Publications

Despite the widespread use of the term biome, systematic, multi-scaled biome classifications are hard to come by. This may be in part because biomes represent large-scale, complex ecosystems, affected by both ecological (natural biome) and human (anthropogenic biome) drivers. Here we introduce the International Vegetation Classification (IVC) as a useful, multi-scaled and comprehensive terrestrial classification that can inform biome concepts. The IVC provides a consistent thematic framework that describes the full diversity of terrestrial biomes on the earth. It supports broad-scale vegetation mapping, inventory and assessment, with applications to conserve both representative and rare ecosystems.