Level III Ecoregions of Alaska

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. The ecoregions of Alaska are a framework for organizing and interpreting environmental data for State, national, and international level inventory, monitoring, and research efforts. The map and descriptions for 20 ecological regions were derived by synthesizing information on the geographic distribution of environmental factors such as climate, physiography, geology, permafrost, soils, and vegetation. A qualitative assessment was used to interpret the distributional patterns and relative importance of these factors from place to place (Gallant and others, 1995). Numeric identifiers assigned to the ecoregions are coordinated with those used on the map of "Ecoregions of the Conterminous United States" (Omernik 1987, U.S. EPA 2010) as a continuation of efforts to map ecoregions for the United States. Additionally, the ecoregions for Alaska and the conterminous United States, along with ecological regions for Canada (Wiken 1986) and Mexico, have been combined for maps at three hierarchical levels for North America (Omernik 1995, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 1997, 2006). A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions. At Level III, there are currently 182 ecological regions for North America. Level IV ecoregions have been developed for the conterminous United States, but Level III is the highest level available for Alaska. Literature cited: Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective: Montreal, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2006, Ecological regions of North America, Level III, Map scale 1:10,000,000, https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions-north-america. Gallant, A.L., Binnian, E.F. Omernik, J.M. and Shasby, M.B., 1995, Ecoregions of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1567. Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the Conterminous United States: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, no.1, p. 118-125. Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions: a Framework for Managing Ecosystems: The George Wright Forum, v. 12, no. 1, p. 35-51. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, USEPA - National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Map M-1, various scales. Wiken, E.B., 1986, Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada: Lands Directorate, Environmental Canada Ecological Land Classification Series 19, 26 p. Comments and questions regarding ecoregions should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USGS, c/o US EPA., 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4465, email:griffith.glenn@epa.gov Alternate: James Omernik, USGS, c/o US EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4458, email:omernik.james@epa.gov

Tags: alaska, ecosystem, environment, management, natural resources, surface water, united states
Organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency