Ecoregion

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Source: World Wildlife Fund

An ecoregion is a relatively large unit of land or sea that contains geographically distinct assemblage of natural communities with boundaries that approximate the original extent of the natural environment prior to major land use change. Ecoregions:

  • share a large majority of their species and ecological dynamics;
  • share similar environmental conditions, and;
  • interact ecologically in ways that are critical for their long-term persistence.

Classification

The motivation for the ecoregion classification system is that scarce resources and dwindling time force conservationists to target their actions to stem the loss of biodiversity — a pragmatic approach, given the highly uneven distribution of species and ecological threats. The ability to focus strategically is hindered by the absence of a global biodiversity map with sufficient biogeographic resolution to accurately reflect the complex distribution of the Earth’s natural communities. Without such a map, many distinctive biota remain unrecognized.

Ecoregions reflect the distribution of a broad range of fauna and flora across the entire planet, from the vast Sahara Desert to the diminutive Clipperton Island (eastern Pacific Ocean). They are classified with a system familiar to all biologists: biogeographic realms and biomes. Ecoregions, representing distinct biotas, are nested within the biomes and realms and, together, these provide a framework for comparisons among units and the identification of representative habitats and species assemblages.

World Wildlife Fund Classification

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) subdivides the terrestrial world into fourteen biomes and eight biogeographic realms (Figure 1). Nested within these realms are 867 ecoregions (Figure 2). WWF has assessed these ecoregions and identified the Global 200 -- the most biologically distinct terrestrial, freshwater (Freshwater biomes), and marine ecoregions of the planet.

Figure 1: The ecoregions are categorized within 14 biomes and eight biogeographic realms to facilitate representation analyses. (Source: WWF)
Terrestial-biome-legend.gif
Figure 2: The map of terrestrial ecoregions of the world recognizes 867 distinct units, roughly a four fold increase in biogeographic discrimination over that of the 193 units of Udvardy (1975). Maps of freshwater and marine ecoregions are similarly needed for conservation planning. (Source: WWF)

WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions

Australasia

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Admiralty Islands lowland rain forests
  2. Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests
  3. Biak-Numfoor rain forests
  4. Buru rain forests
  5. Central Range montane rain forests
  6. Halmahera rain forests
  7. Huon Peninsula montane rain forests
  8. Yapen rain forests
  9. Lord Howe Island subtropical forests
  10. Louisiade Archipelago rain forests
  11. New Britain-New Ireland lowland rain forests
  12. New Britain-New Ireland montane rain forests
  13. New Caledonia rain forests
  14. Norfolk Island subtropical forests
  15. Northern New Guinea lowland rain and freshwater swamp forests
  16. Northern New Guinea montane rain forests
  17. Queensland tropical rain forests
  18. Seram rain forests
  19. Solomon Islands rain forests
  20. Southeastern Papuan rain forests
  21. Southern New Guinea freshwater swamp forests
  22. Southern New Guinea lowland rain forests
  23. Sulawesi lowland rain forests
  24. Sulawesi montane rain forests
  25. Trobriand Islands rain forests
  26. Vanuatu rain forests
  27. Vogelkop montane rain forests
  28. Vogelkop-Aru lowland rain forests
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Lesser Sundas deciduous forests
  2. New Caledonia dry forests
  3. Sumba deciduous forests
  4. Timor and Wetar deciduous forests
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
  1. Chatham Island temperate forests
  2. Eastern Australian temperate forests
  3. Fiordland temperate forests
  4. Nelson Coast temperate forests
  5. Northland temperate forests
  6. Northland temperate kauri forests
  7. Rakiura Island temperate forests
  8. Richmond temperate forests
  9. Southeast Australia temperate forests
  10. Southland temperate forests
  11. Tasmanian Central Highland forests
  12. Tasmanian temperate forests
  13. Tasmanian temperate rain forests
  14. Westland temperate forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Arnhem Land tropical savanna
  2. Brigalow tropical savanna
  3. Cape York tropical savanna
  4. Carpentaria tropical savanna
  5. Einasleigh upland savanna
  6. Kimberly tropical savanna
  7. Mitchell grass downs
  8. Trans Fly savanna and grasslands
  9. Victoria Plains tropical savanna
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands
  1. Australian Alps montane grasslands
  2. Central Range sub-alpine grasslands
  3. Southland montane grasslands
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
  1. Cantebury-Otago tussock grasslands
  2. Eastern Australia mulga shrublands
  3. Southeast Australia temperate savanna
Tundra
  1. Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, & Shrub
  1. Coolgardie woodlands
  2. Esperance mallee
  3. Eyre and York mallee
  4. Jarrah-Karri forest and shrublands
  5. Mount Lofty woodlands
  6. Murray-Darling woodlands and mallee
  7. Naracoorte woodlands
  8. Southwest Australia savanna
  9. Southwest Australia woodlands
  10. Swan Coastal Plain scrub and woodlands
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Carnarvon xeric shrublands
  2. Central Ranges xeric scrub
  3. Gibson desert
  4. Great Sandy-Tanami desert
  5. Great Victoria desert
  6. Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands
  7. Pilbara shrublands
  8. Simpson desert
  9. Tirari-Stuart stony desert
  10. Western Australian Mulga shrublands
Mangrove
  1. New Guinea mangroves

