## Ecoregions of Alaska and Neighboring Territory

### Table of Contents

Identification Information
Data Quality Information
Spatial Data Organization Information
Spatial Reference Information
Entity and Attribute Information
Distribution Information
Metadata Reference Information

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    IDENTIFICATION_INFORMATION

      Citation:
        Citation_Information:
          Originator: Greg Nowacki
          Originator: Page Spencer
          Originator: Terry Brock
          Originator: Michael Fleming
          Originator: Torre Jorgenson
          Publication_Date: 2001
          Title: Ecoregions of Alaska and Neighboring Territory
          Edition:
          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Map
          Publication_Information:
            Publication_Place: Reston, Va
            Publisher: USGS
          Other_Citation_Details:
          Online_Linkage: HTTP://agdc.usgs.gov/data/projects/fhm/
          Larger_Work_Citation:
            Citation_Information:
              Originator:
              Publication_Date:
              Title:
              Publication_Information:
                Publication_Place:
                Publisher:
              Online_Linkage:
      Description:
        Abstract:
          Major ecosystems have been mapped and described for the
          State of Alaska and nearby areas. Ecoregion units are based
          on newly available datasets and field experience of
          ecologists, biologists, geologists and regional experts.
          Recently derived datasets for Alaska included climate
          parameters, vegetation, surficial geology and topography.
          Additional datasets incorporated in the mapping process
          were lithology, soils, permafrost, hydrography, fire regime
          and glaciation. Thirty two units are mapped using a
          combination of the approaches of Bailey (hierarchial), and
          Omernick (integrated). The ecoregions are grouped into two
          higher levels using a "tri-archy" based on climate
          parameters, vegetation response and disturbance processes.
          The ecoregions are described with text, photos and tables
          on the published map.
        Purpose:
          This ecoregions map has been created to incorporate recent
          datasets and an interagency approach to mapping and
          managing Alaska's lands and resources. It combines the
          expertise and approach incorporated in ecosystem mapping
          efforts in the early 1990's (Gallant et al, 1995, Nowacki
          and Brock, 1995). It provides an ecological foundation for
          studying, managing and understanding the ecosystems of
          Alaska and their driving processes.
        Supplemental_Information:
          The Ecoregion units are arranged in two higher levels along
          gradients of climate, vegetation and disturbance processes.
          Thirty two ecoregions fit into eight groups at Level 2, and
          three regimes at Level 1 (Boreal, Maritime and Polar).
          Please refer to the tri-archy found on the back of the
          published map. Written descriptions are located in the
          section of Overview Description, following the individual
          ecoregional descriptions.
          Level 1 Level 2 Ecoregion
          Polar (-like)
                                    Arctic Tundra
                                                                    Beaufort Coastal Plain
                                                                    Brooks Foothills
                                                                    Brooks Range
                                    Bering Tundra
                                                                    Kotzebue Sound Lowlands
                                                                    Seward Peninsula
                                                                    Bering Sea Islands
          Boreal (-like)
                                    Bering Taiga
                                                                    Nulato Hills
                                                                    Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
                                                                    Ahklun Mountains
                                                                    Bristol Bay Lowlands
                                    Intermontane Boreal
                                                                    Kobuk Ridges and Valleys
                                                                    Ray Mountains
                                                                    Davidson Mountains
                                                                    Yukon-Old Crow Basin
                                                                    North Ogilvie Mountains
                                                                    Yukon-Tanana Uplands
                                                                    Tanana-Kuskokwim Lowlands
                                                                    Yukon River Lowlands
                                                                    Kuskokwim Mountains
                                    Alaska Range Transition
                                                                    Lime Hills
                                                                    Alaska Range
                                                                    Cook Inlet Basin
                                                                    Copper River Basin
          Maritime (-like)
                                    Aleutian Meadows
                                                                    Alaska Peninsula
                                                                    Aleutian Islands
                                    Coastal Rainforests
                                                                    Alexander Archipelago
                                                                    Boundary Ranges
                                                                    Chugach-St. Elias Mountains
                                                                    Gulf of Alaska Coast
                                                                    Kodiak Island
                                    Coast Mountains Transition
                                                                    Wrangell Mountains
                                                                    Kluane Range
      Time_Period_of_Content:
        Time_Period_Information:
          Range_of_Dates/Times:
            Beginning_Date:
            Ending_Date:
        Currentness_Reference:
      Status:
        Progress: Complete
        Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed
      Spatial_Domain:
        Bounding_Coordinates:
          West_Bounding_Coordinate: 166.5500
          East_Bounding_Coordinate: -127.8092
          North_Bounding_Coordinate: 71.3910
          South_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.1320
      Keywords:
        Theme:
          Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
          Theme_Keyword: Ecoregions
          Theme_Keyword: Alaska
          Theme_Keyword: Ecosystems
          Theme_Keyword: Ahklun Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Alaska Peninsula
          Theme_Keyword: Alaska Range
          Theme_Keyword: Aleutian Islands
          Theme_Keyword: Alexander Archipelago
          Theme_Keyword: Beaufort Coastal Plain
          Theme_Keyword: Bering Sea Islands
          Theme_Keyword: Boundary Ranges
          Theme_Keyword: Bristol Bay Lowlands
          Theme_Keyword: Brooks Foothills
          Theme_Keyword: Brooks Range
          Theme_Keyword: Chugach-St. Elias Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Cook Inlet Basin
          Theme_Keyword: Copper River Basin
          Theme_Keyword: Davidson Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Gulf of Alaska Coast
          Theme_Keyword: Kluane Range
          Theme_Keyword: Kobuk Ridges and Valleys
          Theme_Keyword: Kodiak Island
          Theme_Keyword: Kotzebue Sound Lowlands
          Theme_Keyword: Kuskokwim Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Lime Hills
          Theme_Keyword: North Ogilvie Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Nulato Hills
          Theme_Keyword: Ray Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Seward Peninsula
          Theme_Keyword: Tanana-Kuskokwim Lowlands
          Theme_Keyword: Wrangell Mountains
          Theme_Keyword: Yukon River Lowlands
          Theme_Keyword: Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta
          Theme_Keyword: Yukon-Old Crow Basin
          Theme_Keyword: Yukon-Tanana Uplands
        Place:
          Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
      Access_Constraints:
      Use_Constraints:
      Point_of_Contact:
        Contact_Information:
          Contact_Organization_Primary:
            Contact_Organization:
            Contact_Person: Greg Nowacki or Page Spencer
          Contact_Position: Ecologist
          Contact_Address:
            Address_Type: mailing and physical address
            Address:
            City:
            State_or_Province:
            Postal_Code:
            Country:
          Contact_Voice_Telephone: 907-586-7920 or 907-257-2625
          Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:
          Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gnowacki@fs.fed.us or page_spencer@nps.gov
          Hours_of_Service:
      Native_Data_Set_Environment:
        ArcView version 3.2 shapefile format
        e:\akrestrends\commonecoregions\ecoreg52alb\akecoregions.shp

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    DATA_QUALITY_INFORMATION

      Attribute_Accuracy:
        Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
      Logical_Consistency_Report:
      Completeness_Report:
      Positional_Accuracy:
        Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
          Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
        Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:
          Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
      Lineage:
        Source_Information:
          Source_Citation:
            Citation_Information:
              Originator: Greg Nowacki
              Originator: Page Spencer
              Originator: Terry Brock
              Originator: Michael Fleming
              Originator: Torre Jorgenson
              Publication_Date: 2001
              Title: Ecoregions of Alaska and Neighboring Territory
              Edition:
              Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map
              Publication_Information:
                Publication_Place: Reston, Va
                Publisher: U S Geological Survey
              Other_Citation_Details:
              Online_Linkage: HTTP://agdc.usgs.gov/data/projects/fhm/
              Larger_Work_Citation:
                Citation_Information:
                  Originator:
                  Publication_Date:
                  Title:
                  Publication_Information:
                    Publication_Place:
                    Publisher:
                  Online_Linkage:
          Source_Scale_Denominator: 2,500,000
          Type_of_Source_Media:
          Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
            Time_Period_Information:
              Range_of_Dates/Times:
                Beginning_Date:
                Ending_Date:
            Source_Currentness_Reference:
          Source_Citation_Abbreviation:
          Source_Contribution:
        Process_Step:
          Process_Description:
          Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation:
          Process_Date:
          Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation:
          Process_Contact:
            Contact_Information:
              Contact_Person_Primary:
                Contact_Organization:
                Contact_Person:
              Contact_Position:
              Contact_Address:
                Address_Type: mailing and physical address
                Address:
                City:
                State_or_Province:
                Postal_Code:
                Country:
              Contact_Voice_Telephone:
              Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:
              Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
              Hours_of_Service:

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    SPATIAL_DATA_ORGANIZATION_INFORMATION

      Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
      Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
        SDTS_Terms_Description:
          SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains
          Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 32

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    SPATIAL_REFERENCE_INFORMATION

      Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
        Planar:
          Map_Projection:
            Map_Projection_Name: Albers Conical Equal Area
            Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:
              Standard_Parallel: 55.000000
              Standard_Parallel: 65.000000
              Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -154.000000
              Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 50.000000
              False_Easting: 0.000000
              False_Northing: 0.000000
          Planar_Coordinate_Information:
            Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: Coordinate pair
            Coordinate_Representation:
              Abscissa_Resolution:
              Ordinate_Resolution:
            Planar_Distance_Units: Meters
        Geodetic_Model:
          Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1927
          Ellipsoid_Name: Sphere
          Semi-major_Axis: 6370997.0000000
          Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: Infinity

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    ENTITY_AND_ATTRIBUTE_INFORMATION

      Detailed_Description:
        Entity_Type:
          Entity_Type_Label: akecoregions.dbf
          Entity_Type_Definition: Shapefile Attribute Table
          Entity_Type_Definition_Source: None
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Area
          Attribute_Definition: Area of polygon
          Attribute_Definition_Source: Software generated
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Unrepresentable_Domain:
              Software computed
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Perimeter
          Attribute_Definition: Perimeter of polygon
          Attribute_Definition_Source: Software generated
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Unrepresentable_Domain:
              Software computed
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Commoner
          Attribute_Definition: Full Ecoregion name
          Attribute_Definition_Source: Author-defined
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Unrepresentable_Domain: Character Field
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Count
          Attribute_Definition: Number of units in each ecoregion
          Attribute_Definition_Source: computed
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Range_Domain:
              Range_Domain_Minimum: 1
              Range_Domain_Maximum: 254
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Level_1
          Attribute_Definition: Full name of Level 1 regime
          Attribute_Definition_Source: author defined
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Unrepresentable_Domain: Character Field
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Level_2
          Attribute_Definition: Full name of Level 2 ecological group
          Attribute_Definition_Source: author defined
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Unrepresentable_Domain: Character Field
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Acres
          Attribute_Definition: Area of each ecoregion
          Attribute_Definition_Source: calculated
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Range_Domain:
              Range_Domain_Minimum: 2.34755e+006
              Range_Domain_Maximum: 3.85908e+007
        Attribute:
          Attribute_Label: Perim_mile
          Attribute_Definition: Perimeter length (miles) for each ecoregion
          Attribute_Definition_Source: calculated
          Attribute_Domain_Values:
            Range_Domain:
              Range_Domain_Minimum: 294.548
              Range_Domain_Maximum: 11462.1
      Overview_Description:
        Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
        Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

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    DISTRIBUTION_INFORMATION

      Distributor:
        Contact_Information:
          Contact_Organization_Primary:
            Contact_Organization: US Geological Survey
            Contact_Person: please use electronic mail to contact webmaster
          Contact_Position:
          Contact_Address:
            Address_Type: mailing and physical address
            Address:
            City:
            State_or_Province:
            Postal_Code:
            Country:
          Contact_Voice_Telephone: please use electronic mail
          Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:
          Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: webmaster@www-eros-afo.wr.usgs.gov
          Hours_of_Service:
      Resource_Description:
        Ecoregions of Alaska and Neighboring Territory
      Distribution_Liability:
        Although these data have been processed successfully on a
        computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Dept of
        the Interior, no warranty expressed or implied is made by
        the Geological Survey or any of the authors regarding the
        utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act
        of distribution constitute any such warranty.
      Standard_Order_Process:
        Digital_Form:
          Digital_Transfer_Information:
            Format_Name:ARCE
          Digital_Transfer_Option:
            Offline_Option:
              Offline_Media:
              Recording_Format:
              Compatibility_Information:
        Fees: none
        Ordering_Instructions:
          download files from AGDC website

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    METADATA_REFERENCE_INFORMATION

      Metadata_Date: November, 2000
      Metadata_Review_Date:
      Metadata_Contact:
        Contact_Information:
          Contact_Organization_Primary:
            Contact_Organization: National Park Service
            Contact_Person: Page Spencer
          Contact_Position: Ecologist
          Contact_Address:
            Address_Type: Mailing and physical address
            Address: please use electronic mail
            City:
            State_or_Province:
            Postal_Code:
            Country:
          Contact_Voice_Telephone:
          Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:
          Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Page_Spencer@nps.gov
          Hours_of_Service:
      Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC CSDGM
      Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
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