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Level IV Ecoregions, Arizona, 2013

Identification Information

Citation
Title
Level IV Ecoregions, Arizona, 2013
Originator
US Environmental Protection Agency
Publisher
U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) - National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL)
Publication Date
2013-04-16T:00:00:00
Geospatial Data Presentation Form
mapDigital
Abstract
Ecoregions by state were extracted from the seamless national shapefile. 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 105 regions whereas the conterminous United States has 85 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011). 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). Literature cited: 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. 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. Environmental Protection Agency. 2011. Level III and IV ecoregions of the continental United States. U.S. EPA, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon, Map scale 1:3,000,000. Available online at: http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/level_iii_iv.htm. Comments and questions regarding Ecoregions should be addressed to Glenn Griffith, USGS, c/o US EPA., 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4465, email:griffith.glenn@epa.gov Alternate: James Omernik, USGS, c/o US EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541)-754-4458, email:omernik.james@epa.gov
Purpose
Ecoregion maps assist managers of aquatic and terrestrial resources to understand the regional patterns of the realistically attainable quality of these resources. This datasets is made available to interested persons through the University of Arizona's instance of Open Geoportal. It has been provided to assist educators, students, researchers, and policy makers in mapping and/or analysis applications.
Supplemental Information
Electronic versions of ecoregion maps and posters as well as other ecoregion resources are available at: http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions.htm. Except for the Great Lakes, waterbodies were merged with surrounding ecoregion polygons, especially along coastlines. Ecoregions were digitized at 1:250,000 scale and are intended for large geographic extents (i.e. states, multiple counties, or river basins). Use for smaller areas, such as individual counties or a 1:24,000 scale map boundary, is not recommended.
Bounding Box
West
-115.88288
East
-108.138986
North
37.635581
South
30.572625
ISO Topic Category
environment
boundaries
location
biota
Theme Keyword
Environment
Surface Water
Natural Resources
Ecosystem
Management
Theme Keyword Thesaurus
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus
Place Keyword
State of Arizona
Place Keyword Thesaurus
GNIS
Place Keyword
United States
Place Keyword Thesaurus
Security Constraints
Status
completed
Maintenance and Update Frequency
asNeeded
Language
eng
Point of Contact
Contact
Marc Weber
Position Name
GIS Analyst
Delivery Point
200 S.W. 35th Street
City
Corvallis
Administrative Area
OR
Postal Code
97333
Email
weber.marc@epa.gov
Phone
(541) 754-4469

Spatial Reference Information

Reference System Identifier
Code
NAD83 (EPSG:4269)
Code Space
EPSG
Version
7.9

Data Quality Information

Absolute External Positional Accuracy
Lineage
Process Step
Description
13) Updated Arizona Level III and IV polygons and metadata
Process Date
2013-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
11) Select State from national geodatabase
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
Dataset renamed from az_eco_l4.shp to Arizona_Level4EcoRegions_2013.shp by Ben Hickson with the University of Arizona Library. Metadata fields corresponding the Open Geoportal Working Group Best Practices Guide (http://opengeoportal.org/working-groups/metadata/) were also updated.
Process Date
Process Step
Description
5) Maps are plotted for visual inspection by two individuals and necessary changes made.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
4) Attributes are added.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
2) All base maps are joined together and errors along the edges are resolved.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
9) Topology errors removed.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
12) metadata
Process Date
2012-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
10) Final QA
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
1) U.S.G.S. 1:250,000 topographic maps are used to delineate the ecoregions. The lines drawn are manually digitized or scanned to produce georeferenced electronic files.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
3) Topology is established and the maps are reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and conformity with the original lines. Corrections are made as needed and topology regenerated.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
8) State and Ecoregion datasets are intersected.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
6) Ecoregions from all available states are merged and dissolved to identify and correct inconsistencies.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00
Process Step
Description
7) Polygons of the corrected seamless ecoregion features are extended beyond the coastal borders.
Process Date
2011-01-01T00:00:00

Distribution Information

Distributor
University of Arizona Library
Online Access
Protocol
Name

Spatial Representation Information

Vector
Topology Level
Vector Object Type
complex
Vector Object Count
348

Metadata Reference Information

Hierarchy Level
Metadata File Identifier
Dataset URI
http://dx.doi.org/10.2458/azu_geo_arizona_level4ecoregions_2013
Metadata Date Stamp
2017-08-16T16:32:09
Metadata Standard Name
ISO 19139 Geographic Information - Metadata - Implementation Specification
Metadata Standard Version
2007
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