The list of ecoregions in Illinois are lists of terrestrial ecoregions (see also, ecosystem) of the United States' State of Illinois, as defined separately by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and by the World Wildlife Fund. Illinois' ecology is in a land area of ; the state is long and wide and is located between latitude: 36.9540° to 42.4951° N, and longitude: 87.3840° to 91.4244° W,About Illinois Data and Statistics, retrieved 2013-02-10 with primarily a humid continental climate.
USEPA The EPA ecoregion classification system has four levels, but only Levels I, III, and IV are shown on this list. Level I divides North America into 15 broad ecoregions (or biomes). Illinois is almost entirely within the Eastern Temperate Forest environment Level I region, although very small sections in its extreme west are in the Great Plains, Level I region. Level IV ecoregions (denoted by numbers and letters) are a further subdivision of Level III ecoregions (denoted by numbers alone).Plant Maps Interactive - Illinois Ecoregions (based on EPA data), retrieved 2013-02-10 In general, Illinois transitions from the forests, to savannah, to tall grass prairie, and is now largely used for agriculture or urbanized, although in its far south are the forested highlands of the Shawnee Hills and along its major rivers varying topography and biome occurs. Its larger ecoregion areas are 'corn belt' plains, known for rich, thick loess (in its north, center and east, particularly 54a) and the 'rivers and hills' region, which also has large till plains in Illinois' south (72j) and west (72i).
Great Plains 40 Central Irregular Plains (small section in the west) 40a - Loess Flats and Till Plains 47 Western Corn Belt Plains (small section in the west) 47f - Rolling Loess Prairies
Eastern Temperate Forest These forests stretch from eastern Texas and northern Florida to the Adirondacks and Wisconsin. For a general description of these forests, refer to Temperate Deciduous Forest. The standard reference is The Deciduous Forest of Eastern North America.Braun, E. L. 1950. The Deciduous Forest of Eastern North America. New York: Hafner. 52 Driftless Area (far northwestern Illinois) 52a - Savanna Section 52b - Paleozoic Plateau/Coulee Section 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains (northern Illinois) 53a - Rock River Drift Plain 53b - Kettle Moraines 54 Central Corn Belt Plains (northern and central Illinois) 54a - Illinois/Indiana Prairies 54b - Chicago Lake Plain 54c - Kankakee Marsh 54d - Sand Area 54e - Chiwaukee Prairie Region 54f - Valparaiso-Wheaton Morainal Complex 54g - Rock River Hills 71 Interior Plateau (far southern Illinois) 71a - Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands 71m - Northern Shawnee Hills 71n - Southern Shawnee Hills 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills (along the State boundary rivers and into the interior along the Illinois River, also the broad somewhat hillier southern and western till plains) 72a - Wabash-Ohio Bottomlands 72b - Glaciated Wabash Lowlands 72d - Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain 72e - Middle Mississippi Alluvial Plain 72f - River Hills 72g - Southern Ozarkian River Bluffs 72i - Western Dissected Illinoian Till Plain 72j - Southern Illinoian Till Plain 72k - Cretaceous Hills 72l - Karstic Northern Ozarkian River Bluffs 72m - Wabash River Bluffs and Low Hills 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain (extreme southern Illinois) 73a - Northern Holocene Meander Belts 73c - St. Francis Lowlands
World Wildlife Fund Realm Biome Ecoregion State Location Nearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Central U.S. hardwood forests Southern Illinois Nearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Mississippi lowland forests Far Southern Illinois Nearctic Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition Far Northern Illinois Nearctic Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Central forest-grasslands transition Northern and Central Illinois
See also Geography of Illinois Climate of Illinois Geology of Illinois Fauna of Illinois Illinois Natural History Survey List of ecoregions in the United States (EPA) List of ecoregions in the United States (WWF) List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois
References
Further reading Ricketts, Taylor H; Eric Dinerstein; David M. Olson; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (1999). Terrestrial Ecoregions of North America: a Conservation Assessment. Island Press; Washington, DC
External links Illinois Ecoregions Report from the EPA