AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
3 californias map2/26/2024 It revises and subdivides an earlier national ecoregion map that was originally compiled at a smaller scale (Omernik, 1987 U.S. The California ecoregion map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000. There are 13 level III ecoregions and 177 level IV ecoregions in California and most continue into ecologically similar parts of adjacent States of the United States or Mexico (Bryce and others, 2003 Thorson and others, 2003 Griffith and others, 2014). The State contains offshore islands and coastal lowlands, large alluvial valleys, forested mountain ranges, deserts, and various aquatic habitats. Explanations of the methods used to define these ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995), Omernik and others (2000), and Omernik and Griffith (2014).Ĭalifornia has great ecological and biological diversity. Level IV, depicted here for California, is a further refinement of level III ecoregions. At level III, the continental United States contains 105 ecoregions and the conterminous United States has 85 ecoregions (U.S. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, map revised 2006). Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions are hierarchical and can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken, 1986 Omernik, 1987, 1995). These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across Federal agencies, State agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources in the same geographical areas (Omernik and others, 2000). By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by its probable response to disturbance (Bryce and others, 1999). They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |