WWF ecoregion

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The WWF ecoregions were published in 2001 by the USA section of the WWF environmental foundation as a model of worldwide ecoregions from a nature conservation perspective. A revised version appeared in 2004.

The WWF classification defines an ecoregion as “a relatively large area of ​​the earth's surface that can be geographically delimited according to the potential composition of species, communities and environmental conditions before major land use changes”. As with all biogeographical models , an artificial boundary is drawn here too, since the transitions between the regions are in reality more or less fluid.

In contrast to the classic ecoregion term, which is defined exclusively by the shape of its plant formations (and is therefore largely synonymous with the biome term), the WWF model is based on a combination of different biogeographical concepts.

Derivation

An essential working basis for the WWF model were the systems of biogeographical regions developed in 1975 by Miklos Udvardy for the IUCN and in 1979 by Evelyn Crystal Pielou , the delimitation of which had already been created for the needs of global nature conservation planning. The models by Eric Dinerstein et al. (1995) and Taylor Ricketts et al . Were also used. The aforementioned authors already referred to a combination of the shape of the (originally existing) vegetation forms and the specific species composition of the flora and fauna kingdoms .

In a ten-year process involving hundreds of different experts, an exemplary system of 825 land ecoregions (terrestrial) was created, which are subdivided into 14 major habitat types (formative main biomes) and seven biogeographical realms. The definition of a further 426 freshwater ecoregions and 232 marine ecoregions is also new.

aims

The WWF ecoregions were developed in order to be able to assign biological analyzes (especially on species diversity and biodiversity ) to specific and sensibly selected areas. The aim is to make them comparable from a nature conservation point of view: Representative habitats can be defined, protection strategies can be developed more easily and grievances can be identified.

From the outset, therefore, the inclusion of the current condition (status) due to the anthropogenic influence was decisive. Accordingly, a largely unaffected ecoregion represents the original ecosystems . In the areas with different degrees of hemerobia (deviation due to cultivation), the description of the ecoregion corresponds to the ideal model for nature conservation.

These mission statements contain the following criteria:

The WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions

The 825 terrestrial ecoregions of the earth, which were developed by the environmental foundation WWF -USA.
  • The first sorting criterion for the ecoregions are the main biomes “Tundra”, “Taiga”, “Desert” etc. In some cases they can be subdivided again using the name of the region; z. B. "Polar Desert" as a sub-item of "Tundra". (The main biomes are comparable to the zonobiomes according to Walter & Breckle).
The names are based on the large vegetation zones . This may be confusing, because the WWF ecoregions often break their boundaries due to the aforementioned, overarching approach. Therefore, several types of vegetation per region (in order of importance) are often listed in the table. (Example: “Greenland's high arctic tundra”, despite its assignment to the tundra, extends from the dwarf trauma tundra to the almost vegetation-free cold desert . The various types of vegetation, however, contain a very similar range of species, which thrive very densely and luxuriantly in the south and only relic-like in the north of the region and is poor to find.)
  • The second sorting criterion are the biogeographical realms "Nearctic region", "Australasian region" etc. (similar to the fauna realms ) in connection with the respective continents.
  • The third sorting criterion is the location of the ecoregions, which here (in contrast to the WWF sorting) are sorted from the north “in the reading direction” from west to east.
The names of the ecoregions were z. Partly freely translated or expanded for better orientation. The column “Weblinks” shows a direct link to the corresponding original WWF website. Next to it there is a link to a detailed cartographic representation of the region, which also shows the areas that are still largely wild according to the study Last of the wild .

