National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service(NESDIS)
Global Ecosystems Database Disc B (Beta Version): Chapter 4
Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents (reprojected)
Boundaries
Province
Domain
Division
DATA-SET DESCRIPTION
Data-Set Name: Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents
Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert G. Bailey
USDA Forest Service
Scientific Reference:
Bailey, R.G. 1989. Explanatory supplement to Ecoregions Map
of the Continents. Environmental Conservation, vol. 16,
no. 4, pp 307-309.
Bailey, R.G., 1986. A world ecoregions map for resource
reporting. Environmental Conservation, Vol. 13, No. 3,
pp. 195-202.
SOURCE
Source Data Citation:
Bailey, R.G. 1989/1993. Bailey Ecoregions Map of the
Continents. Digital vector data on a Geographic
(lat/long) global polygon network in ARC/INFO format.
Cambridge, U.K.: World Conservation Monitoring Center.
623 KB in 1 compressed file on floppy disk.
Contributor:
Dr. Mark Collins
World Conservation Monitoring Center
Cambridge, U.K.
Distributor:
World Conservation Monitoring Center
Cambridge, U.K.
Tel: 44 223 277314
Vintage:
1989
Lineage:
(1)Original paper map in an undocumented Russian projection:
Dr. Robert G. Bailey
USDA Forest Service
3825 east Mulberry St.
Ft. Collins, CO 80524, USA
(2)Digitized by:
Robert Waltermire
National Ecology Research Center
4512 McMurry Ave.
Ft. Collins, CO 80525-3400
(3)Resampled to Geographic (lat/long) projection by:
Richard Luxmoore
World Conservation Monitoring Center
Cambridge, U.K.
ORIGINAL DESIGN
Variables:
Bailey's Ecoregions, classed by Domain, Division, and
Province.
Origin:
Multiple paper map sources integrated and modified by Robert
Bailey.
Geographic Reference:
Undocumented Russian projection based on Gerasimov, I.P.
(Ed.) 1964. Types of natural landscapes of the Earth's land
areas. Plate 75, In Fiziko-geograficheskii Atlas Mira
[Physico-geographic Atlas of the World]. USSR Acad. Sci. and
Main Administration of Geodesy and Cartography. Moscow,
USSR, scale = 1:80,000,000.
Geographic Coverage:
Global
Geographic Sampling:
Vector boundary data from original 1:80,000,000 scale,
represented at 1:30,000,000.
Time Period:
Composite of most recent information ca 1960-1980.
Temporal Sampling:
Composite of most recent information ca 1960-1980.
INTEGRATED DATA-SET
Data-Set Citation:
Bailey, R.G. 1989/1993. Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents
from the World Conservation Monitoring Center. Digital
vector data on a .3 minute resolution Geographic
(lat/long) global polygon network and derived raster data
on a 10-minute Geographic (lat/long) 1080x2160 grid. In:
Global Ecosystems Database Version 1.0: Disc B. Boulder,
CO: NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. 1 independent
spatial layer with 3 attributes on CD-ROM. 800 KB in 9 files.
Analyst:
John J. Kineman
Global Ecosystems Database Project
National Geophysical Data Center
3100 Marine St. (Mail Code E/GC1, 325 Broadway)
Boulder, CO 80303
Projection:
Geographic (lat/long)
Spatial Representation:
(1)Vector polygonal classed units at a claimed scale of
1:30,000,000.
(2)10-minute global 1080x2160 grids rasterized from the vector
data.
Temporal Representation:
Static modern composite.
Data Representation:
Classes represented in an attribute values file, linked to
areas by numerical code.
Layers and Attributes:
One vector layer with three attributes; with the same data
represented in three dependent single-attribute raster layers.
Compressed Data Volume:
Approximately 800 KB
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
Bailey, R.G. 1991. Design of ecological networks for
monitoring global change. Environmental Conservation,
Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 173-176.
Bailey, R.G. 1985. The factor of scale in ecosystem mapping.
Environmental Management Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 271-276.
Bailey, R.G. 1987. Suggested hierarchy of criteria for multi-
scale ecosystem mapping. Landscape and Urban Planning,
Vol. 14, pp. 313-319.
