Contextual data: Ecoregion
The table below lists some common sources of ecoregion data. Ecoregions are defined using differing criteria, but generally are understood to be areas of uniform biome systems with similar vegetation and climatic patterns. The ecoregion data are provided as polygons that must be equated to the administrative units in IPUMS.
A python script and notebook detailing how TEOW data can be combined with IPUMS geography data can be downloaded here
Ecoregion data sources
| Dataset | Criteria for classification | Institution | Extent | Number of categories | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World (TEOW) | Meteorological data, Elevation, NDVI, Soil Properties | World Wildlife Fund | Global | 867 | Olson et a1. (2001) |
| Ecoregions 2017 | Meteorological data, Elevation, NDVI, Soil Properties | Resolve Biodiversity and Wildlife Solutions | Global | 846 | Dinerstein et al. (2017) |
| Freshwater Ecoregions of the World | Watershed Boundaries, Species Turnover, Evolutionary History | World Wildlife Fund/The Nature Conservancy | Global | 426 | Abell et al. (2008) |
| Bioregions 2023 | Geological data, Climatic zones, Biome boundaries, Marine ecological data | One Earth | Global | 185 | Burkart et. al (2023) |
| Agro-Ecological Zones | Crop Models, Climatic data, Soil Type, Terrain Resources | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | Global | Various (between 33 and 57) | Fischer, Nachtergaele, van Velthuizen et al. (2021) |
| Harmonized Biomes1 | Various | University of Beyreuth | Global | Various (between 13 and 28) | Fischer, Walentowitz, Beierkuhnlein (2022) |
| ECOMAP | NDVI, Surface Geogology, Soil Type, Climatic Data | United States Department of Agriculture | Continental United States | Various (between 37 and 1,233) | Keys, Cleland, McNab et. al (2007) |
| North American Terrestrial Ecoregions | Vegetation Type, Hydrology, Geogologic Variation, Climatic Data | United States Environmental Protection Agency | Canada, Mexico, United States | Various (between 15 and 182) | Omernik and Griffith (1997) |
| Digital Map of European Ecological Regions (DMEER) | Meteorological data, Elevation, NDVI, Soil Properties | European Environment Agency | Europe | 68 | Bunce et al. (1995) |
| Ecological Zones of China | Meteorological data, Hydrology, Soil Type, Biotic Variation | Chinese Ecological Research Network | China | 8 | Jianping (1994) |
- Harmonized Biomes is provided as a single TIFF file that requires an accompanying R-script to extract the component datasets.
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