Ecozone
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{{Portalpar|Ecology}}
An '''ecozone''' or '''biogeographic realm''' is the largest scale [[biogeography|biogeographic]] division of the earth's surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of [[plants]] and [[animals]]. Ecozones represent large areas of the earth's surface where plants and animals developed in relative isolation over long periods of time, and are separated from one another by geologic features, such as [[ocean]]s, broad [[desert]]s, or high [[mountain range]]s, that formed barriers to plant and animal migration. Ecozones correspond to the [[floristic kingdom]]s of [[botany]] or [[zoogeographic region]]s of mammal [[zoology]]. Simply they are a definition of the plants and animals in a region further divided by the land form region. (Example the taiga ecozone in Canada is divided into the taiga plains, and taiga shield.)
Ecozones are characterized by the evolutionary history of the plants and animals they contain. As such, they are distinct from [[biome]]s, also known as major habitat types, which are divisions of the earth's surface based on ''life form'', or the adaptation of plants and animals to climatic, [[soil]], and other conditions. Biomes are characterized by similar [[climax vegetation]], regardless of the evolutionary lineage of the specific plants and animals. Each ecozone may include a number of different biomes. A [[Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical moist broadleaf forest]] in Central America, for example, may be similar to one in New Guinea in its vegetation type and structure, climate, soils, etc., but these forests are inhabited by plants and animals with very different evolutionary histories.
The patterns of plant and animal distribution in the world's ecozones was shaped by the process of [[plate tectonics]], which has redistributed the world's land masses over geological history.
The term ecozone, as used here, is a fairly recent development, and other terms, including '''kingdom''', '''realm''', and '''region''', are used by other authorities to denote the same meaning. J. Schultz uses the term "ecozone" to refer his classification system of biomes.
==WWF Ecozones==
[[image:Ecozones.svg|thumb|250px|right|Map of six of the world's eight ecozones
{{legend|#a6b866|[[Nearctic]]}}
{{legend|#b75a5a|[[Palearctic]]}}
{{legend|#7188a5|[[Afrotropic]]}}
{{legend|#c09551|[[Indomalaya]]}}
{{legend|#d78637|[[Australasia ecozone|Australasia]]}}
{{legend|#a18fa4|[[Neotropic]]}}
{{legend|#f9f9f9|[[Oceania ecozone|Oceania]] and [[Antarctic ecozone|Antarctic]] ecozones not shown}}]]
The ecozones are based largely on the biogeographic realms of Pielou (1979) and Udvardy (1975). A team of biologists convened by the [[World Wildlife Fund]] (WWF) developed a system of eight biogeographic realms (ecozones) as part of their delineation of the world's over 800 [[terrestrial ecoregion]]s.
* [[Nearctic]] 22.9 mil. km² (including most of [[North America]])
* [[Palearctic]] 54.1 mil. km² (including the bulk of [[Eurasia]] and [[North Africa]])
* [[Afrotropic]] 22.1 mil. km² (including [[Sub-Saharan Africa]])
* [[Indomalaya]] 7.5 mil. km² (including [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], the [[Indian subcontinent|South Asian subcontinent]] and [[Southeast Asia]])
* [[Australasia ecozone|Australasia]] 7.7 mil. km² (including [[Australia]], [[New Guinea]], and neighbouring islands). The northern boundary of this zone is known as the [[Wallace line]].
* [[Neotropic]] 19.0 mil. km² (including [[South America]] and the [[Caribbean]])
* [[Oceania ecozone|Oceania]] 1.0 mil. km² (including [[Polynesia]], [[Fiji]] and [[Micronesia]])
* [[Antarctic ecozone|Antarctic]] 0.3 mil. km² (including [[Antarctica]]).
The WWF scheme is broadly similar to Udvardy's system, the chief difference being the delineation of the Australasian ecozone relative to the Antarctic, Oceanic, and Indomalayan ecozones. In the WWF system, The Australasia ecozone includes [[Australia]], [[Tasmania]], the islands of [[Wallacea]], [[New Guinea]], the [[East Melanesian islands]], [[New Caledonia]], and [[New Zealand]]. Udvardy's Australian realm includes only Australia and Tasmania; he places [[Wallacea]] in the Indomalayan Realm, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and East Melanesia in the Oceanian Realm, and New Zealand in the Antarctic Realm.
===Bioregions===
The WWF scheme further subdivides the ecozones into '''bioregions''', defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)." The WWF bioregions are as follows:
* Afrotropic
* Antarctic
* Australasia
** [[Wallacea]]
** [[New Guinea and Melanesia Bioregion|New Guinea and Melanesia]]
* Indomalaya
** [[Indian subcontinent]]
** [[Indochina]]
** [[Sunda Shelf and Philippines]]
* Nearctic
** [[Canadian Shield Bioregion|Canadian Shield]]
** [[Eastern North America Bioregion|Eastern North America]]
** [[Northern Mexico Bioregion|Northern Mexico]]
** [[Western North America Bioregion|Western North America]]
* Neotropical
** [[Amazonia]]
** [[Caribbean Bioregion|Caribbean]]
** [[Central America Bioregion|Central America]]
** [[Central Andes]]
** [[Eastern South America]]
** [[Northern Andes]]
** [[Orinoco Bioregion|Orinoco]]
** [[Southern South America]]
* Oceania
* Palearctic
==References==
*{{cite web
| url = http://www.tdwg.org/TDWG_geo2.pdf
| title = World Geographical Scheme for recording plant distributions
| accessdate = 2008-03-08
| author = R. K. Brummitt
| authorlink = Taxonomic Database Working Group
| year = 2001
| format = PDF
| publisher = [[Carnegie Mellon University]]
}}
* Cox, C. Barry; Peter D. Moore (1985). ''Biogeography: An Ecological and Evolutionary Approach (Fourth Edition).'' Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
* Dinerstein, Eric; David Olson; Douglas J. Graham; et al. (1995). ''A Conservation Assessment of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of Latin America and the Caribbean.'' World Bank, 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.
* Schultz, J.: Die Ökozonen der Erde, Ulmer Stuttgart, 3rd ed. 2002 (1st ed. 1988). ISBN 3-8252-1514-8
* Schultz, J.: Handbuch der Ökozonen, Ulmer Stuttgart 2000. ISBN 3-8252-8200-7
* Schultz, J.: The Ecozones of the World, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 2n ed. 2005. ISBN 3540200142
* Udvardy, M. D. F. (1975). ''A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world''. IUCN Occasional Paper no. 18. Morges, Switzerland: IUCN.
* Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment.'' Island Press; Washington, DC.
==See Also==
* [[Ecological land classification]]
==External links==
{{commonscat-inline|Ecozones}}
[[Category:Ecozones| ]]
[[Category:Biogeography]]
[[da:Økozone]]
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[[it:Regione zoogeografica]]
[[ja:生物地理区]]
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[[zh:世界动物地理分区]]