Bailey, R.G. 1984. Testing an ecosystem regionalization.
Journal of environmental Management, Vol. 19, pp. 239-248.
Bailey, R.G. 1983. Delineation of ecosystem regions.
Environmental Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 365-373.
Gerasimov, I.P. (Ed.) 1964. Types of natural landscapes of
the Earth's land areas. Plate 75. In Fiziko-
geograficheskii Atlas Mira [Physical-geographic Atlas of
the World]. USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of
Geodesy and Cartography, Moscow. Scale = 1:80,000,000.
DATA FILE DESCRIPTION
DATA ELEMENT: Ecoregion Province
STRUCTURE
Raster data file: 10-minute GED 1080x2160 grid (see User's Guide)
SERIES
NONE
SPATIAL META-DATA:
BEC.DOC
file title : Bailey Ecoregions of the World
data type : byte
file type : binary
columns : 2160
rows : 1080
ref. system : lat/long
ref. units : deg
unit dist. : 1.0000000
min. X : -180.0000000
max. X : 180.0000000
min. Y : -90.0000000
max. Y : 90.0000000
pos'n error : 0.5000000
resolution : 0.5000000
min. value : 0
max. value : 100
value units : classes
value error : unknown
flag value : none
flag def'n : none
legend cats : 101
category 0 : background
category 1 : 1 POLAR DOMAIN: ICECAP DIVISION:
category 2 : 2 POLAR DOMAIN: ICECAP REGIME MOUNTAINS:
category 3 : 3 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION:
CONTINENTAL DARK EVERGREEN NEEDLELEAF OPEN FOREST
category 4 : 4 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION:
CONTINENTAL LIGHT DECIDUOUS NEEDLELEAF OPEN FOREST
category 5 : 5 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION: EASTERN OCEANIC TAYGA
category 6 : 6 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION: MODERATE
CONTINENTAL DARK EVERGREEN NEEDLELEAF TAYGA
category 7 : 7 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION:
CONTINENTAL DARK EVERGREEN NEEDLELEAF TAYGA
category 8 : 8 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION: CONTINENTAL AND
EXTREME CONTINENTAL LIGHT DECIDUOUS TAYGA
category 9 : 9 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION: MODERATE
CONTINENTAL SMALL-LEAFED FOREST
category 10 : 10 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC DIVISION:
CONTINENTAL MIXED CONIFEROUS AND SMALL-LEAFED FOREST
category 11 : 11 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS:
OPEN WOODLAND-TUNDRA
category 12 : 12 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS:
OPEN WOODLAND-CREEPING TREES-TUNDRA
category 13 : 13 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS:
FOREST-TUNDRA OF MODERATELY AND CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 14 : 14 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS:FOREST-
CREEPING TREES-TUNDRA OF EXTREME CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 15 : 15 POLAR DOMAIN: SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS:
OCEANIC FOREST-TUNDRA
category 16 : 16 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA DIVISION: POLAR DESERTS
category 17 : 17 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA DIVISION: ARCTIC TUNDRAS
category 18 : 18 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA DIVISION: OCEANIC
MOSS-AND-GRASS TUNDRA
category 19 : 19 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA DIVISION: CONTINENTAL
MOSS-AND-LICHEN (TYPICAL) TUNDRA
category 20 : 20 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA DIVISION: CONTINENTAL
BUSH-AND-SHRUB TUNDRA
category 21 : 21 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA REGIME MOUNTAINS:
TUNDRA-POLAR DESERT
category 22 : 22 POLAR DOMAIN: TUNDRA REGIME MOUNTAINS: POLAR DESERT
category 23 : 23 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: HOT CONTINENTAL DIVISION:
PERMANENTLY HUMID EASTERN OCEANIC BROADLEAF FORESTS
category 24 : 24 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: HOT CONTINENTAL
DIVISION: MODERATELY HUMID BROADLEAF FOREST IN
MODERATELY CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 25 : 25 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: HOT CONTINENTAL
REGIME MOUNTAINS: FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS
category 26 : 26 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE DIVISION:
OCEANIC MEADOW
category 27 : 27 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE DIVISION:
WESTERN OCEANIC CONIFEROUS AND MIXED FORESTS
category 28 : 28 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE DIVISION:
PERMANENTLY HUMID WEST OCEANIC BROADLEAF FORESTS
category 29 : 29 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE DIVISION:
WESTERN OCEANIC TAYGA
category 30 : 30 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: OCEANIC MEADOW-TUNDRA
category 31 : 31 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: OCEANIC FOREST-TUNDRA
category 32 : 32 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MARINE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS
category 33 : 33 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MEDITERRANEAN
DIVISION: WESTERN OCEANIC MIXED SCLEROPHYLL
FORESTS AND SHRUB
category 34 : 34 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MEDITERRANEAN
DIVISION: DRY STEPPES AND SHRUB OF MODERATE
CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 35 : 35 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MEDITERRANEAN REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS OF WESTERN
OCEANIC (MEDITERRANEAN) CLIMATE
category 36 : 36 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: MEDITERRANEAN REGIME
MTNS: SHRUB-FOREST-MEADOW OF MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE
category 37 : 37 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE DIVISION:
TEMPERATE PRAIRIES (HUMID STEPPES AND WOODED
STEPPES) OF EASTERN PARTS OF CONTINENTS
category 38 : 38 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE DIVISION:
BROADLEAF-WOODED STEPPES AND MEADOW STEPPES OF
MODERATELY CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 39 : 39 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE DIVISION:
SMALL-LEAFED AND CONIFEROUS WOODED STEPPES OF
CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 40 : 40 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE DIVISION:
OPEN WOODLAND, SAVANNAS, AND SHRUB OF EASTERN
PARTS OF CONTINENTS
category 41 : 41 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE DIVISION:
SUBTROPICAL PRAIRIES (HUMID STEPPES AND WOODED
STEPPES) OF EASTERN PARTS OF CONTINENTS
category 42 : 42 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: CONTINENTAL STEPPE-FOREST-TUNDRA AND
STEPPE-FOREST-MEADOW
category 43 : 43 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: PRAIRIE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS
category 44 : 44 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: SUBTROPICAL
DIVISION: OCEANIC MIXED CONSTANTLY HUMID FORESTS
category 45 : 45 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: SUBTROPICAL REGIME MTNS:
FOREST-MEADOW OF EASTERN OCEANIC (MONSOON CLIMATE)
category 46 : 46 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: SUBTROPICAL REGIME MTNS:
OCEANIC CONSTANTLY HUMID FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS
category 47 : 47 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: WARM CONTINENTAL
DIVISION: EASTERN OCEANIC MIXED MONSOON FOREST
category 48 : 48 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: WARM CONTINENTAL
DIVISION: MODERATE CONTINENTAL MIXED FORESTS
category 49 : 49 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: WARM CONTINENTAL
REGIME MOUNTAINS: OCEANIC FOREST-TUNDRA
category 50 : 50 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: WARM CONTINENTAL
REGIME MOUNTAINS: OCEANIC FOREST-CREEPING TREES
category 51 : 51 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN: WARM CONTINENTAL
REGIME MOUNTAINS: FOREST-TUNDRA OF MODERATELY
CONTINENTAL AND CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 52 : 52 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION:
SEMI-DESERTS AND DESERTS OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 53 : 53 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION:
SEMI-DESERTS OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 54 : 54 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION:
DESERTS OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 55 : 55 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION:
SEMI-DESERTS OF EXTREME CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 56 : 56 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION:
DESERTS OF EXTREME CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 57 : 57 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE DESERT REGIME
MOUNTAINS: EXTREME CONTINENTAL DESERT-STEPPE
category 58 : 58 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE STEPPE DIVISION: DRY
STEPPES OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 59 : 59 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE STEPPE DIVISION:
