How to find your place on Earth - ID'ing your bioregion

Marjory Wildcraft

OK, so I am working on a quiz that anyone can take and it will quickly help them identify thier biogregion on Earth. I am wanting to segment the Earth into approximately 9 categories of growth habits.

Since plants and animals grow primarily based on their temperature and rainfall... groups of people around the world that have similar rainfall, temperatures, and conditions will have similar species, insects, production, and challenges.

I think these questions will easily help people identify where they are without a ton of ecological/technical background

I'm tyring to figure out how we can simplify this to where there is only about 9 different groups we put people in so they have similar growing conditions....

What do you think of these questions? I'm trying to find questions people would likely know the answer to. Asking some one if they live on a grassland prarie doesn't mean anything to someone in Oklahoma City (although that is where they live).

I wonder if I could get someone with graphical abilities to simply have a globe you can pint to your spot to ID yourself....

Bio-region - moisture (water) 

arid (annual rainfall < 15 inches) 

semi-arid (annual rainfall between 15 to 30 inches 

moist (annual rainfall between 30 to 50 inches 

wet (annual rainfall > 50 inches

Bio-region - latitude (sun) 

equatorial +/- 20 degrees of equator 

warm temperate +/- 20 to 40 degrees of equator 

cold temperate >40 degrees of equator 

  

Bio-region - land mass 

coastal 

inland 

 

BIo-regional - altitude (hmmm, does this on make sense to include?)

below 3,000 ft. 

between 3,000 and 6,000 ft. 

greater than 6,000 ft. 

I wonder how many groups this makes? I'm looking for 9. LOL.

WOuld love to hear your thoughts and input.

naomi.kohlmeier

What about soil types or is that getting too complicated? Maybe just settle on clay, sandy/rocky, loam....just learned that our state soil is Holdredge Soil? Did not know that. And I've studied the state's soils....hmmm, possibly user error

Also flat, hilly, mountainous?

Temperature?

There's three more.

LaurieLovesLearning

@naomi.kohlmeier Soils are w extremely important, but they can be very specific to a small area (and named for it...like one found nearby, Newdale Clay loam) and found nowhere else. Soils can also greatly vary within even a small region. Here, within a small area, we can have sand to great soil to gravel.

Monek Marie

How far in is coastal?

Temperature ranges are important as are temp fluxes.

Flat, hilly and mountains make a huge difference too

Bio-regional is important but it needs tweaked somehow. I am foothills of app mountains and it really makes a huge diffence even in a mile or so in location.Its like flat hilly and mountains but the range? Where I live I am at 1100 ft above sea level. My brother 1400 ft above sea level. His top field is a zone and 1/2 different from mine. All in a 3 mile distance

Annie Kate

Yes, as others have said, hilliness matters (especially around first and last frost dates) and temps are crucial.

Torey

In BC we have elevations from sea level to alpine at nearly 13,000 feet. Coastal in my province means very close to the ocean because there are the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges that rise almost right out of the ocean, although coastal influences may extend inland along some of the larger river valleys. BC has Climate Zones 9a - 0.

Elevations make a huge difference in our climate zones. Our mountain ranges create rain shadows and the valleys all have microclimates. I am in zone 3b/4a at 2600 feet but within a 10 minute drive I can be at 1300 feet in a zone 5b-6a microclimate.

We have 14 biogeo-climatic zones (as classified by our Department of Environment) from near desert (the northern tip of the Sonoran desert extends just across the border into BC) to semi-temperate rain forests or to vast ice fields. Within an hour or two of my house we have 7 of these zones that are all quite distinctly different.

Soil types also vary greatly. In the river valleys we have excellent growing areas with deep loam. But some areas are still barren from glacial abrasion. And we have a lot of historic volcanic activity that has left lava flows (the youngest one is about 300 years old) and basaltic formations.

I think a lot of the Pacific Northwest is similar.

Not sure how all of that could fit into the bigger picture.

Ruth Ann Reyes

Hey everyone! I'm posting the reports one by one and looking for feedback as we go along!

Your input is appreciated!

I'll link them all here as well!

_____

Köppen Climate Classification Dwa - Hot Summer Continental Climate – Dry Winter

shllnzl

@Marjory Wildcraft I think you have a fabulous way to simplify growing climate once the design can be refined. The sun latitude needs to be refined as does soil type and temperature ranges. I will try to give a brief explanation of the thoughts I have gone through just with moving between two different desert locations that are 123 miles apart geographically.

Low rainfall both locations but monsoon weather patterns are different.

Soil types were clay in one location and sandy (crushed infertile sandstone) in the other.

Elevation 2301ft vs 2915ft

Daytime temp 5 degrees F higher than new location with night drop of roughly 20 degrees; new location has night drop of about 30 degrees.

(My calculations to estimate the scalding sun hours vs shade is luckily something you won't need to your plan.)

I will note that our cabin at 8100 feet is somewhat arid and has much colder weather. It is 89 miles from my newest location. It has rocky soil that is not very deep and not very fertile.

I hope this information help you.

JodieDownUnder

@Marjory Wildcraft wow this is a hard one. Questions sound good to me. Bioregion- land mass, coastal- inland. I think that could be broken up into coastal- hinterland- plains- inland. Just a suggestion. All the best.

dipat2005

Lots of topics to choose from. Did indigenous people live there?

Tave

Altitude does affect growing ability. Where I live, altitude decides whether you're in a tropical rain forest, temperate area, or semi-arctic dessert.

Ruth Ann Reyes

Hey guys!

I appreciate the input so far, but...I'll be posting a bunch of these.

Can you put your comments on the respective thread for each one?

Please and thanks, I'd appreciate it!