Tundra

Nearctic region of North America

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. High Arctic tundra of the Canadian archipelago 463,600 Cold desert , highly polar tundra intact WWF / card
2. High Arctic tundra in Greenland 303,500 Cold desert , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
3. Arctic coastal tundra on the Beaufort Sea 98,200 Low polar tundra intact WWF / card
4. Central Arctic tundra of Canada 1,032,900 High u. Low polar tundra intact WWF / card
5. Tundra of the Davis Highlands of Baffin Island 87,800 Cold desert , highly polar tundra intact WWF / card
6. Central coastal tundra of eastern Baffin Island 9,100 Cold desert intact WWF / card
7. Greenland's Lower Arctic tundra 170,900 Low polar tundra , hardwood forest tundra intact WWF / card
8. Arctic foothills tundra of northern Alaskas 129,000 Low polar tundra intact WWF / card
9. Alaska's Brook Range Mountain Tundra 159,500 Mountain tundra intact WWF / card
10. Canada's Lower Arctic tundra 796,400 Mountain tundra intact WWF / card
11. Inner Yukon and Alaska mountain tundra 232,600 Mountain tundra , taiga intact WWF / card
12. The lowland tundra of the Bering Sea coast of Alaska 151,000 Hardwood forest tundra , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
13. Highland tundra of the Bering Sea coast of Alaska 97,400 Hardwood forest tundra , mountain tundra intact WWF / card
14. Mountain tundra between Ogilvie u. Mackenzie River 208,500 Mountain tundra , softwood forest tundra intact WWF / card
15. Mountain tundra of the Elias range of Alaska 151,800 Mountain tundra , coniferous forest tundra , taiga intact WWF / card
16. Mountain tundra of the Pacific Coast Mountains 132,600 Alpine mountain tundra , taiga , mountain coniferous forest intact WWF / card
17. Tundra of the Alëuts 5,400 Hardwood forest tundra intact WWF / card
18. Mountain tundra of the Torngat Mountains Labradors 32,400 Low polar tundra intact WWF / card

Palearctic region of Eurasia

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. Polar deserts in the Barents u. Kara Sea 161,400 Cold desert intact WWF / card
2. Tundra of the Taimyr Peninsula a. Central Siberia 954,700 Cold desert , all types of tundra , softwood forest tundra endangered * ↓ WWF / card
3. Polar desert of the New Siberian Islands 36,800 Cold desert intact WWF / card
4. Tundra of Northwest Russia a. South Novaya Zemlyaz 284.100 all types of tundra , hardwood forest tundra endangered WWF / card
5. Tundra of the Yamal u. Gydan Peninsulas 412.100 High u. Low polar tundra , forest tundras endangered * ↓ WWF / card
6. Coastal Tundra of Northeast Siberia 222,500 High u. Low polar tundra intact WWF / card
7. Wrangel Island polar desert 7,500 Cold desert intact WWF / card
8. Bergtundren u. Mountain birch forest of Scandinavia 243.200 Mountain tundra , hardwood forest tundra endangered WWF / card
9. Tundra of the Kola Peninsula 58,800 Mountain tundra , hardwood forest tundra endangered WWF / card
10. Mountain tundra of the Tscherski u. Kolyma Mountains 556,600 Mountain tundra , softwood forest tundra intact WWF / card
11. Tundra Chukotkas 298,400 Mountain tundra , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
12. Tundra on the Bering Sea coast of Siberia 474.200 Low polar and mountain tundra , coniferous forest tundra intact WWF / card
13. Tundra Dauriens 217,600 Alpine mountain tundra , summer green taiga intact WWF / card
14. Berg- u. Kamchatka Forest Tundra 119,400 Softwood forest tundra , Alpine mountain tundra intact WWF / card

(*) The WWF comes to an apparently ↓ worse or ↑ better assessment for this region than the studies " Last of the wild " or " Intact forest landscapes ", which are based on extensive data surveys (compare cartographic implementation in the article Wilderness )

Australasian region of Australia

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. Tundra islands in the sub-Antarctic South Pacific 1,800 Low polar tundra , temperate deciduous forest intact WWF / card

Antarctic region

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. Tundra islands in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean 8,300 Sub-Antarctic meadow tundra endangered WWF / card
2. Tundra islands in the sub-Antarctic South Atlantic 24,400 Sub-Antarctic meadow tundra intact map
3. Coastal tundra of West Antarctica 1,146,600 Cold desert , moss and Lichen Tundra intact WWF / card
4. Polar desert of East Antarctica 2,115,500 Cold desert intact WWF

