Type Shapefile
The North American Forest map shows the distribution of eighteen different primary ecological zones pertaining to forest systems within Canada, Mexico, and the United States. North American Forest regions are defined as areas of broad yet relatively homogenous natural forest vegetation. Area distinctions are also based on precipitation, temperature, and landforms.
This data set shows forests of North America, classified according to FAO ecological zones (EZ). This dataset was created by modifying the updated version of the Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021) data included in the North American Atlas.
North American Forest regions are defined as areas of broad yet relatively homogenous natural forest vegetation. Area distinctions are also based on precipitation, temperature, and landforms.
Terrestrial Ecoregions codes were converted to the FAO Ecological Zones classes based on a cross-walk table available in the “Global ecological zones for FAO forest reporting: 2010 update” (The table was created through deliberation by experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America).
Data from Hawaii and Puerto Rico not available in the Terrestrial Ecoregions map were taken from the previous version of the CEC North American Forest Map and added to the final map. Areas marked as “no data” over the US Virgin Islands in the previous North American Forests map were removed. The Revillagigedo Islands in Mexico were classified based on their reported class in the 2021 Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America Map. Lakes larger than 2,000 km2 were added.
Some ecological zones (i.e. temperate steppe) contain limited or no forest; areas are considered forested when they have a 10 percent minimum crown cover. Orchards and other fruit tree plantations used for agricultural production are not classified as forest.
FAO Ecological Zones map was initially based on the spatial distribution of the CEC Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America. The current update responds to the recent changes in the geometry of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America published by CEC 2021.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2022. “North American Environmental Atlas - Forests, 2021”. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - North American Forest Commission (NAFC). Ed. 2.0, Vector digital data [1:10,000,000].
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
| West | -180 | East | -50 |
| North | 85 | South | 14 |
| Maximum (zoomed in) | 1:5,000 |
| Minimum (zoomed out) | 1:150,000,000 |
The North American Forest map shows the distribution of eighteen different primary ecological zones pertaining to forest systems within Canada, Mexico, and the United States. North American Forest regions are defined as areas of broad yet relatively homogenous natural forest vegetation. Area distinctions are also based on precipitation, temperature, and landforms. This map was created based on FAO ecological zones and the updated version of the CEC Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021). Codes for Terrestrial Ecoregions were converted to the FAO Ecological Zones classes, based on the “Global Ecological Zones for FAO Forest Reporting: 2010 Update” (equivalencies between Ecological Zones and Terrestrial Ecoregions were defined through deliberation among experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America). The FAO ecological zones are based on a combination of climate (temperature and precipitation) and potential vegetation classifications. They are broad areas of relatively homogeneous vegetation, with similar physical characteristics. Some ecological zones (e.g., temperate steppe) contain limited or no forest; areas are considered forested when they have a 10 percent minimum crown cover. Orchards and other fruit tree plantations used for agricultural production are not classified as forests. The current update responds to the recent changes in the geometry of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America published by CEC in 2021.
El mapa de los bosques de América del Norte muestra la distribución de 18 zonas ecológicas primarias que conforman los sistemas forestales de Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Estas regiones, definidas como áreas de abundante vegetación forestal natural relativamente homogénea, se distinguen entre sí, además, por sus precipitaciones, temperatura y relieve. Este mapa se creó con base en las zonas ecológicas de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO) y las regiones ecológicas terrestres de América del Norte presentadas en la versión actualizada del mapa Ecorregiones terrestres: nivel III de la CCA (publicada en 2021). Los códigos de las ecorregiones terrestres se adaptaron a las categorías de zonas ecológicas de la FAO, conforme al documento de trabajo Global Ecological Zones for FAO Forest Reporting: 2010 Update [Zonas ecológicas del mundo para la elaboración de informes forestales de la FAO: actualización de 2010]. Las equivalencias entre zonas ecológicas y ecorregiones terrestres se definieron mediante deliberaciones entre expertos de Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Las zonas ecológicas de la FAO se determinan por una combinación de clasificaciones de clima (temperatura y precipitación) y de vegetación potencial. Se trata de amplias áreas de vegetación relativamente homogénea con características físicas similares. Algunas zonas ecológicas (por ejemplo, la estepa templada) comprenden bosques limitados o nulos; una superficie se considera boscosa cuando tiene como mínimo 10 por ciento de cubierta de copa. Los huertos y las plantaciones de otros árboles frutales relacionados con la producción agrícola no se clasifican como bosque. La presente actualización responde a los recientes cambios en la geometría de las ecorregiones terrestres del subcontinente, que la CCA publicó en 2021.