Antarctic

Tundra
  1. Marielandia Antarctic tundra
  2. Maudlandia Antarctic desert
  3. Scotia Sea Islands tundra
  4. Southern Indian Ocean Islands tundra

Afrotropic

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Albertine Rift montane forests
  2. Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests
  3. Cameroonian Highlands forests
  4. Central Congolian lowland forests
  5. Comoros forests
  6. Cross-Niger transition forests
  7. Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests
  8. East African montane forests
  9. Eastern Arc forests
  10. Eastern Congolian swamp forests
  11. Eastern Guinean forests
  12. Ethiopian montane forests
  13. Granitic Seychelles forests
  14. Guinean montane forests
  15. Knysna-Amatole montane forests
  16. KwaZulu-Cape coastal forest mosaic
  17. Madagascar lowland forests
  18. Madagascar subhumid forests
  19. Maputaland coastal forest mosaic
  20. Mascarene forests
  21. Mount Cameroon and Bioko montane forests
  22. Niger Delta swamp forests
  23. Nigerian lowland forests
  24. Northeastern Congolian lowland forests
  25. Northern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic
  26. Northwestern Congolian lowland forests
  27. Sao Tome and Principe moist lowland forests
  28. Southern Zanzibar-Inhambane coastal forest mosaic
  29. Western Congolian swamp forests
  30. Western Guinean lowland forests
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Cape Verde Islands dry forests
  2. Madagascar dry deciduous forests
  3. Zambezian Cryptosepalum dry forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Angolan Miombo woodlands
  2. Angolan Mopane woodlands
  3. Ascension scrub and grasslands
  4. Central Zambezian Miombo woodlands
  5. East Sudanian savanna
  6. Eastern Miombo woodlands
  7. Guinean forest-savanna mosaic
  8. Itigi-Sumbu thicket
  9. Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands
  10. Mandara Plateau mosaic
  11. Northern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
  12. Northern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic
  13. Sahelian Acacia savanna
  14. Serengeti volcanic grasslands
  15. Somali Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
  16. Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets
  17. Southern Africa bushveld
  18. Southern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic
  19. Southern Miombo woodlands
  20. St. Helena scrub and woodlands
  21. Victoria Basin forest-savanna mosaic
  22. West Sudanian savanna
  23. Western Congolian forest-savanna mosaic
  24. Western Zambezian grasslands
  25. Zambezian and Mopane woodlands
  26. Zambezian Baikiaea woodlands
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas & Shrublands
  1. Al Hajar Al Gharbi montane woodlands
  2. Amsterdam and Saint-Paul Islands temperate grasslands
  3. Tristan Da Cunha-Gough Islands shrub and grasslands
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas
  1. East African halophytics
  2. Etosha Pan halophytics
  3. Inner Niger Delta flooded savanna
  4. Lake Chad flooded savanna
  5. Saharan flooded grasslands
  6. Zambezian coastal flooded savanna
  7. Zambezian flooded grasslands
  8. Zambezian halophytics
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
  1. Angolan montane forest-grassland mosaic
  2. Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands
  3. Drakensberg alti-montane grasslands and woodlands
  4. Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests
  5. East African montane moorlands
  6. Eastern Zimbabwe montane forest-grassland mosaic
  7. Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands
  8. Ethiopian montane moorlands
  9. Highveld grasslands
  10. Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic
  11. Madagascar ericoid thickets
  12. Maputaland-Pondoland bushland and thickets
  13. Ruwenzori-Virunga montane moorlands
  14. South Malawi montane forest-grassland mosaic
  15. Southern Rift montane forest-grassland mosaic
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, & Shrub
  1. Albany thickets
  2. Lowland fynbos and renosterveld
  3. Montane fynbos and renosterveld
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Aldabra Island xeric scrub
  2. Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert
  3. East Saharan montane xeric woodlands
  4. Eritrean coastal desert
  5. Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands
  6. Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert
  7. Hobyo grasslands and shrublands
  8. Ile Europa and Bassas da India xeric scrub
  9. Kalahari xeric savanna
  10. Kaokoveld desert
  11. Madagascar spiny thickets
  12. Madagascar succulent woodlands
  13. Masai xeric grasslands and shrublands
  14. Nama Karoo
  15. Namib desert
  16. Namibian savanna woodlands
  17. Red Sea coastal desert
  18. Socotra Island xeric shrublands
  19. Somali montane xeric woodlands
  20. Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna
  21. Southwestern Arabian montane woodlands
  22. Succulent Karoo
Mangrove
  1. Central African mangroves
  2. East African mangroves
  3. Guinean mangroves
  4. Madagascar mangroves
  5. Southern Africa mangroves

Indo-Malayan

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Andaman Islands rain forests
  2. Borneo lowland rain forests
  3. Borneo montane rain forests
  4. Borneo peat swamp forests
  5. Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests
  6. Cardamom Mountains rain forests
  7. Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forests
  8. Chao Phraya lowland moist deciduous forests
  9. Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests
  10. Christmas and Cocos Islands tropical forests
  11. Eastern highlands moist deciduous forests
  12. Eastern Java-Bali montane rain forests
  13. Eastern Java-Bali rain forests
  14. Greater Negros-Panay rain forests
  15. Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests
  16. Irrawaddy freshwater swamp forests
  17. Irrawaddy moist deciduous forests
  18. Jian Nan subtropical evergreen forests
  19. Kayah-Karen montane rain forests
  20. Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
  21. Luang Prabang montane rain forests
  22. Luzon montane rain forests
  23. Luzon rain forests
  24. Malabar Coast moist forests
  25. Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago tropical moist forests
  26. Meghalaya subtropical forests
  27. Mentawai Islands rain forests
  28. Mindanao montane rain forests
  29. Mindanao-Eastern Visayas rain forests
  30. Mindoro rain forests
  31. Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests
  32. Myanmar coastal rain forests
  33. Nicobar Islands rain forests
  34. North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests
  35. North Western Ghats montane rain forests
  36. Northern Annamites rain forests
  37. Northern Indochina subtropical forests
  38. Northern Khorat Plateau moist deciduous forests
  39. Northern Thailand-Laos moist deciduous forests
  40. Northern Triangle subtropical forests
  41. Northern Vietnam lowland rain forests
  42. Orissa semi-evergreen forests
  43. Palawan rain forests
  44. Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests
  45. Peninsular Malaysian peat swamp forests
  46. Peninsular Malaysian rain forests
  47. Red River freshwater swamp forests
  48. South China Sea Islands
  49. South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests
  50. South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests
  51. South Western Ghats montane rain forests
  52. Southern Annamites montane rain forests
  53. Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests
  54. Sri Lanka lowland rain forests
  55. Sri Lanka montane rain forests
  56. Sulu Archipelago rain forests
  57. Sumatran freshwater swamp forests
  58. Sumatran lowland rain forests
  59. Sumatran montane rain forests
  60. Sumatran peat swamp forests
  61. Sundaland heath forests
  62. Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests
  63. Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests
  64. Tonle Sap freshwater swamp forests
  65. Tonle Sap-Mekong peat swamp forests
  66. Upper Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests
  67. Western Java montane rain forests
  68. Western Java rain forests
  69. Hainan Island monsoon rain forests
  70. Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests
  71. South Taiwan monsoon rain forests
  72. Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests
  2. Central Indochina dry forests
  3. Chhota-Nagpur dry deciduous forests
  4. East Deccan dry-evergreen forests
  5. Irrawaddy dry forests
  6. Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests
  7. Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests
  8. Northern dry deciduous forests
  9. South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests
  10. Southeastern Indochina dry evergreen forests
  11. Southern Vietnam lowland dry forests
  12. Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
  1. Himalayan subtropical pine forests
  2. Luzon tropical pine forests
  3. Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests
  4. Sumatran tropical pine forests
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
  1. Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests
  2. Northern Triangle temperate forests
  3. Western Himalayan broadleaf forests
Temperate Coniferous Forests
  1. Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
  2. Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas
  1. Rann of Kutch seasonal salt marsh
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
  1. Kinabalu montane alpine meadows
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Deccan thorn scrub forests
  2. Indus Valley desert
  3. Northwestern thorn scrub forests
  4. Thar desert
Mangrove
  1. Goadavari-Krishna mangroves
  2. Indochina mangroves
  3. Indus River Delta-Arabian Sea mangroves
  4. Myanmar Coast mangroves
  5. Sunda Shelf mangroves
  6. Sundarbans mangroves

Nearctic

Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Sonoran-Sinaloan transition subtropical dry forest
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
  1. Bermuda subtropical conifer forests
  2. Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests
  3. Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
  1. Allegheny Highlands forests
  2. Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
  3. Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
  4. Central U.S. hardwood forests
  5. East Central Texas forests
  6. Eastern forest-boreal transition
  7. Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests
  8. Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests
  9. Mississippi lowland forests
  10. New England-Acadian forests
  11. Northeastern coastal forests
  12. Ozark Mountain forests
  13. Southeastern mixed forests
  14. Southern Great Lakes forests
  15. Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition
  16. Western Great Lakes forests
  17. Willamette Valley forests
Temperate Coniferous Forests
  1. Alberta Mountain forests
  2. Alberta-British Columbia foothills forests
  3. Arizona Mountains forests
  4. Atlantic coastal pine barrens
  5. Blue Mountains forests
  6. British Columbia mainland coastal forests
  7. Cascade Mountains leeward forests
  8. Central and Southern Cascades forests
  9. Central British Columbia Mountain forests
  10. Central Pacific coastal forests
  11. Colorado Rockies forests
  12. Eastern Cascades forests
  13. Florida sand pine scrub
  14. Fraser Plateau and Basin complex
  15. Great Basin montane forests
  16. Klamath-Siskiyou forests
  17. Middle Atlantic coastal forests
  18. North Central Rockies forests
  19. Northern California coastal forests
  20. Northern Pacific coastal forests
  21. Northern transitional alpine forests
  22. Okanagan dry forests
  23. Piney Woods forests
  24. Puget lowland forests
  25. Queen Charlotte Islands
  26. Sierra Juarez and San Pedro Martir pine-oak forests
  27. Sierra Nevada forests
  28. South Central Rockies forests
  29. Southeastern conifer forests
  30. Wasatch and Uinta montane forests
Boreal Forests/Taiga
  1. Alaska Peninsula montane taiga
  2. Central Canadian Shield forests
  3. Cook Inlet taiga
  4. Copper Plateau taiga
  5. Eastern Canadian forests
  6. Eastern Canadian Shield taiga
  7. Interior Alaska-Yukon lowland taiga
  8. Mid-Continental Canadian forests
  9. Midwestern Canadian Shield forests
  10. Muskwa-Slave Lake forests
  11. Newfoundland Highland forests
  12. Northern Canadian Shield taiga
  13. Northern Cordillera forests
  14. Northwest Territories taiga
  15. South Avalon-Burin oceanic barrens
  16. Southern Hudson Bay taiga
  17. Yukon Interior dry forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Western Gulf coastal grasslands
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. California Central Valley grasslands
  2. Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
  3. Central and Southern mixed grasslands
  4. Central forest-grasslands transition
  5. Central tall grasslands
  6. Edwards Plateau savanna
  7. Flint Hills tall grasslands
  8. Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands
  9. Nebraska Sand Hills mixed grasslands
  10. Northern mixed grasslands
  11. Northern short grasslands
  12. Northern tall grasslands
  13. Palouse grasslands
  14. Texas blackland prairies
  15. Western short grasslands
Tundra
  1. Alaska-St. Elias Range tundra
  2. Aleutian Islands tundra
  3. Arctic coastal tundra
  4. Arctic foothills tundra
  5. Baffin coastal tundra
  6. Beringia lowland tundra
  7. Beringia upland tundra
  8. Brooks-British Range tundra
  9. Davis Highlands tundra
  10. High Arctic tundra
  11. Interior Yukon-Alaska alpine tundra
  12. Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra
  13. Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra
  14. Low Arctic tundra
  15. Middle Arctic tundra
  16. Ogilvie-MacKenzie alpine tundra
  17. Pacific Coastal Mountain icefields and tundra
  18. Torngat Mountain tundra


Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, & Shrub
  1. California coastal sage and chaparral
  2. California interior chaparral and woodlands
  3. California montane chaparral and woodlands
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Baja California desert
  2. Central Mexican matorral
  3. Chihuahuan desert
  4. Colorado Plateau shrublands
  5. Great Basin shrub steppe
  6. Gulf of California xeric scrub
  7. Meseta Central matorral
  8. Mojave desert
  9. Snake-Columbia shrub steppe
  10. Sonoran desert
  11. Tamaulipan matorral
  12. Tamaulipan mezquital
  13. Wyoming Basin shrub steppe
Mangrove
  1. Northwest Mexican Coast mangroves

Neotropic

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Araucaria moist forests
  2. Atlantic Coast restingas
  3. Bahia coastal forests
  4. Bahia interior forests
  5. Bolivian Yungas
  6. Caatinga Enclaves moist forests
  7. Caqueta moist forests
  8. Catatumbo moist forests
  9. Cauca Valley montane forests
  10. Cayos Miskitos-San Andrés and Providencia moist forests
  11. Central American Atlantic moist forests
  12. Central American montane forests
  13. Chiapas montane forests
  14. Chimalapas montane forests
  15. Chocó-Darién moist forests
  16. Cocos Island moist forests
  17. Cordillera La Costa montane forests
  18. Cordillera Oriental montane forests
  19. Costa Rican seasonal moist forests
  20. Cuban moist forests
  21. Eastern Cordillera real montane forests
  22. Eastern Panamanian montane forests
  23. Fernanda de Noronha-Atol das Rocas moist forests
  24. Guayanan Highlands moist forests
  25. Guianan moist forests
  26. Gurupa varzea
  27. Hispaniolan moist forests
  28. Iquitos varzea
  29. Isthmian-Atlantic moist forests
  30. Isthmian-Pacific moist forests
  31. Jamaican moist forests
  32. Japurá-Solimoes-Negro moist forests
  33. Juruá-Purus moist forests
  34. Leeward Islands moist forests
  35. Madeira-Tapajós moist forests
  36. Magdalena Valley montane forests
  37. Magdalena-Urabá moist forests
  38. Marajó varzea
  39. Maranhão Babaçu forests
  40. Mato Grosso tropical dry forests
  41. Monte Alegre varzea
  42. Napo moist forests
  43. Negro-Branco moist forests
  44. Northeastern Brazil restingas
  45. Northwestern Andean montane forests
  46. Oaxacan montane forests
  47. Orinoco Delta swamp forests
  48. Pantanos de Centla
  49. Paramaribo swamp forests
  50. Parañá-Paraíba interior forests
  51. Pernambuco coastal forests
  52. Pernambuco interior forests
  53. Peruvian Yungas
  54. Petén-Veracruz moist forests
  55. Puerto Rican moist forests
  56. Purus varzea
  57. Purus-Madeira moist forests
  58. Rio Negro campinarana
  59. Santa Marta montane forests
  60. Serra do Mar coastal forests
  61. Sierra de los Tuxtlas
  62. Sierra Madre de Chiapas moist forest
  63. Solimões-Japurá moist forest
  64. South Florida rocklands
  65. Southern Andean Yungas
  66. Southwest Amazon moist forests
  67. Talamancan montane forests
  68. Tapajós-Xingu moist forests
  69. Tepuis
  70. Tocantins-Araguaia-Maranhão moist forests
  71. Trinidad and Tobago moist forests
  72. Trinidade-Martin Vaz Islands tropical forests
  73. Uatuma-Trombetas moist forests
  74. Ucayali moist forests
  75. Venezuelan Andes montane forests
  76. Veracruz moist forests
  77. Veracruz montane forests
  78. Western Ecuador moist forests
  79. Windward Islands moist forests
  80. Xingu-Tocantins-Araguaia moist forests
  81. Yucatán moist forests
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Apure-Villavicencio dry forests
  2. Atlantic dry forests
  3. Bahamian dry forests
  4. Bajío dry forests
  5. Balsas dry forests
  6. Bolivian montane dry forests
  7. Cauca Valley dry forests
  8. Cayman Islands dry forests
  9. Central American dry forests
  10. Chaco
  11. Chiapas Depression dry forests
  12. Chiquitano dry forests
  13. Cuban dry forests
  14. Ecuadorian dry forests
  15. Hispaniolan dry forests
  16. Islas Revillagigedo dry forests
  17. Jalisco dry forests
  18. Jamaican dry forests
  19. Lara-Falcón dry forests
  20. Leeward Islands dry forests
  21. Magdalena Valley dry forests
  22. Maracaibo dry forests
  23. Marañón dry forests
  24. Panamanian dry forests
  25. Patía Valley dry forests
  26. Puerto Rican dry forests
  27. Sierra de la Laguna dry forests
  28. Sinaloan dry forests
  29. Sinú Valley dry forests
  30. Southern Pacific dry forests
  31. Trinidad and Tobago dry forests
  32. Tumbes-Piura dry forests
  33. Veracruz dry forests
  34. Windward Islands dry forests
  35. Yucatán dry forests
Tropical & Subtropical Coniferous Forests
  1. Bahamian pine forests
  2. Belizian pine forests
  3. Central American pine-oak forests
  4. Cuban pine forests
  5. Hispaniolan pine forests
  6. Miskito pine forests
  7. Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests
  8. Sierra Madre de Oaxaca pine-oak forests
  9. Sierra Madre del Sur pine-oak forests
  10. Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
  1. Juan Fernández Islands temperate forests
  2. Magellanic subpolar forests
  3. San Félix-San Ambrosio Islands temperate forests
  4. Valdivian temperate forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Arid Chaco
  2. Beni savanna
  3. Campos Rupestres montane savanna
  4. Cerrado
  5. [[Clipperton Island] shrub and grasslands]
  6. Córdoba montane savanna
  7. Guyanan savanna
  8. Humid Chaco
  9. Llanos
  10. Uruguayan savanna
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Argentine Espinal
  2. Argentine Monte
  3. Humid Pampas
  4. Patagonian grasslands
  5. Patagonian steppe
  6. Semi-arid Pampas
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas
  1. Central Mexican wetlands
  2. Cuban wetlands
  3. Enriquillo wetlands
  4. Everglades
  5. Guayaquil flooded grasslands
  6. Orinoco wetlands
  7. Pantanal
  8. Paraná flooded savanna
  9. Southern Cone Mesopotamian savanna
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
  1. Central Andean dry puna
  2. Central Andean puna
  3. Central Andean wet puna
  4. Cordillera Central páramo
  5. Cordillera de Merida páramo
  6. Northern Andean páramo
  7. Santa Marta páramo
  8. Southern Andean steppe
  9. Zacatonal
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, & Shrub
  1. Chilean matorral
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Araya and Paria xeric scrub
  2. Aruba-Curaçao-Bonaire cactus scrub
  3. Atacama desert
  4. Caatinga
  5. Cayman Islands xeric scrub
  6. Cuban cactus scrub
  7. Galápagos Islands xeric scrub
  8. Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub
  9. La Costa xeric shrublands
  10. Leeward Islands xeric scrub
  11. Malpelo Island xeric scrub
  12. Motagua Valley thornscrub
  13. Paraguana xeric scrub
  14. San Lucan xeric scrub
  15. Sechura desert
  16. Tehuacán Valley matorral
  17. Windward Islands xeric scrub
  18. St. Peter and St. Paul rocks
Mangrove
  1. Alvarado mangroves
  2. Amapa mangroves
  3. Bahamian mangroves
  4. Bahia mangroves
  5. Belizean Coast mangroves
  6. Belizean Reef mangroves
  7. Bocas del Toro-San Bastimentos Island-San Blas mangroves
  8. Coastal Venezuelan mangroves
  9. Esmeraldes-Pacific Colombia mangroves
  10. Greater Antilles mangroves
  11. Guianan mangroves
  12. Gulf of Fonseca mangroves
  13. Gulf of Guayaquil-Tumbes mangroves
  14. Gulf of Panama mangroves
  15. Ilha Grande mangroves
  16. Lesser Antilles mangroves
  17. Magdalena-Santa Marta mangroves
  18. Manabí mangroves
  19. Maranhao mangroves
  20. Marismas Nacionales-San Blas mangroves
  21. Mayan Corridor mangroves
  22. Mexican South Pacific Coast mangroves
  23. Moist Pacific Coast mangroves
  24. Mosquitia-Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast mangroves
  25. Northern Dry Pacific Coast mangroves
  26. Northern Honduras mangroves
  27. Pará mangroves
  28. Petenes mangroves
  29. Piura mangroves
  30. Ría Lagartos mangroves
  31. Rio Negro-Rio San Sun mangroves
  32. Rio Piranhas mangroves
  33. Rio São Francisco mangroves
  34. Southern Dry Pacific Coast mangroves
  35. Tehuantepec-El Manchon mangroves
  36. Trinidad mangroves
  37. Usumacinta mangroves

