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List of ecoregions (WWF)

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This is a list of ecoregions as compiled by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The WWF identifies terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecoregions.

The terrestrial scheme divides the Earth's land surface into 8 terrestrial ecozones, containing 867 smaller ecoregions. Each ecoregion is classified into one of 14 major habitat types, or biomes.

Freshwater ecoregions and marine ecoregions are also classified by geographic region and by habitat type.

The WWF/Nature Conservancy scheme for marine ecoregions groups the individual ecoregions into 12 marine realms, which represent the broad latitudinal divisions of polar, temperate, and tropical seas, with subdivisions based on ocean basins. The marine realms are subdivided into 62 marine provinces, which include one or more of the 232 marine ecoregions. The WWF/Nature Conservancy scheme currently encompasses only coastal and continental shelf areas; ecoregions of the deep oceans have not yet been delineated.

Many consider this classification to be quite decisive, and some propose these as stable borders for bioregional democracy initiatives.

The WWF has also designated the Global 200, a list of priority ecoregions for conservation. Many of the Global 200's terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecoregions are composites of two or more individual ecoregions. For the list of Global 200 ecoregions, see Global 200.

Terrestrial

Freshwater

Afrotropic

North African

Nilo-Sudan

Upper Guinea

West Coast Equatorial

Congo

Great Lakes

Eastern and Coastal

Cuanza

Zambezi

Southern Temperate

  • Amatole-Winterberg Highlands (South Africa)
  • Cape Fold (South Africa)
  • Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands (Lesotho, South Africa)
  • Karoo (South Africa)
  • Southern Kalahari (South Africa)
  • Southern Temperate Highveld (South Africa, Swaziland)
  • Western Orange (Botswana, South Africa

Australasia and Pacific

Montane freshwaters

Temperate coastal rivers

Temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands

Tropical and subtropical coastal rivers

Xeric freshwaters and endorheic basins

Oceanic Islands

Indomalaya

Tropical and subtropical floodplain rivers and wetland complexes

Montane freshwaters

Tropical and subtropical upland rivers

Tropical and subtropical coastal rivers

Large river deltas

Oceanic Islands

Nearctic

Pacific bioregion

Coastal Complex
  • North Pacific Coastal (Canada, United States)
  • Columbia Glaciated (Canada, United States)
  • Columbia Unglaciated (United States)
  • Upper Snake (United States)
  • Pacific Mid-Coastal (United States)
  • Pacfic Central Valley (United States)
  • South Pacific Coastal (United States)
Great Basin Complex
  • Bonneville (United States)
  • Lahontan (United States)
  • Oregon Lakes (United States)
  • Death Valley (United States)
Colorado Complex

Arctic-Atlantic Bioregion

Rio Grande Complex
Mississippi Complex
Atlantic Complex
  • Florida
  • South Atlantic
  • Chesapeake Bay
  • North Atlantic
St. Lawrence Complex
  • Superior
  • Michigan-Huron
  • Erie
  • Ontario
  • Lower St. Lawrence
  • North Atlantic-Ungava
Hudson Bay Complex
  • Canadian Rockies
  • Upper Saskatchewan
  • Lower Saskatchewan
  • English-Winnipeg Lakes
  • South Hudson
  • East Hudson
Arctic Complex
  • Yukon
  • Lower Mackenzie
  • Upper Mackenzie
  • North Arctic
  • East Arctic
  • Arctic Islands
Sinaloan Coastal Complex
Lerma/Santiago Complex
Rio Panuco Complex
Balsas Complex
Pacific Central Complex
Atlantic Central Complex
Isthmus Atlantic Complex
Isthmus Pacific Complex
Bahama Archipelago Complex
Western Insular Caribbean Complex
Eastern Insular Caribbean Complex
Choco Complex
South American Caribbean Complex
High Andean Complex
Inter-Andean Dry Valleys Complex
North Andean Montane Complex
Puyango-Tumbes Complex
Atacama/Sechura Complex
Pacific Coastal Desert Complex
Lake Titicaca/Poopo Complex
Galapagos Complex
Mediterranean Chile Complex
Juan Fernandez Islands Complex
Southern Chile Complex
Subantarctic Complex
Venezuelan Coast/Trinidad Complex
Llanos Complex
Guiana/Orinoco Complex
Amazon Complex
Northeast Atlantic Complex
Mata-Atlantica Complex
São Francisco Complex
Upper Parana Complex
Beni Complex
Paraguay-Parana Complex
Southern Atlantic Complex
Chaco Complex
  • Chaco (Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay)
Pampas Complex
Patagonia Complex

Palearctic

large lakes

large river deltas

montane freshwaters

polar freshwaters

temperate coastal rivers

temperate floodplain rivers and wetlands

temperate upland rivers

tropical and subtropical upland rivers

xeric freshwaters and endorheic (closed) basins

Marine

(by realm and province)

(no provinces identified)

Lusitanian

Black Sea

  • Guianian
  • Amazonia

St. Helena and Ascension Islands

Andaman

South Kuroshio

Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands

Hawaii

Marquesas

Easter Island

Juan Fernandez and Desventuradas

Magellanic

Tristan Gough

Benguela

  • Namib
  • Namaqua

Agulhas

Amsterdam-St Paul

Northern New Zealand

Southern New Zealand

  • Shark Bay
  • Houtman

See also

Biome

References

  • Olson, D., Dinerstein, E., Canevari, P., Davidson, I., Castro, G., Morisset, V., Abell, R., and Toledo, E.; eds. (1998). Freshwater Biodiversity of Latin America and the Caribbean: A Conservation Assessment. Biodiversity Support Program, Washington DC.
  • Ricketts, Taylor H., Eric Dinerstein, David M. Olson, Colby J. Loucks, et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC.
  • Spalding, Mark D., Helen E. Fox, Gerald R. Allen, Nick Davidson et al. "Marine Ecoregions of the World: A Bioregionalization of Coastal and Shelf Areas". Bioscience Vol. 57 No. 7, July/August 2007, pp. 573-583.
  • Thieme, Michelle L. (2005). Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment. Island Press, Washington DC.