Environmental English

Ecological
classifications
Ecosystem, habitat, biome, ecoregion, etc.

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Ecological classifications

Ecological classifications

1
Page

2 Ecosystem, habitat or biotope?

4 Ecological taxonomy

6 Biogeographical regions

7 Glossary

Sources:
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/page-1529
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotope
http://www.ehow.com/about_5285695_definitions-ecosystem-biotope-habitat.html
http://www.worldbiomes.com/
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/ecoregion_list/
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2
Ecosystem, habitat or biotope?

The concepts of ecosystem, habitat and biotope are related and can overlap, but the three terms are not
interchangeable. They differ from one another in scope as well as function.

What do you understand by the following terms?

Ecosystem

Habitat

Biotope

What other classifications do you know?

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Ecosystem, habitat or biotope?

Ecosystem
A dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living
environment interacting as a functional unit.

Habitat
1: It was first used to mean a place where an animal or plant species lives; an ecological or
environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism,
e.g. the habitat of the Brown Bear.
2: Now its use is extended to include many species together (known as a community or assemblage)
rather than a single species, e.g. woodland habitat for birds.
3: In a more scientific context, it is used to mean both the physical and environmental conditions that
support a particular biological community, together with the community itself. EU definition: "plant
and animal communities as the characterising elements of the biotic environment, together with
abiotic factors, operating together at a particular scale".

Biotope
Biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific
assemblage of plants and animals. It is almost synonymous with the third meaning of habitat (above).

Ecosystem or habitat?
Habitats often exist within ecosystems. The habitats of the planet consist of groups or communities of
living organisms, while the ecosystem of the planet also includes the inorganic element with which
living organisms interact.

Habitat or biotope?
The word biotope comes from the German word biotop, which translates as ‘habitat’! In everyday
English, a habitat is where a plant or animal lives. In scientific language, biotope is almost
synonymous with habitat.
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Ecological taxonomy
1 Biosphere
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It is the global ecological system
integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the
elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere

2 Ecozone
An ecozone (or biogeographic realm) is the largest biogeographic division based on the historic and
evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals. Plants and animals have developed in relative
isolation over long periods of time, and are separated from one another by geologic features (oceans,
deserts, mountain ranges) that formed barriers to migration.
WWF developed a system of eight ecozones (some of which are then divided into bioregions):
Nearctic (NA) 22.9 m km² (including most of North America)
Palearctic (PA) 54.1 m km² (including the bulk of Eurasia and North Africa)
Afrotropic (AT) 22.1 m km² (including Sub-Saharan Africa)
Indomalaya (IM) 7.5 m km² (including the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia)
Australasia (AA) 7.7 m km² (including Australia, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands)
Neotropic (NT) 19.0 m km² (including South America and the Caribbean)
Oceania (OC) 1.0 m km² (including Polynesia, Fiji and Micronesia)
Antarctic (AN) 0.3 m km² (including Antarctica)

3 Biome
A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar communities of
plants, animals, and soil organisms (ecosystems). Biomes are defined based on factors such as plant
structures, leaf types, plant spacing, and climate. Biomes are often identified with particular patterns
of ecological succession and climax vegetation.

WWF identified 14 biomes (major habitat types)

Tundra
Boreal forests/taiga
Temperate coniferous forests
Ecological classifications

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

5
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Mangrove
Flooded grasslands and savannas

4 Ecoregions
WWF has identified 825 terrestrial ecoregions, and approximately 450 freshwater ecoregions across
the Earth. This classification is used to define the Global 200 list of ecoregions identified as priorities
for conservation.
The Czech Republic can be subdivided into four ecoregions:
Central European mixed forests Pannonian mixed forests
Western European broadleaf forests Carpathian montane conifer forests

5 Biotope / Habitat (see page 3)

Summary - Ecological taxonomy (WWF model)

Biosphere
Ecozones
Biomes
Ecoregions
Biotopes / habitats
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Biogeographical regions
A biogeographical (or biogeographic) region is area of animal and plant distribution having similar or
shared characteristics throughout. There are many definitions. The EU has identified eleven
biogeographical regions and seven regional seas.

Biogeographical regions (terrestrial and freshwater):

• Arctic region
• Boreal region
• Continental region
• Atlantic region
• Macaronesian region
• Mediterranean region
• Alpine region
• Pannonian region
• Steppic region
• Black Sea region
• Anatolian region
Regional seas:
• Arctic Ocean
• North-east Atlantic Ocean
• North Sea
• Baltic Sea
• Mediterranean Sea
• Black Sea
• Caspian Sea

The Czech Republic is largely Continental, with small areas of Pannonian and Carpathian.
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Glossary

Biome
A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar communities of plants,
animals, and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined based on factors such as plant
structures (such as trees, shrubs, and grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and needleleaf), plant spacing
(forest, woodland, savanna), and climate. Unlike ecozones, biomes are not defined by genetic, taxonomic, or
historical similarities. Biomes are often identified with particular patterns of ecological succession and climax
vegetation. The most widely used systems of classifying biomes correspond to latitude (or temperature zoning)
and humidity. The WWF identified fourteen biomes (major habitat types).
WWF identified 14 biomes (major habitat types)
Tundra
Boreal forests/taiga
Temperate coniferous forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Mangrove
Flooded grasslands and savannas
Biosphere
The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems. It is the global ecological system integrating all living beings
and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere, hydrosphere and
atmosphere.
Biotope
Biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage
of plants and animals. It is almost synonymous with the third meaning of habitat.
Ecological classifications

Ecozone

8
An ecozone (or biogeographic realm) is the largest biogeographic division based on the historic and
evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals. Plants and animals have developed in relative isolation
over long periods of time, and are separated from one another by geologic features (oceans, deserts, mountain
ranges) that formed barriers to migration.
WWF developed a system of eight ecozones (some of which are then divided into bioregions):
Nearctic (NA) 22.9 m km² (including most of North America)
Palearctic (PA) 54.1 m km² (including the bulk of Eurasia and North Africa)
Afrotropic (AT) 22.1 m km² (including Sub-Saharan Africa)
Indomalaya (IM) 7.5 m km² (including the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia)
Australasia (AA) 7.7 m km² (including Australia, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands)
Neotropic (NT) 19.0 m km² (including South America and the Caribbean)
Oceania (OC) 1.0 m km² (including Polynesia, Fiji and Micronesia)
Antarctic (AN) 0.3 m km² (including Antarctica)
Ecoregions
WWF has identified 825 terrestrial ecoregions, and approximately 450 freshwater ecoregions across the Earth.
This classification is used to define the Global 200 list of ecoregions identified as priorities for conservation.
Ecosystem
A dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living environment
interacting as a functional unit.
Ecotope
The smallest ecologically-distinct features in a landscape mapping and classification system, i.e. abiotic.
Geotope
The geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. E.g. an erratic boulder or a cave.
Habitat
1: First used to mean a place where an animal or plant species lives; an ecological or environmental area that is
inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism, e.g. the habitat of the Brown Bear.
2: Now its use is extended to include many species together (known as a community or assemblage) rather than
a single species, e.g. woodland habitat for birds.
3: In a more scientific context, it is used to mean both the physical and environmental conditions that support a
particular biological community, together with the community itself. EU definition: "plant and animal
communities as the characterising elements of the biotic environment, together with abiotic factors, operating
together at a particular scale".
Physiotope
The landform, the rocks and soils, the climate and hydrology, and the associated geologic processes.