STEPPES OF MODERATELY CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 60 : 60 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE STEPPE DIVISION: DRY
STEPPES OF EXTREME CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 61 : 61 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE STEPPE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-ALPINE MEADOWS
category 62 : 62 DRY DOMAIN: TEMPERATE STEPPE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: CONTINENTAL OPEN WOODLAND-STEPPE
category 63 : 63 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
DIVISION: SHRUB AND SEMI-SHRUB SEMI-DESERTS AND
DESERTS OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 64 : 64 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
DIVISION: SEMI-DESERTS AND DESERTS
category 65 : 65 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
DIVISION: INNER CONTINENTAL SHRUB SEMI-DESERT
category 66 : 66 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT DIVISION:
INNER CONTINENTAL DESERTS OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 67 : 67 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
DIVISION: WESTERN OCEANIC SEMI-DESERTS AND
DESERTS WITH HIGH RELATIVE HUMIDITY
category 68 : 68 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
DIVISION: INNER CONTINENTAL SEMI-DESERTS AND
DESERTS OF EXTREME CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 69 : 69 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
REGIME MOUNTAINS: DESERT-STEPPE AND
DESERT-STEPPE-DESERT OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 70 : 70 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
REGIME MOUNTAINS: EXTREME CONTINENTAL DESERT
category 71 : 71 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
REGIME MOUNTAINS: DESERT-STEPPE
category 72 : 72 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT
REGIME MOUNTAINS: DESERT
category 73 : 73 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVSION:
STEPPES & SHRUB OF MODERATE CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 74 : 74 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVISION:
DRY STEPPES OPEN WOODLAND & SHRUB OF CONT. CLIMATE
category 75 : 75 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVISION:
SHRUB AND SEMI-SHRUB SEMI-DESERTS OF CONT. CLIMATE
category 76 : 76 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVISION:
DESERT-LIKE SAVANNAS, OPEN WOODLAND, AND SHRUB
category 77 : 77 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVISION:
DRY STEPPES AND SHRUB OF MODERATE CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 78 : 78 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-MEADOW-STEPPE OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 79 : 79 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE REGIME
MOUNTAINS: OPEN WOODLAND-STEPPE OF CONTINENTAL CLIMATE
category 80 : 80 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE
REGIME MOUNTAINS: OPEN WOODLAND-SHRUB-DESERT
category 81 : 81 DRY DOMAIN: TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE
REGIME MOUNTAINS: OPEN WOODLAND-STEPPE
category 82 : 82 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST DIVISION:
EASTERN OCEANIC CONSTANTLY HUMID FORESTS
category 83 : 83 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST DIVISION:
MIXED FORESTS WITH SHORT DRY SEASON
category 84 : 84 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST DIVISION:
CONSTANTLY HUMID EVERGREEN FORESTS
category 85 : 85 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST DIVISION:
HUMID FORESTS WITH SHORT DRY SEASON
category 86 : 86 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST REGIME MTNS:
FOREST-MEADOW OF CONSTANTLY HUMID ETRN OCEANIC TYPE
category 87 : 87 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-PARAMO AND FOREST-MEADOW OF
CONSTANTLY HUMID OCEANIC (AND WINDWARD-SLOPE) TYPE
category 88 : 88 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: RAINFOREST REGIME
MOUNTAINS: FOREST-PARAMO AND FOREST-MEADOW
category 89 : 89 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION:
SEASONALLY HUMID MIXED (DECIDUOUS & EVERGREEN)
FORESTS
category 90 : 90 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION:
SAVANNAS, OPEN WOODLAND AND SHRUB WITH SEASONAL
MOISTURE SUPPLY
category 91 : 91 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION:
