Anthropogenic Biomes
A Framework for Ecology & Earth Science in the 21st Century
Erle C. Ellis
and Navin Ramankutty

View
Anthropogenic Biome Maps online using Google Earth
& Maps and MS Virtual Earth
An
Educational Guide to Anthropogenic Biomes of the World
Article
online at Encyclopedia of Earth (includes
a Powerpoint Presentation)
In
Wired News,
WorldChanging,
Science magazine,
Momentum (List of all media & blog coverage)
Discussion:
Can we conserve nature in an anthropogenic biosphere?
Human influence on ecology mapped
Discovery Channel video on Anthropogenic Biomes by
Jorge Ribas
On Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTUOHMkGa0Q
The biosphere has long been described using global
ecosystem units called biomes, which are vegetation types like tropical rainforests
and grasslands that are identified in relation to global patterns of climate.
Now that humans have fundamentally altered global patterns of ecosystem form, process,
and biodiversity, it is time to remap the terrestrial biosphere to include ecological
patterns produced by humans. Anthropogenic biomes, also known as "anthromes"
or "human biomes", describe the terrestrial biosphere in
its contemporary, human-altered form using global ecosystem units defined by global
patterns of sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, offering a new way
forward for ecological research and education.
citation:
Ellis, E. C. and
N. Ramankutty. 2008. Putting people in the map: anthropogenic biomes of the
world. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment 6(8):439-447.
[download]
> Download our
Anthropogenic Biomes map in GIS format
(anthromes_v1.zip; ArcINFO GRID)
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