Quantitative Ecoregions
- Ecologists have long used the concept of an ecoregion -- a
geographic area within which ecologically-important properties are similar
-- to identify the range of plant or animal species, to determine
suitability of crops for particular regions, and to determine Plant
Hardiness Zones
- Ecoregions enhance understanding and insight, since they are easier to grasp than the full complexities of the environment
- Ecoregions are sometimes used for statistical pre-stratification for ecological sampling, conservation, or preservation
- Such ecoregions are usually prepared by experts in a subjective
way -- Based on expert opinion -- Many experts = many versions of ecoregions -- As much art as science
- Statistical multivariate clustering makes repeatable the process of ecological regionalization based on a particular set user-specified multivariate characteristics that are deemed important for a particular ecological problem