SEASONALLY HUMID, PREDOMINANTLY DECIDUOUS FORESTS
category 92 : 92 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION:
HUMID TALL-GRASS SAVANNAS AND SAVANNA FORESTS
category 93 : 93 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION:
MODERATELY HUMID GRASSY SAVANNAS
category 94 : 94 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA DIVISION: DRY
SAVANNAS AND OPEN WOODLAND
category 95 : 95 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA REGIME DIVISION:
FOREST-STEPPE AND FOREST-MEADOW OF SEASONALLY HUMID TYPE
category 96 : 96 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA REGIME
DIVISION: FOREST-MEADOW, SEASONALLY HUMID
category 97 : 97 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN: SAVANNA REGIME DIVISION:
FOREST-STEPPE, INNER CONTINENTAL AND LEEWARD SLOPES
category 98 : not used
category 99 : not used
category100 : 100 LAKES
comment : classes are unique occurances from the original
Arc/Info polygon attribute table (PAT)
lineage : Projection corrected at the World Conservation
Monitoring Center
lineage : Converted from Arc/Info coverage at the National
Geophysical Data
lineage : Rasterized at 10-minute grid at the National
Geophysical Data Center
ATTRIBUTE META-DATA: NONE
NOTES:
(1) Units are identical to those in the vector file
(2) Legend includes Domain and Division names
DATA ELEMENT: Ecoregion Domain
STRUCTURE:
Raster data file:10-minute GED 1080x2160 grid
(see User's Guide)
SERIES: NONE
SPATIAL META-DATA: BECDOM.DOC
file title : Bailey's Ecoregions of the World - Domain
data type : byte
file type : binary
columns : 2160
rows : 1080
ref. system : lat/long
ref. units : deg
unit dist. : 1.0000000
min. X : -180.0000000
max. X : 180.0000000
min. Y : -90.0000000
max. Y : 90.0000000
pos'n error : unknown
resolution : 0.5000000
min. value : 0
max. value : 5
value units : classes
value error : unknown
flag value : 0
flag def'n : no data
legend cats : 6
category 0 : 0 background
category 1 : 1 100 POLAR DOMAIN
category 2 : 2 200 HUMID TEMPERATE DOMAIN
category 3 : 3 300 DRY DOMAIN
category 4 : 4 400 HUMID TROPICAL DOMAIN
category 5 : 5 Lakes
ATTRIBUTE META-DATA: NONE
NOTES:
(1) Units are reclassed from BEC.IMG
DATA ELEMENT: Ecoregion Division
STRUCTURE:
Raster data file:10-minute GED 1080x2160 grid (see User's Guide)
SERIES: NONE
SPATIAL DATA FILES: BECDIV.DOC
file title : Bailey's Ecoregions of the Continents -- Division
data type : byte
file type : binary
columns : 2160
rows : 1080
ref. system : lat/long
ref. units : deg
unit dist. : 1.0000000
min. X : -180.0000000
max. X : 180.0000000
min. Y : -90.0000000
max. Y : 90.0000000
pos'n error : unknown
resolution : 0.5000000
min. value : 0
max. value : 31
value units : classes
value error : unknown
flag value : 0
flag def'n : no data [and background]
legend cats : 32
category 0 : 0 no data
category 1 : 1 110 ICECAP DIVISION
category 2 : 2 M110 SUBARCTIC DIVISION
category 3 : 3 130 SUBARCTIC DIVISION
category 4 : 4 M130 SUBARCTIC REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 5 : 5 120 TUNDRA DIVISION
category 6 : 6 M120 TUNDRA REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 7 : 7 220 HOT CONTINENTAL DIVISION
category 8 : 8 M220 HOT CONTINENTAL REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 9 : 9 240 MARINE DIVISION
category 10 : 10 M240 MARINE REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 11 : 11 260 MEDITERRANEAN DIVISION
category 12 : 12 M260 MEDITERRANEAN REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 13 : 13 250 PRAIRIE DIVISION
category 14 : 14 M250 PRAIRIE REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 15 : 15 230 SUBTROPICAL DIVISION
category 16 : 16 M230 SUBTROPICAL REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 17 : 17 210 WARM CONTINENTAL DIVISION
category 18 : 18 M210 WARM CONTINENTAL REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 19 : 19 340 TEMPERATE DESERT DIVISION
category 20 : 20 M340 TEMPERATE DESERT REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 21 : 21 330 TEMPERATE STEPPE DIVISION
category 22 : 22 M330 TEMPERATE STEPPE REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 23 : 23 320 TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT DIVISION
category 24 : 24 M320 TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL DESERT REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 25 : 25 310 TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE DIVISION
category 26 : 26 M310 TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL STEPPE REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 27 : 27 420 RAINFOREST DIVISION
category 28 : 28 M420 RAINFOREST REGIME MOUNTAINS
category 29 : 29 410 SAVANNA DIVISION
category 30 : 30 M410 SAVANNA REGIME DIVISION
category 31 : 31 Lakes
ATTRIBUTE META-DATA: NONE
NOTES
(1)Units are reclassed from BEC.IMG
TECHNICAL REPORT
John J. Kineman
National Geophysical Data Center
3100 Marine St. (Mail Code E/GC1, 325 Broadway)
Boulder, CO 80303
Source Data:
The source dataset was obtained through Mark Collins of the World
Conservation Monitoring Center in U.K. following various
unsuccessful attempts to unproject the original digital version
provided to us by the National Ecology Research Laboratory
(Digitized by Robert Waltermire from Robert Bailey's original
map). The original map was thought to conform to an unknown
Ginsberg modified Polyconic projection, but we were only able to
confirm that it is based on a Russian projection used in the
Gerasimov atlas (see Additional References, above). A copy of the
Gerasimov atlas resides at NGDC in Boulder, and NGDC has close
contacts with the cartographic institute which produced the atlas
(part of the former USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow). These
contacts provided the following information about the projection
used for Plate 75 of the atlas (which was apparently the base map
for Bailey's work):
1. The projection is a modified polyconic projection of
the USSR Geodetic and Cartographic Institute (Academy of Sciences).
2. In 1971 the projection was approximated at the
institute by computer analysis using 9th order polynomials
in latitude and longitude, with control points on a 5 degree
grid. Otherwise, there is no known mathematical transformation.
The polynomial approximation techniques developed in Moscow for
reprojection are similar to most rubber-sheeting methods (which
also use polynomial approximation). Since the WCMC version was
already done, and was kindly made available for the project, we
decided to use that version.
Original Documentation:
The following information is extracted from documentation of
November 27, 1990 for the "ECOREGIONS OF THE CONTINENTS DATA
BASE" distributed with the original version of the dataset by the
National Ecology Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
4512 McMurray Avenue, Ft. Collins, CO 80525-3400:
The National Ecology Research Center digitized the
Ecoregions of the Continents map (Robert G. Bailey, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, 1989)
at a scale of 1:30,000,000 from a paper source. Arc/Info
Version 5.01 software was used to digitize the map in table
inches using an Altek Model 34.3 tablet with a resolution of
.001" (.0254 mm) and an accuracy of +/- .003" (+/- .08 mm).
The center was unable to determine which [projection] was used.
Since the projection and specific parameters of the source
map are unknown, it is not possible to accurately transform
the ECOWRLD coverage to projected units. USERS OF THE
ECOWRLD COVERAGE (in table inches) ARE ADVISED THAT THE
NATIONAL ECOLOGY RESEARCH CENTER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY
FOR A TRANSFORMATION OF THE EXISTING COVERAGE OR FOR RESULTS
OBTAINED FROM A RUBBER SHEETING PROCESS.
Rubber sheeting can be applied if a generous number of
control points are used. The accuracy of the final product,
however, may still be in question depending on the number
and accuracy of the links used (Andrew Duff, ESRI, personal
communication).
WCMC Documentation:
The data were provided to us from WCMC on floppy disk as an
Arc/Info Export file in compressed format. Documentation supplied
with the WCMC version provides the following information:
Information Content:
Digital data obtained from the Ecology Research Center, US
Fish and Wildlife Service. The data has been digitized in
table inches using an Altek Model 34-3 tablet with a
resolution of 0.254 mm and an accuracy of +/- .003 inches
(+/-) .08 mm) in ARC/INFO v.5.01. The projection of the map
was unknown, although tic locations were provided. The
transformation of the tic points was unsuccessful so the
data [were] transformed up to World Data[bank] II and then
rubber sheeted using over 7000 links. Rubber Sheeting was
applied at WCMC. The (polygon) data is presented with a
single polygon attribute file for each coverage.
