Concept in Definition ABC

Certain territories have a series of common environmental characteristics, such as the weather, the variety of animal species, vegetation or soil conditions. To refer to these areas, the term ecoregion or bioregion is used. From the point of biodiversity These geographic areas are divided into two blocks: terrestrial and marine.

Countries such as Argentina, Peru and Panama have different ecoregions in their geographic area

In Argentina there are a total of 15 ecoregions and among them we can highlight the Yungas Jungle, the Atacama puna, the High Andes, the dry and humid Chaco or the Paranaense Jungle. If we take the latter as a reference, it should be noted that its extension goes beyond the Argentine borders, since this ecoregion includes the territories of Brazil and Paraguay.

The Paranaense Forest stands out for its humid tropical climate, for the high number of birds and some native plant species.

Traditionally the territory Peru has been divided into three natural regions: the jungle, the highlands and the coast. However, from the point of view of

biogeography, there are a total of 11 ecoregions. Among them stands out the desert the Pacific, the equatorial dry forest, the tropical sea and the bed sheet of palm trees.

The area of ​​Panama is not extensive, as it reaches 74,000 square kilometers (approximately half of Nicaragua, another Central American country with little area). Despite this, it stands out for its biodiversity and for the high number of ecoregions. These include forested areas such as the Chocó-Darién, tropical rivers such as the Tuira or the Chiriqui, the Nicoya Peninsula or the Isthmian humid forests.

The World Wide Fund for Nature or WWF is the non-governmental organization that identifies the different ecoregions of the planet and promotes their preservation

According to the WWF, there are eight ecozones throughout the planet and more than 800 ecoregions are distributed in them (each ecoregion constitutes a biome specific).

Some ecoregions are especially fragile and as a consequence the fauna and flora of their habitats are threatened or in danger. danger of extinction. This is what happens to the acacia forests of the basin of the Senegal River, the Murray River wetlands in Australia, the Alaskan forests or the lowland rainforest of Peru (the latter is one of the areas with the greatest biodiversity of species on the entire planet).

In order to face environmental degradation, recovery strategies are put in place in which the preservation of nature and human activities are compatible.

Photos: Fotolia - NicoElNino / Kwest

Topics in Ecoregion