The Most Detailed Ecological Land Units Map in the World

Esri and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) are pleased to announce the development of the highest spatial resolution ecological land units (ELUs) map of the world ever produced. The Global ELUs map portrays a systematic division and classification of ecological and physiographic information about land surface features. The work was commissioned by the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and published in print by the Association of American Geographers (AAG).

“This map provides, for the first time, a web-based, GIS-ready, global ecophysiographic data product for land managers, scientists, conservationists, planners, and the public to use for global and regional scale landscape analysis and accounting,” said Roger Sayre from the USGS. “The Global ELU map advances an objective, repeatable, ‘big data’ approach to the synthesis and classification of important earth surface data layers into distinct and ecologically meaningful land units.”

The ecological land units provide a spatial accounting framework for assessments of ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and soil formation, as well as important risks such as environmental degradation. Esri has created a Story Map and custom app that allow for additional exploration and insight.

“The ecological land units also lend themselves to the study of ecological diversity, rarity and evolutionary isolation,” said Randy Vaughan from Esri. “For example we can identify the most diverse landscapes in terms of unique ecological land features. Understanding diversity can point the way to improved conservation planning.”

“The data will also be important to the study of environmental change,” added Sayre. “The objective and automated approach to the classification means that the mapping can be updated as better or more current input layers are created. The creation of change layers can also be automated.”

Learn more about the Global ELUs map at esriurl.com/globalelu.

You can browse the Story Map at esriurl.com/elu. See the custom app at esriurl.com/EcoTapestry.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Comments

How Long Does Plastic Take to Decompose?

Plastic: the unwelcome house guest at nearly every corner of our lives — from shopping bags to footwear, coffee cups to car parts. And yet, discarded, plastic doesn't just evaporate into thin air. No, it lingers. For decades. Even centuries. According to statistics presented by Visual Capitalist , plastic daily consumer goods can break down between 20 and 600 years, depending on the composition used, how they were created, and natural elements like water and sunlight they are exposed to. Let's go deeper into why plastic takes so long to break down — and what horrid messes it leaves behind in the process. Why Plastic Isn't "Natural" — and Why That's a Problem Plastic does not naturally exist. It's a product made from petroleum and natural gas. Its long, tough carbon bonds differ from anything naturally found in ecosystems, making it extremely resistant to microbial breakdown. When we toss a plastic bottle or bag away, it's not a matter of if it will s...

Fallingwater: Where Architecture Meets the Wild

Located in southwestern Pennsylvania's woods, Fallingwater is not a house, but a powerful conversation between nature and architecture. Completed in 1935 by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns, it's one of the only buildings that truly does seem alive—as if it grew directly out of the rock. What is so revolutionary about Fallingwater isn't its appearance—it's Wright's philosophy of organic architecture: the idea that houses are there to harmonize with nature, not dominate it. The house was actually constructed into the land, resting directly above a waterfall on Bear Run. Instead of looking out over the waterfall, Wright built the waterfall into the house, and the sound of running water is therefore a constant companion. Crafted From the Land, For the Land The materials used to build Fallingwater tell their own story. The stone was quarried on-site. Local craftsmen helped shape every contour. The horizontal lines of the cantilevered terraces echo the layered rock...

Barbie’s Feet Are Getting Flatter—And It Says a Lot About Us

Barbie’s arched feet have long been a part of her image—tiny, pointed, and forever perched for stilettos. But that’s starting to change. A new study reveals that Barbie’s feet are flattening, and that shift isn’t just about doll design—it reflects a broader change in how we think about women’s fashion and comfort. A team of podiatrists at Monash University analyzed 2,750 Barbie dolls produced between 1959 and 2024. They found that while every single doll in the 1960s had permanently arched feet made to fit high heels, only about 40% of Barbies in the 2020s still have that same foot shape. This shift isn’t random. It follows Barbie’s growing list of careers—astronaut, firefighter, doctor—where practical shoes make a lot more sense than stilettos. This change was even acknowledged in the 2023 Barbie movie. In one early scene, Margot Robbie’s Barbie steps out of her heels and her feet stay arched, just like the classic dolls. But later in the film, her feet flatten out, a visual cue ...

Ecoclimax

Search This Blog