Description of coverage Bailey [from ARC/INFO]:
Precision single
ARCS POLYGONS
Arcs = 1574 Polygons = 633
Segments = 40213 Polygon Topology is present
0 bytes of Arc Attribute Data 186 bytes of Polygon Attribute
Data
NODES POINTS
Nodes = 1599 Label Points = 632
0 bytes of Node Attribute Data
TOLERANCES SECONDARY FEATURES
Fuzzy = 0.006 V Tics = 288
Dangle = 0.000 N Links = 0
COVERAGE BOUNDARY
Xmin = -180.000 Ymin = -90.000
Xmax = 180.000 Ymax = 90.000
COORDINATE SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Projection GEOGRAPHIC
Units DD Spheroid CLARK1866
The following table lists the original control points from NERC
and those provided in the WCMC reprojected coverage:
IDTIC XTIC(Orig) YTIC(Orig) XTIC(WCMC) YTIC(WCMC)
1 -180 60 -.1799959E+03 0.5999799E+02
2 0 80 0.0000000E+00 0.7999663E+02
3 80 80 0.7999514E+02 0.7999663E+02
4 180 60 0.1799959E+03 0.5999799E+02
5 160 20 0.1599998E+03 0.1999937E+02
6 160 -20 0.1599998E+03 -19.999370
7 180 -60 0.1799959E+03 -59.997990
8 120 -80 0.1199927E+03 -79.996630
9 -20 -80 -19.998790 -79.996630
10 -180 -60 -179.995900 -59.997990
11 -140 -20 -139.999800 -19.999370
12 -140 20 -.1399998E+03 0.1999937E+02
13 -40 20 -.3999995E+02 0.1999937E+02
14 80 20 0.7999991E+02 0.1999937E+02
15 80 -20 0.7999991E+02 -19.999370
16 -40 -20 -39.999950 -19.999370
This suggests agreement to about three decimal places, however it
is uncertain if the WCMC tic coordinates are those reprojected
from original table inches after determining the rubber sheeting
parameters, or if they were used as part of the control point
array (in which case the agreement could not be taken as a
general result for the overall map).
Data Integration:
The WCMC version of the Bailey's Ecoregions dataset was exported
from PC Arc/Info v.3.4D Plus to Idrisi 4.0 preserving coordinate
precision to three decimal places and using region codes created
from unique combinations of fields in the attribute table. Thus
BEC.VEC is a vector data file with polygon IDs corresponding to
codes that were assigned for each of the Bailey Ecoregion
classes. The codes were created by numbering the unique
occurrences of Domain, Division, and Province in the dataset.
The resulting vector polygon file was also rasterized into a 10-
minute global image file (BEC.IMG) in the GED format (see User's
Guide). The attributes Domain and Division were similarly coded
from the Polygon Attribute Table and assigned to the Ecoregions
map to produce derived raster layers. Both BECDOM and BECDIV are
thus simple reclassifications of BEC. Since the Province
attribute is essentially the same as the BEC classes, a separate
image/map was not created for it. The descriptive legend for the
numerically coded classes in BEC was created by combining the
information for Domain, Division, & Province from attribute table.
Quality Control and Testing:
Various quality checks were performed during and after the
integration process. First, visual comparisons were made with
Micro World Data Bank II in Arc/Info and Idrisi. Micro World
Databank II is the standard georeference adopted by the GED
Project, and is considered acceptable to 2 minute resolution
(.033 deg.). Distance measurements were made in random areas
appearing to have the greatest and/or characteristic
disagreement. On this subjective basis, disagreements along the
coast approaching 1-degree were found. This, however, does not
appear to be an error in the re-projection process, since the
MWDBII vectors are far more detailed than the Bailey polygon
boundaries and no systematic or regional patterns of disagreement
(i.e., consistent displacements in one direction or another over
a significant region) were noticeable. Projection errors would be
especially evident in the polar regions in such a visual
comparison, but again, the general agreement between MWDBII
coasts and the BEC coasts seemed consistent. Overall registration
differences between the two data sets appeared to be considerably
less than the mean difference between the coastlines, again
supporting the hypothesis that discrepancies were primarily due
to the resolution of the Bailey Ecoregion data, rather than
projection or registration errors.
