ds402_ecoregions

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Publication_Date: 2005

Title: ds402_ecoregions

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Other_Citation_Details:

Woods, A.J., Omernik, J.M., Butler, D.R., Ford, J.G., Henley, J.E., Hoagland, B.W., Arndt, D.S., and Moran, B.C., 2005, Ecoregions of Oklahoma (color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs): U.S. Geological Survey (map scale 1:1,250,000).

Online_Linkage: <ftp://ftp.epa.gov/wed/ecoregions/ok/ok_eco.zip>

Description:

Abstract:

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by the probable response to disturbance (Bryce and others, 1999).
Ecoregions are general purpose regions that 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 in the same geographical areas (Omernik and others, 2000). A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 52 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997). At level III, the continental United States contains 104 regions; whereas, the conterminous United States has 84 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). Level IV ecoregions are further subdivisions of level III ecoregions. Methods used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to define the ecoregions are explained in Omernik (1995, 2004), Omernik and others (2000), and Gallant and others (1989).
The Oklahoma ecoregion map was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000; this map revises and subdivides an earlier level III ecoregion map that was originally compiled at a smaller scale (Omernik, 1987; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005). The approach used to compile the Oklahoma ecoregion map is based on the premise that ecoregions can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic characteristics that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken, 1986; Omernik, 1987, 1995). These characteristics include physiography, geology, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, fish, hydrology, and vegetation (including "potential natural vegetation", defined by Küchler (1964, p.2) as "vegetation that would exist today" if human influence ended and "the resulting plant succession" was "telescoped into a single moment"). The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecoregion to another regardless of ecoregion hierarchical level.
Twelve level III ecoregions and 46 level IV ecoregions are defined in Oklahoma; all but 12 of these level IV ecoregions continue into ecologically similar parts of adjacent states (Chapman and others, 2001, 2002; Griffith and others, 2004; Woods and others, 2004). The Oklahoma ecological diversity is strongly related to varied climate, terrain, geology, soil, and land use.
Oklahoma contains vast plains, elevated karst plateaus, hills, and folded, low mountains. Precipitation increases eastward, rainfall variability increases westward, and both mean annual temperature and the length of the growing season increase southward. Soils influence the effectiveness and availability of moisture for plant life. Forests cover most of the Ozark Plateau and the Ouachita Mountains; the forests become progressively more stunted and open westward. Southern pine forests, typical of the Gulf Coastal Plain, occur in the southeast. Tall grass prairie, mixed grass prairie, and short grass prairie are native to central and western Oklahoma. Mesquite and other xeric plants characterize the dry southwest. Elevations drop from about 5,000 feet on Black Mesa in the northwestern Panhandle to about 300 feet in southeastern Oklahoma. Rivers follow regional topographic trends. Impoundments are common, and affect hydrology and the abundance and distribution of fish.
The strong east-west zonation of vegetation and climate in Oklahoma substantially influences the distribution of fauna, including reptiles, mammals, and insects (Blair and Hubbell, 1938; Webb, 1970). The western boundary of deciduous forest limits the westward extension of many eastern species. Southern Rocky Mountain fauna species intergrade with Great Plains species on Black Mesa in the western Panhandle. Great Plains fauna are found in intervening districts. Much of the natural vegetation in Oklahoma has been lost to overgrazing, burning, logging, erosion, and cultivation. Today, the state is a mosaic of grazing land, cropland, woodland, forests, and abandoned farmland. Wheat and alfalfa are the main crops. Grain sorghum is well adapted to sandy soils. Soybeans are becoming increasingly common on eastern plains and on moister parts of the prairie. Cotton is now concentrated on irrigated farmland in the southwest. Corn, once a major Oklahoma crop, has declined in importance due to soil depletion and periodic droughts.
This poster is part of a collaborative project between the USEPA Region 6, USEPA-National Health and Environmental Effects ResearchLaboratory (Corvallis, Oregon), Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma Biological Survey, Oklahoma Climatological Survey, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and USGS National Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science. This project is associated with an interagency effort to develop a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon and others, 2001). Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies that have been applied to develop the most common ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service (Bailey and others, 1994), the USEPA (Omernik 1987, 1995), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service (1981). As each of these frameworks is further refined, the differences are becoming less discernible. Each collaborative ecoregion project, such as this one in Oklahoma, is a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation.

Purpose:

A purpose of ecoregions is to assist managers of aquatic and terrestrial resources in understanding the regional patterns of the realistically attainable quality of these resources.

Supplemental_Information:

Procedures_Used:
1) All ecoregion delineations are digitized from the USGS 1:250,000 base maps. Prior to digitizing each base map must be initialized to orient the map and relate the map in geographic coordinates to the surface of the earth. When the registration tics are entered at the start of digitizing a transformation error of <0.003 must be achieved in order to ensure a high level of registration accuracy. The person responsible for digital data entry completes a data sheet describing coverage name, date of entry, and whether a topology for the coverage is established.
2) After each 1:250,000 base map has been digitized, a topology for each coverage is established. This function creates unique identities.
3) Next each base map is tested for polygon errors through an internal editing function. Errors are corrected for unlabeled polygons, unclosed polygons, or polygons with more than one label. Topology is reestablished for each coverage and tested again until no errors are indicated. 4) The digital coverage is then plotted at the same scale as the original base map. This coverage is overlaid on a light table with the original and visually inspected for replication of original lines with digitized lines. Two individuals independently inspect the coverage for accuracy.
References
Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., editors, 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the United States (map): Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, map scale 1:7,500,000.
Blair, W.F., and Hubbell, T.H., 1938, The biotic districts of Oklahoma: The American Midland Naturalist, v. 20, no. 2, p. 425-454.
Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., and Larsen, D.P., 1999, Ecoregions - a geographic framework to guide risk characterization and ecosystem management: Environmental Practice, v. 1, no. 3, p. 141-155.
Chapman, S.S., Omernik, J.M., Freeouf, J.A., Huggins, D.G., McCauley, J.R., Freeman, C.C., Steinauer, G., Angelo, R.T., and Schlepp, R.L., 2001, Ecoregions of Nebraska and Kansas: Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:1,950,000.
Chapman, S.S., Omernik, J.M., Griffith, G.E., Schroeder, W.A., Nigh, T.A., and Wilton, T.F., 2002, Ecoregions of Iowa and Missouri: Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:1,800,000.
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, 152 p.
Griffith, G.E., Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., Comstock, J.A., Rogers, A.C., Harrison, B., Hatch, S.L., and Bezanson, D., 2004, Ecoregions of Texas: Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:2,500,000.
Küchler, A.W., 1964, Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States (map and manual): American Geographical Society, Special Publication 36, map scale 1:3,168,000.
McMahon, G., Gregonis, S.M., Waltman, S.W., Omernik, J.M., Thorson, T.D., Freeouf, J.A., Rorick, A.H., and Keys, J.E., 2001, Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States: Environmental Management, v. 28, no. 3, p. 293-316.
Omernik, J.M., 1987, Ecoregions of the conterminous United States (map supplement): Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 77, p. 118-125, map scale 1:7,500,000.
Omernik, J.M., 1995, Ecoregions - a framework for environmental management, in Davis, W.S., and Simon, T.P., editors, Biological assessment and criteria - tools for water resource planning and decision making: Boca Raton, Florida, Lewis Publishers, p. 49-62.
Omernik, J.M., 2004, Perspectives on the nature and definition of ecological regions: Environmental Management (published online, July 8, 2004), v. Online First, no. 10.1007/s00267-003-5197-2. <http://springerlink.metapress.com>.
Omernik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T., 2000, Ecoregions of Wisconsin: Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, v. 88, p. 77-103. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service, 1981, Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States: Agriculture Handbook 296, 156 p.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005, Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987): Corvallis, Oregon, USEPA-National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Western Ecology Division, Map M-1, various scales. Webb, R.G., 1970, Reptiles of Oklahoma: Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 370 p.
Webb, R.G., 1970, Reptiles of Oklahoma: Norman, University of Oklahoma press, 370 p.
Wiken, E., 1986, Terrestrial ecozones of Canada: Ottawa, Environment Canada, Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p.
Woods, A.J., Foti, T.L., Chapman, S.S., Omernik, J.M., Wise, J.A., Murray, E.O., Prior, W.L., Pagan, J.B., Jr., Comstock, J.A., and Radford, M., 2004, Ecoregions of Arkansas: Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, map scale 1:1,000,000.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date/Time:

Calendar_Date:

REQUIRED: The year (and optionally month, or month and day) for which the data set corresponds to the ground.

Currentness_Reference:

REQUIRED: The basis on which the time period of content information is determined.

Status:

Progress: REQUIRED: The state of the data set.

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:

REQUIRED: The frequency with which changes and additions are made to the data set after the initial data set is completed.

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -98.026688

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -96.000268

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.016831

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.983061

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: ecoregions

Theme_Keyword: level III

Theme_Keyword: level IV

Place:

Place_Keyword: Oklahoma

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints: None

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.2.1350

Data_Quality_Information:

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

State-wide dataset clipped to extent of ds402_geology shapefile.

Process_Date: 20080520

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Person: Shana Mashburn

Contact_Position: Hydrologist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 202 NW 66th St., Bldg.#7

City: Oklahoma City

State_or_Province: Oklahoma

Postal_Code: 73116

Country: United State of America

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 405-810-4400

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: G-polygon

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 8

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Complete chain

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 1056

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Point

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 1700

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Label point

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 436

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Map_Projection:

Map_Projection_Name: Albers Conical Equal Area

Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:

Standard_Parallel: 29.500000

Standard_Parallel: 45.500000

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -96.000000

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 23.000000

False_Easting: 0.000000

False_Northing: 0.000000

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.000000

Ordinate_Resolution: 0.000000

Planar_Distance_Units: meters

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983

Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: ds402_ecoregions

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: ECO

Attribute_Definition: item representing Level III or IV Ecoregion label

Attribute_Definition_Source: USEPA

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: FID

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape

Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LEVEL4

Attribute_Definition: Level IV ecoregion label.

Attribute_Definition_Source: USEPA

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LEVEL3

Attribute_Definition: Level III ecoregion label.

Attribute_Definition_Source: USEPA

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: OK_ECO_

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: OK_ECO_ID

Attribute_Definition: User-defined feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Perimeter

Attribute_Definition: Perimeter of polygon in miles

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Area

Attribute_Definition: Area of polygon in square miles

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Acres

Attribute_Definition: Area of polygon in acres

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LEVEL4_NAM

Attribute_Definition: Level IV ecoregion name.

Attribute_Definition_Source: USEPA

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: LEVEL3_NAM

Attribute_Definition: Level III ecoregion name.

Attribute_Definition_Source: USEPA

Overview_Description:

Distribution_Information:

Resource_Description: Downloadable Data

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Transfer_Size: 0.158

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20081215

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

REQUIRED: The organization responsible for the metadata information.

Contact_Person: REQUIRED: The person responsible for the metadata information.

Contact_Address:

Address_Type:

REQUIRED: The mailing and/or physical address for the organization or individual.

City: REQUIRED: The city of the address.

State_or_Province: REQUIRED: The state or province of the address.

Postal_Code: REQUIRED: The ZIP or other postal code of the address.

Contact_Voice_Telephone:

REQUIRED: The telephone number by which individuals can speak to the organization or individual.

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time

Metadata_Extensions:

Online_Linkage: <http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html>

Profile_Name: ESRI Metadata Profile