronological time: past, present and the future. The tree goes through cycles of seasonal changes; and these repeated cycles results in the oak's rings: one ring for each year.

Explanation:

Leopold's good oak educated people about land ethics and the cycling of matter and energy through an ecosystem in predator-prey relationship.