Ecozone

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ecozone

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the biogeographic basis?Classification based on macroclimate, dominant vegetation, and associated fauna
2. What is the ecological significance?Underpin global biodiversity, ecosystem services, and evolutionary distinctiveness
3. How do ecozones form?Ecozones form over millions of years as the Earth’s continents move, mountains rise, and climates change. Ice ages and warm periods push plants and animals to new places, creating different ecozones.
4. Why are ecozones important for animals and plants?Each ecozone has special plants and animals that live there because of the climate and soil. These groups help keep the environment healthy by recycling nutrients and storing carbon.

Biogeography: The scientific study of the geographic distribution of species and ecosystems in past and present.
Macroclimate: The large-scale atmospheric conditions, including temperature and precipitation, over a broad region.
Endemism: The ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island or ecozone.