Information AboutEcozone |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ECOZONE | |
| biogeography | |
| ecology | |
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An ecozone or '''biogeographic realm''' is the largest scale 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 oceans, broad deserts, or high mountain ranges, that formed barriers to plant and animal migration. Ecozones correspond to the Floristic Kingdom s of botany or Zoogeographic Region s of mammal zoology. 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 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. HISTORY Phytogeography The systems of biogeographical regions started with Augustin De Candolle in 1820. In his study ''Essai Elementaire de Geographie Botanique'' he was very interested in documenting the nature and floral composition, also known as Biome s. He was the first author to define Endemic Area s. It was only after the acceptance of of the southernmost Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. In 1908, Ludwig Diels placed New Zealand in the Palaetropical Realm and subdivided the "Ancient Ocean" Realm into four realms. British botanist Ronald Good devised a system of six Floristic Kingdom s (Antarctic, Australian, Boreal, Cape, Neotropical, and Palaeotropical). Good's system, which was further developed by Armen Takhtajan , is widely used by botanists. Zoogeography Nineteenth-century Zoologists also contributed to the biogeographical schemes. Alfred Russel Wallace introduced biogeographical regions based on mammal distributions, and these remain in acceptance by the Scientific Community . Philip Sclater recognized six regions in 1858 based on Passerine bird distributions. Mammalian zoogeographers also identified six kingdoms (African, Australian, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oriental, and Palaearctic), although with different boundaries than those of plant geographers. Many zoogeographers combine the Nearctic and Palearctic into a Holarctic zone. These two zones have been connected by the Bering Land Bridge for long periods in their histories, and thus have very similar mammal and bird fauna. Biogeographical realms In 1975 Miklos Udvardy proposed a system of 203 Biogeographical Provinces , which were grouped into eight biogeographical realms (Afrotropical, Antarctic, Australian, Indomalayan, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oceanian, and Palaearctic). Udvardy's goal was to create an integrated Ecological Land Classification system that could be used for Conservation purposes. WWF ECOZONES |
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