Boreal coniferous forest / taiga

Nearctic region of North America

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. Lowland Taiga of the Inner Yukon and Alaska 443,400 Evergreen taiga , Nadelhz.-Waldtundra , Bergtundra intact WWF / card
2. Taiga of the Northwest Territories 345,800 Nadelhz. Forest tundra , evergreen taiga , mountain tundra intact WWF / card
3. Northern Canadian Shield Taiga 613,800 Softwood forest tundra , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
4. Taiga between Muskwa ranges u. Size Slave lake 262,400 Evergreen taiga , Nadelhz. Forest tundra , forest steppe intact * ↑ WWF / card
5. Taiga of the Cook Inlet 27,700 Softwood forest tundra , Alpine mountain tundra intact WWF / card
6. Taiga of the Copper Plateau 17,100 Nadelhz. Forest tundra , evergreen taiga , mountain tundra intact WWF / card
7. Inner Yukon dry taiga 62,400 Evergreen Taiga , Alpine Bergtundren endangered WWF / card
8. Taiga of the Northern Cordilleras 262,900 Evergreen Taiga , Alpine Bergtundren endangered * ↓ WWF / card
9. Canada's Continental Taiga 367,800 Evergreen taiga , deciduous and mixed coniferous forest endangered WWF / card
10. Mountain taiga of the Alaska Peninsula 47,900 Evergreen taiga , mountain tundra , deciduous forest tundra intact * ↑ WWF / card
11. Canadian Shield Taiga in the Midwest 546,000 Evergreen taiga , softwood forest tundra endangered WWF / card
12. Southern Hudson Bay taiga 373,700 Softwood forest tundra , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
13. Eastern Canadian Shield Taiga 753,700 Softwood forest tundra , low polar tundra intact WWF / card
14. Taiga of the Central Canadian Shield 461,800 Evergreen taiga , softwood forest tundra endangered * ↑ WWF / card
15. Eastern Canada's Taiga 486,900 Evergreen taiga , coniferous forest tundra , mixed forest endangered WWF / card
16. Newfoundland Highland Taiga 16,300 Softwood Forest Tundra , Evergreen Taiga intact WWF / card
17. Taiga bog of the southern peninsulas of Newfoundland 2,100 Evergreen taiga intact * ↑ WWF / card

(*) The WWF comes to an apparently ↓ worse or ↑ better assessment for this region than the studies " Last of the wild " or " Intact forest landscapes ", which are based on extensive data surveys (compare cartographic implementation in the article Wilderness )

Palearctic region of Eurasia

Name of the ecoregion km² Types of vegetation status Web links
1. Boreal birch forest tundra a. Mountain Tundra Islands 91,400 Hardwood forest tundra , low polar u. Mountain tundra intact * ↑ WWF / card
2. Taiga of Northern Europe from Norway to Russia 2,156,900 Evergreen taiga , deciduous riparian forests endangered WWF / card
3. Mountain taiga u. -tundra of the Urals 174,600 Evergreen taiga , alpine mountain tundra , forest steppe endangered WWF / card
4. Taiga of Western Siberia 1,670,300 Evergreen u. Sg. Taiga , summer green alluvial forests intact * ↑ WWF / card
5. Eastern Siberian taiga 3,899,700 Sg.- u. Ig. Taiga , coniferous forest tundra , Sg. Alluvial forests intact * ↑ WWF / card
6. Taiga of Northeast Siberia 1,125,600 Deciduous taiga , softwood forest tundra intact * ↑ WWF / card
7. Taiga between Lake Baikal u. Mongolia 200,500 Evergreen & deciduous taiga , forest steppe endangered WWF / card
8. Taiga of the southeastern Khabarovsk region 402,000 Evergreen taiga , deciduous taiga endangered WWF / card
9. Sakhalin Taiga 68,600 Evergreen taiga , deciduous taiga endangered * ↑ WWF / card
10. Light forest tundra Kamchatka u. the Kuril Islands 146,300 Softwood forest tundra , tundra- like meadows intact WWF / card
11. Isolated taiga Kamchatkas 15,300 Evergreen u. Deciduous taiga intact * ↑ WWF / card

(*) The WWF comes to an apparently ↓ worse or ↑ better assessment for this region than the studies " Last of the wild " or " Intact forest landscapes ", which are based on extensive data surveys (compare cartographic implementation in the article Wilderness )

Remarks

  1. ↑ The names of these realms are largely based on the zoogeographic regions according to Philip Lutley Sclater and Alfred Russel Wallace .
  2. ↑ An improved map with clear allocation to the ecoregions listed in the tables is still in progress

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ terrestrial ecoregions . WWF USA website.
  2. ↑ Global Species: Terrestrial Ecoregions . Bruce Myers' private website, Grand Rapids, USA - database from WWF and Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Retrieved March 2, 2013