An ecoregion, sometimes called a bioregion, is "a relatively large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities."

This description is part of a definition, by the World Wildlife Fund, that is widely accepted and used. However, the use of the term "relatively large" is interpreted differently in different locales. Another way of looking at an ecoregion is a "recurring pattern of ecosystems associated with characteristic combinations of soil and landform that characterise that region" (Brunckhorst, 2000). Others have defined ecoregions as areas of ecological potential based on combinations of biophysical parameters such as climate and topography. Biodiversity is also an important aspect of the study of ecoregions. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tend to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ... Loess field in Germany Soil horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of life. ... In Botany a Flora (or Floræ) is a collective term for plant life and can also refer to a descriptive catalogue of the plants of any geographical area, geological period, etc. ... Fauna is a collective term for animal life. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms - also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. ...

World Wilfdlife Fund's full definition of an ecoregion is the following:

A large area of land or water that contains a geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities that

(a) share a large majority of their species and ecological dynamics;

(b) share similar environmental conditions, and;

(c) interact ecologically in ways that are critical for their long-term persistence.

--World Wildlife Fund - Ecoregions

World Wildlife Fund ecologists currently divide the land surface of the Earth into 8 major ecozones containing 867 smaller terrestrial ecoregions (see list). Many consider this classification to be quite decisive, and some propose these as stable borders for bioregional democracy initiatives. Ecology is the branch of science that studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. ... Earth (IPA: , often referred to as the Earth, Terra, or Planet Earth) is the third planet in the solar system in terms of distance from the Sun, and the fifth largest. ... Ecozones are global divisions which have their own characteristic interplay of climatic factors, morphodynamics, soil-forming processes, living conditions for plants and animals, and production potentials for agriculture and forestry. ... This is a list of ecoregions as compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). ... Bioregional democracy (or the Bioregional State) is a set of electoral reforms designed to force the political process in a democracy to better represent concerns about the economy, the body, and environmental concerns (e. ...

The ecozones are very well-defined, following major continental boundaries, while the ecoregions are subject to more change and controversy. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The use of the term ecoregion is an outgrowth of a surge of interest in ecosystems and their functioning. In particular, there is awareness of issues relating to spatial scale in the study and management of landscapes. It is widely recognized that interlinked ecosystems combine to form a whole that is "greater than the sum of its parts." There are many attempts to respond to ecosystems in an integrated way to achieve "multi-functional" landscapes, and various interest groups from agricultural researchers to conservationists are using the ecoregion as a unit of analysis. Landscape ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology and geography that is the study of spatial variation in interested in the of elements in the landscape (such as fields, hedgerows, woodlots, rivers or towns) and how their distribution affects the distribution and flow of energy and individuals in the environment (which... Conservationists are those people who tend to more highly rank the wise use of the Earths resources and ecosystems. ...

See also

• Biome
• Ecozone
• Ecotope
• Fresh water ecoregion
• Global 200
• Habitat
• Marine ecoregion
• Terrestrial ecoregion

In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the regions physical natural environment, latitude, altitude, and terrain. ... Ecozones are global divisions which have their own characteristic interplay of climatic factors, morphodynamics, soil-forming processes, living conditions for plants and animals, and production potentials for agriculture and forestry. ... Ecotopes are the smallest ecologically-distinct landscape features in a landscape mapping and classification system. ... Ecoregions are defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as relatively large units of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species, with boundaries that approximate the original extent of natural communities prior to major land-use change. Freshwater ecoregions represents the freshwater habitats of a... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Habitat (from the Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species lives and grows. ... Marine ecoregions are regions of the worlds oceans, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), to aid in conservation activities for marine ecosystems. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Sources

• Brunckhorst, D. 2000. Bioregional planning: resource management beyond the new millennium. Harwood Academic Publishers: Sydney, Australia.

External links

• World Wildlife Fund: ecoregions
• Sierra club: ecoregions
• Activist network cultivating Ecoregions/Bioregions
• A National Ecological Framework for Canada
• Ecoregions of North America
• Interactive map and images of North American ecoregions at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu