Ecoregions, as defined in a recent update by an international consortium of conservation scientists, serve as foundational units for larger bioregions and are critical in research and conservation efforts. These regions, which are generally similar ecosystems, offer a spatial framework for assessing ecosystem functionality. The US Environmental Protection Agency categorizes them into four scales, originally developed by James Overnik in the 1980s, ranging from broad biomes (Level I) to very detailed ecological units referred to as ecosystems (Level IV). The 2017 study by Dinerstein et al. identified 844 distinct ecoregions, akin to Level III, using advanced satellite imagery and remote sensing. These ecoregions, integral to Bioregions 2023, are pivotal in both global scientific research and local conservation planning, and are accessible through an interactive web application developed by RESOLVE and Google Earth Engine, complemented by detailed ecoregion profiles from One Earth.
COPYRIGHT/CREDIT: RESOLVE / One Earth / Wikipedia