Kentucky Level III and IV Ecoregions

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across federal agencies, state agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources within the same geographical areas. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of patterns of biotic and abiotic phenomena, including geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels for ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 50 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997). At Level III, the continental United States contains 104 regions whereas the conterminous United States has 85 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). Level IV ecoregions are further subdivisions of Level III ecoregions. Methods used to define the ecoregions are explained in Omernik (1995, 2004), Omernik and others (2000), and Gallant and others (1989). Data Download: https://app.fw.ky.gov/kfwis/kygeonet/ecoregion2012.zip Literature cited: Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the United States (map): Washington, D.C., USFS, scale 1:7,500,000. Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., and Larsen, D.P., 1999, Ecoregions—a geographic framework to guide risk characterization and ecosystem management: Environmental Practice, v. 1, no. 3, p. 141-155. Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America- toward a common perspective: Montreal, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. Gallant, A. L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/600/3-89/060, 152p. Griffith, G., Omernik, J., Azevedo, S., 1998, Ecoregions of Tennessee (text, map, summary tables, and photographs): Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:940,000. McMahon, G., Gregonis, S.M., Waltman, S.W., Omernik, J.M., Thorson, T.D., Freeouf, J.A., Rorick, A.H., and Keys, J.E., 2001, Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States: Environmental Management, v. 28, no. 3, p. 293-316. Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, p. 118-125, scale 1:7,500,000. Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions - a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p.49-62. Omernik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, v. 88, p. 77-103. Omernik, J.M., 2004, Perspectives on the nature and definitions of ecological regions: Environmental Management, v. 34, Supplement 1, p. s27-s38. U.S. Department of Agriculture–Soil Conservation Service, 198, Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States: Agriculture Handbook 296, 156 p. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, USEPA–National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Map M-1, various scales. Wiken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p. Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Brockman, C.S., Gerber, T.D., Hosteter, W.D., and Azevedo, S.H., 1998, Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio: Reston, USGS, map scale 1:500,000 Comments and questions regarding the Level III and IV Ecoregions should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USGS, c/o US EPA., 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4465, email:[e-mail] Alternate: James Omernik, USGS, c/o US EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4458, email:[e-mail] This was first downloaded by KDFWR in 2005 for the State Wildlife Action Plan and then updated in 2012 again to reflect an updated national shapefile. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources downloaded first the Kentucky Data set https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregion-download-files-state-region-4#pane-15 , but saw that the boundary did match well the Kentucky state boundary maintained by KY Geonet. We then downloaded the national data set obtained from https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-continental-united-statesand intersected to the KY DGI state boundary, For those slivers assigned to unexpected ecoregions (55d Pre-Wisconsinan Drift Plains, 67h Southern Sandstone Ridges, 71m Northern Shawnee Hills, 71n Southern Shawnee Hills, 73c St. Francis Lowlands) we merged to the geographically nearest polygon so that the ecoregions found in this dataset match that in the poster Ecoregions of Kentucky.生态区（Ecoregions）指的是生态系统以及环境资源的类型、质量与数量总体相似的区域。其旨在作为研究、评估、管理及监测生态系统与生态系统组成部分的空间框架。这类通用区域对于在同一地理区域内，为负责不同资源类型的联邦机构、州级机构及非政府组织构建并实施生态系统管理策略而言至关重要。 本地图的编制方法基于以下前提：可通过分析生物与非生物现象的模式来识别生态区域，这些现象涵盖地质学、地貌学、植被、气候、土壤、土地利用、野生动物及水文学。各特征的相对重要性因生态区域而异。 生态区域的不同层级采用了罗马数字分级体系。一级（Level I）为最粗粒度层级，将北美洲划分为15个生态区。二级（Level II）将该大陆划分为50个区域（环境合作委员会工作组，1997）。在三级（Level III）层级中，美国大陆（continental United States）包含104个区域，而美国本土（conterminous United States）则有85个区域（美国环境保护署，2005）。四级（Level IV）生态区是三级生态区的进一步细分。 生态区的界定方法详见Omernik（1995、2004）、Omernik等（2000）以及Gallant等（1989）的研究。 