Oceania

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Carolines tropical moist forests
  2. Central Polynesian tropical moist forests
  3. Cook Islands tropical moist forests
  4. Eastern Micronesia tropical moist forests
  5. Fiji tropical moist forests
  6. Hawaii tropical moist forests
  7. Kermadec Islands subtropical moist forests
  8. Marquesas tropical moist forests
  9. Ogasawara subtropical moist forests
  10. Palau tropical moist forests
  11. Rapa Nui and Sala-y-Gomez subtropical broadleaf forests
  12. Samoan tropical moist forests
  13. Society Islands tropical moist forests
  14. Tongan tropical moist forests
  15. Tuamotu tropical moist forests
  16. Tubuai tropical moist forests
  17. Western Polynesian tropical moist forests
Tropical & Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
  1. Fiji tropical dry forests
  2. Hawaii tropical dry forests
  3. Marianas tropical dry forests
  4. Yap tropical dry forests
Tropical & Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Hawaii tropical high shrublands
  2. Hawaii tropical low shrublands
  3. Northwestern Hawaii scrub

Palearctic

Tropical & Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests
  1. Gizhou Plateau broadleaf and mixed forests
  2. Yunnan Plateau subtropical evergreen forests
Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests
  1. Appenine deciduous montane forests
  2. Atlantic mixed forests
  3. Azores temperate mixed forests
  4. Balkan mixed forests
  5. Baltic mixed forests
  6. Cantabrian mixed forests
  7. Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests
  8. Caucasus mixed forests
  9. Celtic broadleaf forests
  10. Central Anatolian deciduous forests
  11. Central China loess plateau mixed forests
  12. Central European mixed forests
  13. Central Korean deciduous forests
  14. Changbai Mountains mixed forests
  15. Changjiang Plain evergreen forests
  16. Crimean Submediterranean forest complex
  17. Daba Mountains evergreen forests
  18. Dinaric Mountains mixed forests
  19. East European forest steppe
  20. Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests
  21. English Lowlands beech forests
  22. Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests
  23. Hokkaido deciduous forests
  24. Huang He Plain mixed forests
  25. Madeira evergreen forests
  26. Manchurian mixed forests
  27. Nihonkai evergreen forests
  28. Nihonkai montane deciduous forests
  29. North Atlantic moist mixed forests
  30. Northeast China Plain deciduous forests
  31. Pannonian mixed forests
  32. Po Basin mixed forests
  33. Pyrenees conifer and mixed forests
  34. Qin Ling Mountains deciduous forests
  35. Rodope montane mixed forests
  36. Sarmatic mixed forests
  37. Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests
  38. South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests
  39. Southern Korea evergreen forests
  40. Taiheiyo evergreen forests
  41. Taiheiyo montane deciduous forests
  42. Tarim Basin deciduous forests and steppe
  43. Ussuri broadleaf and mixed forests
  44. West Siberian broadleaf and mixed forests
  45. Western European broadleaf forests
  46. Zagros Mountains forest steppe
Temperate Coniferous Forests
  1. Alps conifer and mixed forests
  2. Altai montane forest and forest steppe
  3. Caledon conifer forests
  4. Carpathian montane conifer forests
  5. Da Hinggan-Dzhagdy Mountains conifer forests
  6. East Afghan montane conifer forests
  7. Elburz Range forest steppe
  8. Helanshan montane conifer forests
  9. Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests
  10. Hokkaido montane conifer forests
  11. Honshu alpine conifer forests
  12. Khangai Mountains conifer forests
  13. Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests
  14. Northeastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests
  15. Northern Anatolian conifer and deciduous forests
  16. Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests
  17. Qilian Mountains conifer forests
  18. Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests
  19. Sayan montane conifer forests
  20. Scandinavian coastal conifer forests
  21. Tian Shan montane conifer forests
Boreal Forests/Taiga
  1. East Siberian taiga
  2. Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra
  3. Kamchatka-Kurile meadows and sparse forests
  4. Kamchatka-Kurile taiga
  5. Northeast Siberian taiga
  6. Okhotsk-Manchurian taiga
  7. Sakhalin Island taiga
  8. Scandinavian and Russian taiga
  9. Trans-Baikal conifer forests
  10. Urals montane tundra and taiga
  11. West Siberian taiga
Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, & Shrublands
  1. Alai-Western Tian Shan steppe
  2. Altai steppe and semi-desert
  3. Central Anatolian steppe
  4. Daurian forest steppe
  5. Eastern Anatolian montane steppe
  6. Emin Valley steppe
  7. Faroe Islands boreal grasslands
  8. Gissaro-Alai open woodlands
  9. Kazakh forest steppe
  10. Kazakh steppe
  11. Kazakh upland