La carte des forêts d’Amérique du Nord illustre la répartition des 18 zones écologiques de forêts primaires au Canada, au Mexique et aux États-Unis, et les régions forestières comptent diverses zones de forêts naturelles qui sont cependant relativement homogènes. La distinction entre ces zones s’effectue en fonction des précipitations, de la température et du relief qui les caractérisent. L’établissement de cette carte s’est fondé sur les zones écologiques qu’a définies l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO), ainsi que sur la version des écorégions terrestres d’Amérique du Nord que la CCE a mise à jour et publiée en 2021. Les codes attribués à ces écorégions ont fait l’objet d’une conversion en fonction des catégories de zones écologiques de la FAO en se fondant sur le document intitulé Global Ecological Zones for FAO Forest Reporting: 2010 Update (des spécialistes du Canada, du Mexique et des États-Unis ont conjointement défini les équivalences entre les zones écologiques et les écorégions terrestres). Les zones écologiques de la FAO sont réparties selon un ensemble de classifications du climat (température et précipitations) et de la végétation potentielle. Il s’agit de vastes zones où la végétation est relativement homogène et dont les caractéristiques physiques sont similaires. Certaines zones écologiques (p. ex. la steppe tempérée) abritent peu ou pas du tout de forêts; une zone est considérée comme boisée lorsque son couvert vertical au sol représente au moins 10 % de la superficie d’une zone. Les vergers et les autres plantations d’arbres fruitiers qui contribuent à la production agricole ne sont pas classés en tant que forêts. La mise à jour de cette carte illustre les récents changements qui se sont produits dans la géométrie des écorégions terrestres lors de leurs publications en 2021.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), which came into force at the same time as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. As of 2020, the CEC operates in accordance with the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, which entered into force at the same time as the CUSMA/T-MEC/USMCA trade agreement. Further information on ecological zones is available in the FAO’s Global Forest Resource Assessment 2010, https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/remote-sensing/global-ecological-zones-gez-mapping/en/ This data set is available in several formats, including Shapefile, Map package, and a PDF Map, along with other files appropriate to particular format, such as .lyrx and .qlr files.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC). 2022. “North American Environmental Atlas - Forests, 2021”. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - North American Forest Commission (NAFC). Ed. 2.0, Vector digital data [1:10,000,000].
This dataset includes forests distribution for all of North America.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.
This data set includes forests for all of North America. Classification is based on a conversion from North American ecosystems to the FAO ecological zones.
No tests for attribute accuracy were performed on this data set. The attribute accuracy is unknown.
No tests for logical consistency were performed on this data set.
