Description: Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by its probable response to disturbance (Bryce and others, 1999).
Ecological and biological diversity of the Carolinas is enormous. The two states contain barrier islands and coastal lowlands, large river floodplain forests, rolling plains and plateaus, forested mountains, and a variety of aquatic habitats. There are 5 level III ecoregions and 29 level IV ecoregions in North Carolina and South Carolina and most continue into ecologically similar parts of adjacent states.
Copyright Text: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV under the provisions of Sections 104(b) and 319(h) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.