Terrestrial Ecological Systems of the United States

NatureServe ecologists lead efforts to develop internationally standardized classifications for terrestrial ecosystems and vegetation.  One classification approach is terrestrial ecological systems, mid- to local- scale ecological units useful for standardized mapping and conservation assessments of habitat diversity and landscape conditions. Each ecological system type describes complexes of plant communities influenced by similar physical environments and dynamic ecological processes (like fire or flooding). The classification defines some 800 units across the United States and has provided an effective means of mapping ecological concepts at regional/national scales in greater detail than was previously possible.