Ecozones

An ecozone is a large geographic region defined by a suite of ecological features, including climate, geology, soils, vegetation, and the historical processes that shape the distribution of plant and animal communities. Ecozones are used in biogeography and conservation to organize spatial information at broad scales and to compare ecosystems across continents and climate regimes. They are not the same as climate zones or individual biomes, but they intersect with them, and different organizations may define ecozones with different criteria and boundary shapes.

In practice, ecozones are broad, hierarchical units. They are typically delineated by a combination of climate gradients, biogeographic history, landforms, and patterns of biodiversity. Boundaries are often diffuse rather than sharp, reflecting gradual transitions. Some widely used schemes identify several major ecozones across the world, such as Arctic, temperate, tropical, and subtropical zones, sometimes with island or continental subdivisions. Other systems, such as those used for conservation planning, may define ecozones differently or use related terms like biogeographic realms or ecoregions. The concept emphasizes large-scale environmental patterns rather than local details.

Applications include biodiversity assessment, conservation prioritization, climate change studies, and land-use planning. Ecozones provide a coarse framework for comparing ecosystems and for identifying regions with similar ecological characteristics that may require similar management approaches.

Examples include the Arctic ecozone with tundra and coniferous forests; the tropical ecozone with rainforest biomes; and temperate ecozones with deciduous and/or coniferous forests and grasslands. The concept underscores the influence of broad climate and geological history on the distribution of life.