Editing Ecoregion (section)

{{Short description|Ecological and geographic area}}
[[File:Amazon rainforest.jpg|thumb|A map of the [[Amazon rainforest]] ecoregions. The yellow line encloses the ecoregions per the World Wide Fund for Nature.]]

 <!-- Public Domain Image from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Amazon_rainforest.jpg. Author statement: This is a map location of the Amazon Rainforest. The yellow line encloses Amazon rainforest ecoregions as delineated by the World Wide Fund for Nature. National boundaries are shown in black. I, Pfly, made it using NASA Blue Marble imagery and ecoregion GIS data which I simplified and digitized in Photoshop. Public Domain information: This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy). -->
An '''ecoregion''' ('''ecological region''') is an [[ecology|ecological]] and [[Geography|geographic]] area that exists on multiple different levels,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ecoregions of North America |url=https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions-north-america |website=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |quote=North America has been divided into:  15 broad, level I ecological regions; 50 level II ecological regions intended to provide a more detailed description of the large ecological areas nested within the level I regions; and 182 Level III ecoregions, which are smaller ecological areas nested within level II regions.}}</ref> defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ecoregions |url=https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregions |website=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |quote=Ecoregions are areas where ecosystems (and the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources) are generally similar.}}</ref> Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural [[community (ecology)|communities]] and [[species]]. The [[biodiversity]] of [[flora (plants)|flora]], [[fauna (animals)|fauna]] and [[ecosystems]] that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation (largely undefined at this point).
Ecoregions are also known as "ecozones" ("ecological zones"), although that term may also refer to [[biogeographic realm]]s.

Three caveats are appropriate for all bio-geographic mapping approaches. Firstly, no single bio-geographic framework is optimal for all taxa. Ecoregions reflect the best compromise for as many taxa as possible. Secondly, ecoregion boundaries rarely form abrupt edges; rather, [[ecotone]]s and mosaic [[habitat]]s bound them. Thirdly, most ecoregions contain habitats that differ from their assigned [[biome]]. Biogeographic provinces may originate due to various barriers, including physical (plate tectonics, topographic highs), climatic (latitudinal variation, seasonal range) and ocean chemical related (salinity, oxygen levels).