This data set shows forests of North America, classified according to FAO ecological zones (EZ). This dataset was created by modifying the updated version of the Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021) data included in the North American Atlas. North American Forest regions are defined as areas of broad yet relatively homogenous natural forest vegetation. Area distinctions are also based on precipitation, temperature, and landforms. Terrestrial Ecoregions codes were converted to the FAO Ecological Zones classes based on a cross-walk table available in the “Global ecological zones for FAO forest reporting: 2010 update” (The table was created through deliberation by experts from Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America). Data from Hawaii and Puerto Rico not available in the Terrestrial Ecoregions map were taken from the previous version of the CEC North American Forest Map and added to the final map. Areas marked as “no data” over the US Virgin Islands in the previous North American Forests map were removed. The Revillagigedo Islands in Mexico were classified based on their reported class in the 2021 Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America Map. Lakes larger than 2,000 km2 were added. Some ecological zones (i.e. temperate steppe) contain limited or no forest; areas are considered forested when they have a 10 percent minimum crown cover. Orchards and other fruit tree plantations used for agricultural production are not classified as forest. FAO Ecological Zones map was initially based on the spatial distribution of the CEC Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America. The current update responds to the recent changes in the geometry of the Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America published by CEC 2021.
The 2021 North America forests data set was created using the geometry of the updated version of the Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021). 1. Terrestrial ecoregion level 3 were cross walked to FAO ecological zones, based on the codes described in the “GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL ZONES FOR FAO FOREST REPORTING: 2010 Update” (https://www.fao.org/3/ap861e/ap861e.pdf) 2. All the polygons representing each reclassified ecoregion based on the FAO Ecological Zones codes were dissolved into multipart polygons. 3. Hawaii and Puerto Rico polygons were extracted from the previous version of the CEC North American Forest Map and merged into the current map version. 4. Polygons in the US Virgin Islands classified as “No Data” in the previous CEC North American Forest Map were removed from the current map version. 5. Polygons in the Revillagigedo Islands (Mexico) tat were reported as “No Data” in the previous CEC North American Forest Map were now assigned to an Ecological Zone class based on the ecoregion class reported in the Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021). 6. Areas representing water bodies (lakes larger than 2,000 km2) in the previous version of the CEC North American Forest Map were deleted from the existing polygons and reclassified to water in the current map version. 7. New attributes were created to report the names of each Ecological Zone in English, Spanish and French. 8. New attributes were created to report the area of each Ecological Zone in hectares and square kilometers. 9. The geometry of each multipart polygon representing the Ecological Zones was calculated to populate the area attribute field in hectares and square kilometers.
Main changes in the current North American Forest map (2021) in comparison with the previous CEC North American Forest Map (2011). - A new level 3 terrestrial ecoregion was included in the codes conversion table. Ecoregion 11.1.4 “Southern California/Northern Baja California Coast”. This class was derived for a split of 11.1.1 “Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains” in the most recent update of the terrestrial ecoregions map (2021). - Ecoregion 11.1.4 was assigned to Ecological Zone “SM: Subtropical mountain systems” - Class 9.4.1 “High Plains”: Northern 9.4.1 polygons were assigned to “TeBSk: Temperate steppe” and Southern polygon to “SBSh: subtropical steppe”. - North America coastline is now derived from the Terrestrial Ecological Regions of North America (published in 2021). - Additional minor changes in the geometry of the North American Terrestrial ecoregions and subsequently in the FAO Ecological Zones classification of North America are reported in <http://www.cec.org/north-american-environmental-atlas/terrestrial-ecoregions-level-iii/>
Level III ecological regions (ecoregions) of North America is an update and revision of terrestrial ecoregions released by CEC in 2009. This cartographic layer consists of an integration of updated ecoregions in Mexico, United States and Canada by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Government of Canada; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, respectively.
Global ecological zones for FAO forest reporting: 2010 Update.
An area of broad yet relatively homogenous natural forest vegetation. Area distinctions are also based on precipitation, temperature, and landforms.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Internal feature number.
Esri
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Feature geometry.
Esri
Coordinates defining the features.
The FAO ecological zone code.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The FAO ecological zone number.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The FAO ecological zone designation in English.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The FAO ecological zone designation in Spanish.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The FAO ecological zone designation in French.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The size of the ecological zone, in hectares.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
The size of the ecological zone, in square kilometers.
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
None. Acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - North American Forest Commission (NAFC) would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
This material is licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing non-exclusive rights to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, so long as attribution is given to the creator.