  12. Middle East steppe
  13. Mongolian-Manchurian grassland
  14. Pontic steppe
  15. Sayan Intermontane steppe
  16. Selenge-Orkhon forest steppe
  17. South Siberian forest steppe
  18. Tian Shan foothill arid steppe
Flooded Grasslands and Savannas
  1. Amur meadow steppe
  2. Bohai Sea saline meadow
  3. Nenjiang River grassland
  4. Nile Delta flooded savanna
  5. Saharan halophytics
  6. Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh
  7. Ussuri-Wusuli meadow and forest meadow
  8. Yellow Sea saline meadow
Montane Grasslands and Shrublands
  1. Altai alpine meadow and tundra
  2. Central Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe
  3. Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
  4. Ghorat-Hazarajat alpine meadow
  5. Hindu Kush alpine meadow
  6. Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe
  7. Khangai Mountains alpine meadow
  8. Kopet Dag woodlands and forest steppe
  9. Kuhrud-Kohbanan Mountains forest steppe
  10. Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe
  11. North Tibetan Plateau-Kunlun Mountains alpine desert
  12. Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
  13. Ordos Plateau steppe
  14. Pamir alpine desert and tundra
  15. Qilian Mountains subalpine meadows
  16. Sayan Alpine meadows and tundra
  17. Southeast Tibet shrub and meadows
  18. Sulaiman Range alpine meadows
  19. Tian Shan montane steppe and meadows
  20. Tibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows
  21. Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
  22. Yarlung Zambo arid steppe
Tundra
  1. Arctic desert
  2. Bering tundra
  3. Cherskii-Kolyma mountain tundra
  4. Chukchi Peninsula tundra
  5. Kamchatka Mountain tundra and forest tundra
  6. Kola Peninsula tundra
  7. Northeast Siberian coastal tundra
  8. Northwest Russian-Novaya Zemlya tundra
  9. Novosibirsk Islands arctic desert
  10. Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands
  11. Taimyr-Central Siberian tundra
  12. Trans-Baikal Bald Mountain tundra
  13. Wrangel Island arctic desert
  14. Yamalagydanskaja tundra
Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, & Shrub
  1. Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests
  2. Anatolian conifer and deciduous mixed forests
  3. Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests
  4. Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests
  5. Crete Mediterranean forests
  6. Cyprus Mediterranean forests
  7. Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests
  8. Iberian conifer forests
  9. Iberian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests
  10. Illyrian deciduous forests
  11. Italian sclerophyllous and semi-deciduous forests
  12. Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets
  13. Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe
  14. Mediterranean woodlands and forests
  15. Northeastern Spain and Southern France Mediterranean forests
  16. Northwest Iberian montane forests
  17. Pindus Mountains mixed forests
  18. South Appenine mixed montane forests
  19. Southeastern Iberian shrubs and woodlands
  20. Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests
  21. Southwest Iberian Mediterranean sclerophyllous and mixed forests
  22. Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests
Deserts & Xeric Shrublands
  1. Afghan Mountains semi-desert
  2. Alashan Plateau semi-desert
  3. Arabian Desert and East Sahero-Arabian xeric shrublands
  4. Atlantic coastal desert
  5. Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe
  6. Badkhiz-Karabil semi-desert
  7. Baluchistan xeric woodlands
  8. Caspian lowland desert
  9. Central Afghan Mountains xeric woodlands
  10. Central Asian northern desert
  11. Central Asian riparian woodlands
  12. Central Asian southern desert
  13. Central Persian desert basins
  14. Eastern Gobi desert steppe
  15. Gobi Lakes Valley desert steppe
  16. Great Lakes Basin desert steppe
  17. Junggar Basin semi-desert
  18. Kazakh semi-desert
  19. Kopet Dag semi-desert
  20. Mesopotamian shrub desert
  21. North Saharan steppe and woodlands
  22. Paropamisus xeric woodlands
  23. Persian Gulf desert and semi-desert
  24. Qaidam Basin semi-desert
  25. Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert
  26. Rigestan-North Pakistan sandy desert
  27. Sahara desert
  28. South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert
  29. South Saharan steppe and woodlands
  30. Taklimakan desert
  31. Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands
  32. West Saharan montane xeric woodlands

See Also

References

  • Eric D. Wikramanayake. 2002. Terrestrial ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a conservation assessment. Island Press. 643 pages
  • Robin A. Abell. 2000. Freshwater ecoregions of North America: a conservation assessment. World Wildlife Fund. Island Press. 639 pages

Citation

World Wildlife Fund (2014). Ecoregion. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Ecoregion