British Columbia: Ecosystem Classification System

The Catt-Trax2 Team — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 14:50:53 -0800

Report prepared by students in BCIT’s Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program.

B.C. is the most ecologically diverse province in Canada. There have been attempts to identify, classify, and map the extraordinary diversity of B.C.’s ecosystems. Dr. V.J Krajina, a plant ecologist in the Department of Botany at the University of British Columbia, developed a system to classify the ecosystems or “biogeoclimatic zones” by their climates and their dominant vegetation. The biogeoclimatic ecosystem classification (BEC) system was adopted by the provincial Ministry of Forests in the 1970s and is still used today to classify and manage ecosystems on a site-specific basis.

An ecosystem can be defined as the dynamic interactions between organisms (i.e., plants, animals and microorganisms) and their environment working together as a functional unit. In BEC, the definition of an ecosystem is more specific and can be thought of as the interactions between climate and soil that determine the vegetation in a particular area. Each biogeoclimatic zone in B.C. incorporates three levels of classification as the name implies. “Bio” refers to the biological characteristics of the ecosystem. “Geo” refers to the soil and geology of the area. And, “climatic” refers to the climate of the zone. These three levels together help predict which plants will grow in a certain area, and thereby the biogeoclimatic zone is classified by the dominant vegetation type.

There are fourteen major zones in the province: Coastal Western Hemlock, Interior Cedar Hemlock, Coastal Douglas-fir, Interior Douglas-fir, Ponderosa Pine, Bunchgrass, Montane Spruce, Engelmann Spruce, Subalpine Fir, Mountain Hemlock, Sub-boreal Spruce, Sub-boreal Pine, Spruce, Boreal White and Black Spruce, Spruce-Willow-Birch, and Alpine Tundra. These zones can be subdivided into subzones and divided further into subzone variants according to vegetation, climate, and elevation.

It is important to identify, classify and map the immense biodiversity in B.C. for a number of reasons. It helps foresters, ecologists, and biologists manage B.C. forests and grasslands by predicting the potential plant communities and species composition. The plant communities in turn predict the wildlife species that may inhabit the zone. The BEC system is also an important way to monitor changes in the biodiversity within and among the ecosystems. This system of classification provides us with a detailed method for mapping and describing the ecology of B.C.

References:

Cannings, R. and S. Cannings. 2004. British Columbia A Natural History. Vancouver:
Greystone Books. pp. 92–93.

Medinger, D. and J. Pojar eds. 1991. Ecosystems of British Columbia. British Columbia
Ministry of Forests. Victoria: Crown Publications. pp. 1–5.

Marcoux, D. Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification. Selkirk College. http://selkirk.ca/rr/bec/zones

Peru: Major Landscapes and Ecosystems

The Catt-Trax2 Team — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:39:33 -0800

Report prepared by Allison Hebert and Gabrielle Osswald, students in BCIT's Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program.

Peru consists of three major landscapes:

The Western Coastal Plains

The coast is made up of deserts, beautiful beaches, and fertile valleys. The Peruvian coastline is formed by a long winding desert located between the sea and the mountains.

Patacancha Valley
The Andes

The Andes rise 6,000 m or 19,700 feet above sea level, separating the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon jungle basin. From the depths of the Peru-Chile trench, just off the Peruvian coast, to the Andean peaks is a difference in altitude of more than 12,192 m - within a distance of 80 km. Peru has had to deal with the effects of the El Niño Current for centuries. For example, the southern Sierra is periodically subjected to severe draughts every eight-ten years.

The Jungles of the Amazon Basin

Almost half of Peru lies within the Amazon Basin. The dense Amazon Jungle is home to over fifty percent of the planet's rainforests. It is a vast and, for the most part, inaccessible region, and is sparsely populated. It is believed to be the most biologically diverse region in the world. Almost two-thirds of Peru is forested and amazingly, almost ninety percent of the original forest remains.

Catt-Trax 2 - ecosystem

British Columbia: Ecosystem Classification System

References:

Peru: Major Landscapes and Ecosystems

Peru consists of three major landscapes:

The Western Coastal Plains

Patacancha Valley
The Andes

The Jungles of the Amazon Basin

Related Links

Catt-Trax 2 - ecosystem

British Columbia: Ecosystem Classification System

References:

Peru: Major Landscapes and Ecosystems

Peru consists of three major landscapes:

The Western Coastal Plains

Patacancha Valley The Andes

The Jungles of the Amazon Basin

Related Links

Patacancha Valley
The Andes