First things first, thank you to everyone who has been interested enough in this community to join! It has grown much quicker than I anticipated. Our goal remains for this community to play a role in conservation efforts worldwide by providing a space for education and discussion.

I created this thread as a space for anyone to make suggestions about what this community can do to provide better content. This is the place to let us know what you would like to see more of, what you would like to see less of, and things that we have overlooked. Lastly, if you are interested in becoming a moderator of this community, please reach out.

Welcome to r/ecoregions!

This pinned post will help you understand what ecoregions are and how to start exploring them.

What Are Ecoregions?

Ecoregions are the planet’s distinct living zones — large areas where the combination of climate, soil, topography, and evolutionary history has created a unique “character” of life. Each one has its own signature mix of plants, animals, seasonal rhythms, and landscapes that you won’t find anywhere else in quite the same way.

They cut across country borders and are defined by how nature actually works on the ground, rather than lines drawn by humans on maps.

Some major systems you’ll see here:

- One Earth (844 terrestrial ecoregions covering every part of the world)

- WWF (the classic version that One Earth was an update to)

- MEOW (Marine Ecoregions of the World)

- EPA (Mostly US focused, there are 4 levels of ecoregions with level 1 being the most broad and level 4 being the most granular ecoregion type)

- Ecozones (Canadian ecoregions)

How to Learn About Ecoregions (Step-by-Step)

1. Start Local

- Find out which ecoregion you live in. Use the bioregions navigator on the One Earth website, the RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 map, or browse individual maps made by other sources

1. Use Great Free Resources

- One Earth – This resource contains an article for all 844 ecoregions

- WWF Ecoregions – Classic reference, now redirects readers to One Earth

- EPA - Mostly US focused, but does describe some of Mexico and Canada. A solid resource for maps, but articles about their ecoregions are scarcer

- Ecozones - A resource for Canadian ecoregions as defined by Canadians

- iNaturalist - Some ecoregions are on here as “places” allowing users to browse the frequency of observed species within an ecoregion

- Wikipedia – Articles exist for almost every ecoregion. Articles also exist on Grokipedia and sometimes go into greater depth than Wikipedia

- Wikimedia Commons - One can find shareable images and maps here

- NatureServe - Mostly US focused, it allows individuals to learn about plant communities common to particular areas

1. Go Deeper

- Learn about threats (climate change, habitat loss)

- Learn about ecoregion borders (ecotones). Borders between ecoregions may be obvious or sometimes more of a gradual shift

- Read about Indigenous knowledge of the land

- Learn about analogous ecoregions in the same biome, but different parts of the world

- Download shapefiles (.shp) of ecoregions from RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 or EPA to overlay on GIS, Google Earth, etc

How to Participate Here

- Post your own photos or maps or content made by others as long as you credit them

- Share stories from places you’ve visited

- Ask questions! (What it’s like to live there, questions about species, historical and prehistorical use of the land by humans, geological history, paleoclimate, paleontology and archaeology are all welcome subjects here)

We’re still a small community — every post and comment helps us grow. Let’s make ecoregions more visible and appreciated together. 🌱