Anthropogenic Biomes

A Framework for Ecology & Earth Science in the 21st Century

View Anthropogenic Biome Maps online using Google Earth,
Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth

An Educational Guide to Anthropogenic Biomes of the World

Article online at Encyclopedia of Earth (includes a Powerpoint Presentation)

In Science magazine: "Humankind's Global Footprint"
Holden, C. (2007). "Humankind's global footprint". Science. 318: 1839

View a Discovery Channel video on Anthropogenic Biomes
"Human influence on ecology mapped"
Jorge Ribas, December 14, 2007

Can we conserve Nature in an anthropogenic biosphere?
Join the online discussion at Earth Forum

The biosphere has long been described using global ecosystem units called biomes, which are vegetation types like tropical rainforests and grasslands that are identified in relation to global patterns of climate. Now that humans have fundamentally altered global patterns of ecosystem form, process, and biodiversity, it is time to remap the terrestrial biosphere to include ecological patterns produced by humans. Anthropogenic biomes, also known as "anthromes" or "human biomes", describe the terrestrial biosphere in its contemporary, human-altered form using global ecosystem units defined by global patterns of sustained direct human interaction with ecosystems, offering a new way forward for ecological research and education.

citation:
Ellis, E. C. and N. Ramankutty. 2008. Putting people in the map: anthropogenic biomes of the world. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 6(8):439-447, doi:10.1890/070062. [Download]

> Download our Anthropogenic Biomes map in GIS format (anthromes_v1.zip; ArcINFO GRID)