More rigorous statistical comparisons were performed to test the
registration and general agreement with MWDBII coastlines.
Accuracy of Coastline compared to Micro World Data Bank II:
Mean distance between coastlines between the Bailey dataset and
MWDBII Coasts were calculated on a 10-minute raster grid by first
producing a distance map from the land/water boundary in the
Bailey dataset, then extracting statistics using the MWDBII
coastline as the extraction feature. The results of this test were:
Mean coastline offset: .22 deg.
Maximum offset: 3.5 deg.
standard deviation of offset: .32 deg.
This indicates that about 90% of the coastal points are
within .5 deg.
Registration:
Next, registration was tested by perturbing the origin in the
above analysis, so that comparisons were made with a one pixel
offset in four orthogonal directions. The results of this test
were:
perturbation mean coastal offset
(x+1, y+1) : .25
(x-1, y-1): .24
(x+1,y-1): .25
(x-1,y+1): .25
Mean coastal offset will increase with increasing mis-
registration, and as expected increased mis-registration occurred
in all four directions. This indicates that no registration
error is detectable at 10-minute resolution.
Distance between points along a polygon boundary:
As a final check, statistics were produced (using a program
developed by Mark Ohrenschall of NGDC) on the point spacing
within the Bailey vector data. The results of this test were:
all points weighted equally means by polygon
s.d. by polygon
Mean point spacing: .33 .33 .2
standard deviation: .5 .1 ---
maximum: *8 .9 2.8
+ excluding straight lines, which can have point spreads up
to 58 degrees.
This indicates about 20 minute resolution at 70% confidence, 30
minute resolution at 80%, and about 50 minute resolution at 99%.
Also, the polygon resolutions are evenly distributed (mean = mean
of polygon means), and fairly consistent (s.d. of the polygon
mean point spacing = .1); although point spacings approaching 1
deg. were common among polygons. The average (across polygons) of
standard deviations of spacings within polygons was .2. The
maximum s.d. of spacings within a polygon was 2.8.
Conclusion:
One must remember that grid resolution, i.e., the spacing or size
of raster cells, is not the same as feature resolution. For a
raster representation of this dataset that does not loose
information, a 10-minute grid was necessary, although the spatial
resolution of the data is no better than .5 degree and may
approach 1 degree. This is because resolution of vector data
varies between features, and is different for relative locations
of polygon boundaries than it is for absolute locations or
information internal to those boundaries.
A feature resolution of between .3 and .8 deg seems like a good
estimate overall. This is supported by the mean point spacing
along lines as well as the mean locational error of the
coastlines. It is interesting how well this corresponds (assuming
a digitizing accuracy of 1 mm) to the mixed scales, 1:30,000,000
for the original Bailey map and USDA Forest Service digitized
version, and 1:80,000,000 for the Russian data published in the
Gerasimov atlas, which was used as a major source.
For the raster images, representation at 10-minutes was chosen to
preserve boundary relationships and relative detail. A general
rule of thumb in remote sensing is that ground resolution is
generally limited to about 2-3 pixels. The same ratio thus exists
for a 10-minute raster version of this dataset (resolvable to
only .5 degree information). The difference between
representation and resolution is thus apparent and unavoidable.
The comparisons performed to test resolution and registration
show that the rubber sheeting process performed by WCMC was
successful and probably an order of magnitude more accurate than
the data in both projection and registration. Nevertheless, this
was tested only along the coastlines (unless the tic points were
preserved for testing and not used as control points in the
rubber sheeting process - this would have to be confirmed with
WCMC). Position error of the coastline was consistent with the
point spacing.
*BAILEY ECOREGIONS OF THE CONTINENTS (REPROJECTED)
ANCILLARY ENVIRONMENTAL DATA
Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents #\data\ncillary\bec.img
Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents - Domain
#\data\ncillary\becdom.img
Bailey Ecoregions of the Continents - Division
#\data\ncillary\becdiv.img
The data are available with their original sampling on the Global Ecosystems Database Disk A, available from: