A landmass , or land mass , is a large region or area of land that is in one piece and not noticeably broken up by oceans . The term is often used to refer to lands surrounded by an ocean or sea , such as a continent or a large island . In the field of geology , a landmass is a defined section of continental crust extending above sea level .
12-475: An ecozone may refer to: Biogeographic realm , the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface (referred to as ecozone by BBC) Biome , a large collection of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat Bioregion , an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a biogeographical realm, but larger than an ecoregion Ecoregion , an ecologically and geographically defined area that
24-918: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Biogeographic realm A biogeographic realm is the broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions , which are further subdivided into ecoregions . A biogeographic realm is also known as "ecozone", although that term may also refer to ecoregions. The realms delineate large areas of Earth's surface within which organisms have evolved in relative isolation over long periods of time, separated by geographic features, such as oceans , broad deserts , or high mountain ranges , that constitute natural barriers to migration. As such, biogeographic realm designations are used to indicate general groupings of organisms based on their shared biogeography. Biogeographic realms correspond to
36-633: Is smaller than a bioregion Ecozone (Canada) , one of 15 first-level ecological land classifications in Canada Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Ecozone . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecozone&oldid=1148082642 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Biogeography Hidden categories: Short description
48-563: The Holarctic realm . Following the nomenclatural conventions set out in the International Code of Area Nomenclature , Morrone defined the next biogeographic kingdoms (or realms) and regions: The applicability of Udvardy scheme to most freshwater taxa is unresolved. The drainage basins of the principal oceans and seas of the world are marked by continental divides. The grey areas are endorheic basins that do not drain to
60-423: The floristic kingdoms of botany or zoogeographic regions of zoology . From 1872, Alfred Russel Wallace developed a system of zoogeographic regions, extending the ornithologist Philip Sclater 's system of six regions. Biogeographic realms are characterized by the evolutionary history of the organisms they contain. They are distinct from biomes , also known as major habitat types, which are divisions of
72-404: The 1960s, it was used originally in the field of biostratigraphy to denote intervals of geological strata with fossil content demonstrating a specific ecology. In Canadian literature, the term was used by Wiken in macro level land classification , with geographic criteria (see Ecozones of Canada ). Later, Schultz would use it with ecological and physiognomical criteria, in a way similar to
84-760: The Earth's surface based on life form , or the adaptation of animals, fungi, micro-organisms and plants to climatic, soil , and other conditions. Biomes are characterized by similar climax vegetation . Each realm may include a number of different biomes. A tropical moist broadleaf forest in Central America, for example, may be similar to one in New Guinea in its vegetation type and structure, climate, soils, etc., but these forests are inhabited by animals, fungi, micro-organisms and plants with very different evolutionary histories. The distribution of organisms among
96-842: The WWF system, the Australasia realm includes Australia , Tasmania , the islands of Wallacea , New Guinea , the East Melanesian Islands , New Caledonia , and New Zealand . Udvardy's Australian realm includes only Australia and Tasmania; he places Wallacea in the Indomalayan Realm, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and East Melanesia in the Oceanian Realm, and New Zealand in the Antarctic Realm. The Palearctic and Nearctic are sometimes grouped into
108-643: The concept of biome . In the Global 200 /WWF scheme, originally the term "biogeographic realm" in Udvardy sense was used. However, in a scheme of BBC , it was replaced by the term "ecozone". The World Wildlife Fund scheme is broadly similar to Miklos Udvardy 's system, the chief difference being the delineation of the Australasian realm relative to the Antarctic, Oceanic, and Indomalayan realms. In
120-463: The definition of continent varies between geographers, the Americas are sometimes defined as two separate continents while mainland Australia is sometimes defined as an island as well as a continent. Nevertheless, for the purposes of this list, mainland Australia along with the other major landmasses have been listed as continental landmasses for comparison. The figures are approximations and are for
132-552: The ocean. According to Briggs and Morrone: According to the WWF scheme: Landmass Continents are often thought of as distinct landmasses and may include any islands that are part of the associated continental shelf . When multiple continents form a single contiguous land connection, the connected continents may be viewed as a single landmass. Earth 's largest landmasses are (starting with largest): Continental landmasses are not usually classified as islands despite being completely surrounded by water. However, because
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#1732765328899144-406: The world's biogeographic realms has been influenced by the distribution of landmasses , as shaped by plate tectonics over the geological history of the Earth . The "biogeographic realms" of Udvardy were defined based on taxonomic composition. The rank corresponds more or less to the floristic kingdoms and zoogeographic regions . The usage of the term "ecozone" is more variable. Beginning in
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