Bioregion

A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries but by distinct communities of characteristic plant and animal species, ecological systems, and topographic features.^[1][2][3][4] The term is used within the research fields of Biology, Ecology, Biogeography, and Biocultural Anthropology. It was adopted and popularized in the mid-1970s by a new school of philosophy called Bioregionalism. A bioregion can be defined at many scales, but is generally considered to be smaller in scale than a Biogeographical Realm or Ecoprovince, but larger than an Ecoregion subdivision (Level IV) as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.^[5]

Within the life sciences, there are numerous methods used to define the physical limits of a bioregion based on the spatial extent of mapped ecological phenomena -- from Species Distributions and hydrological systems (i.e. Watersheds) to topographic features (e.g. Landforms) and climate zones (e.g. Köppen Classification). A bioregion can also be culturally derived, for example by Indigenous Peoples, whose historical, mythological and biocultural connections to their lands and waters shape an understanding of place and territorial extent.^[6] Within the context of bioregionalism, bioregions can be socially constructed by modern-day communities for the purposes of better understanding a place "... with the aim to live in that place sustainably and respectfully."^[7]

Bioregions have practical applications in the study of Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Natural Resource Management, Urban Planning and Urban Ecology, Foodsheds, Biocultural Anthropology, Community Health, and Bioeconomics. References to the term "bioregion" in scholarly literature have grown exponentially since the introduction of the term -- from a single research paper in 1971 to approximately 65,000 journal articles and books published to date.^[8] Governments and multilateral institutions have utilized bioregions in mapping Ecosystem Services and tracking progress towards conservation objectives, such as ecosystem representation.^[9] The term has also become increasingly popular in disciplines related to bioregionalism, including Bioregional Planning^[10] and the development of Bioregional Finance Facilities.