数据下载：https://app.fw.ky.gov/kfwis/kygeonet/ecoregion2012.zip 引用文献： Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the United States (map): Washington, D.C., USFS, scale 1:7,500,000. 贝利（Bailey, R.G.）、埃弗斯（Avers, P.E.）、金（King, T.）和麦克纳布（McNab, W.H.）编辑，1994年，《美国生态区与亚区（地图）》：华盛顿特区，美国林务局（USFS），比例尺1:7,500,000。 Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., and Larsen, D.P., 1999, Ecoregions—a geographic framework to guide risk characterization and ecosystem management: Environmental Practice, v. 1, no. 3, p. 141-155. 布莱斯（Bryce, S.A.）、奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.）和拉森（Larsen, D.P.），1999年，《生态区——指导风险表征与生态系统管理的地理框架》：《环境实践》，第1卷第3期，第141-155页。 Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997, Ecological regions of North America- toward a common perspective: Montreal, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 71 p. 环境合作委员会工作组，1997年，《北美生态区域——迈向共同视角》：蒙特利尔，环境合作委员会，71页。 Gallant, A. L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M., 1989, Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources: Corvallis, Oregon, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA/600/3-89/060, 152p. 加兰特（Gallant, A.L.）、惠蒂尔（Whittier, T.R.）、拉森（Larsen, D.P.）、奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.）和休斯（Hughes, R.M.），1989年，《区域化作为环境资源管理工具》：俄勒冈州科瓦利斯，美国环境保护署，EPA/600/3-89/060，152页。 Griffith, G., Omernik, J., Azevedo, S., 1998, Ecoregions of Tennessee (text, map, summary tables, and photographs): Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:940,000. 格里菲斯（Griffith, G.）、奥默尼克（Omernik, J.）、阿泽维多（Azevedo, S.），1998年，《田纳西州生态区（文本、地图、汇总表及照片）》：弗吉尼亚州雷斯顿，美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey），地图比例尺1:940,000。 McMahon, G., Gregonis, S.M., Waltman, S.W., Omernik, J.M., Thorson, T.D., Freeouf, J.A., Rorick, A.H., and Keys, J.E., 2001, Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States: Environmental Management, v. 28, no. 3, p. 293-316. 麦克马洪（McMahon, G.）、格雷戈尼斯（Gregonis, S.M.）、沃尔特曼（Waltman, S.W.）、奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.）、索尔森（Thorson, T.D.）、弗里奥夫（Freeouf, J.A.）、罗里克（Rorick, A.H.）和基斯（Keys, J.E.），2001年，《为美国本土构建通用生态区域的空间框架》：《环境管理》，第28卷第3期，第293-316页。 Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, p. 118-125, scale 1:7,500,000. 奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.），1987年，《美国本土生态区（地图增刊）》：《美国地理学家协会年鉴》，第77卷，第118-125页，比例尺1:7,500,000。 Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions - a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p.49-62. 奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.），1995年，《生态区——环境管理框架》，收录于戴维斯（Davis, W.S.）和西蒙（Simon, T.P.）编辑的《生物评估与标准——水资源规划与决策工具》：佛罗里达州博卡拉顿，刘易斯出版社，第49-62页。 Omernik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, v. 88, p. 77-103. 奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.）、查普曼（Chapman, S.S.）、利利（Lillie, R.A.）和达姆克（Dumke, R.T.），2000年，《威斯康星州生态区》：《威斯康星州科学、艺术与文学学院学报》，第88卷，第77-103页。 Omernik, J.M., 2004, Perspectives on the nature and definitions of ecological regions: Environmental Management, v. 34, Supplement 1, p. s27-s38. 奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.），2004年，《关于生态区域本质与定义的观点》：《环境管理》，第34卷增刊1，第s27-s38页。 U.S. Department of Agriculture–Soil Conservation Service, 198, Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States: Agriculture Handbook 296, 156 p. 美国农业部–土壤保护局，198，《美国土地资源区域与主要土地资源区》：《农业手册296》，156页。 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, USEPA–National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Map M-1, various scales. 美国环境保护署（U.S. Environmental Protection Agency），2002年，《美国大陆三级生态区（奥默尼克1987年研究的修订版）》：俄勒冈州科瓦利斯，美国环境保护署国家健康与环境效应研究实验室，M-1号地图，多种比例尺。 Wiken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p. 威肯（Wiken, E.），1986年，《加拿大陆地生态区》：渥太华，加拿大环境部，《生态土地分类系列第19号》，26页。 Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Brockman, C.S., Gerber, T.D., Hosteter, W.D., and Azevedo, S.H., 1998, Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio: Reston, USGS, map scale 1:500,000. 伍兹（Woods, A.J.）、奥默尼克（Omernik, J.M.）、布罗克曼（Brockman, C.S.）、格伯（Gerber, T.D.）、霍斯特特（Hosteter, W.D.）和阿泽维多（Azevedo, S.H.），1998年，《印第安纳州与俄亥俄州生态区》：雷斯顿，美国地质调查局（USGS），地图比例尺1:500,000。 关于三级与四级生态区的意见与疑问，请联系格伦·格里菲斯（Glenn Griffith），美国地质调查局，转交美国环境保护署，地址：200 SW 35th Street，科瓦利斯，俄勒冈州97333，电话：[phone]，邮箱：[e-mail]。 备选联系人：詹姆斯·奥默尼克（James Omernik），美国地质调查局，转交美国环境保护署，地址：200 SW 35th Street，科瓦利斯，俄勒冈州97333，电话：[phone]，邮箱：[e-mail]。 本数据集最初由肯塔基鱼类与野生动物资源部（KDFWR）于2005年为《州野生动物行动计划》下载，后于2012年更新以反映最新的全国矢量数据。肯塔基鱼类与野生动物资源部最初下载了肯塔基数据集https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/ecoregion-download-files-state-region-4#pane-15，但发现其边界与肯塔基地理网络（KY Geonet）维护的肯塔基州边界匹配度不佳。随后我们下载了从https://www.epa.gov/eco-research/level-iii-and-iv-ecoregions-continental-united-states获取的全国数据集，并将其与肯塔基州地质信息（KY DGI）的州边界进行空间相交处理。对于被分配至非预期生态区的细碎多边形（包括55d 威斯康星期前漂移平原、67h 南部砂岩岭、71m 北部肖尼丘陵、71n 南部肖尼丘陵、73c 圣弗朗西斯低地），我们将其合并至地理上最邻近的多边形，以使本数据集内的生态区与《肯塔基州生态区》海报中的生态区保持一致。