Rare Species Guide User Survey
The Rare Species Guide is a dynamic, interactive resource for information on Minnesota's endangered, threatened and special concern species. You can make the Rare Species Guide even better by taking this short survey.
Ecological Land Classification Hierarchy
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service have developed an Ecological Classification System (ECS) for ecological mapping and landscape classification in Minnesota following the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units (ECOMAP 1993). Ecological land classifications are used to identify, describe, and map progressively smaller areas of land with increasingly uniform ecological features. The system uses associations of biotic and environmental factors, including climate, geology, topography, soils, hydrology, and vegetation. ECS mapping enables resource managers to consider ecological patterns for areas as large as North America or as small as a single timber stand and identify areas with similar management opportunities or constraints relative to that scale. There are eight levels of ECS units in the United States. Map units for six of these levels occur in Minnesota: Provinces, Sections, Subsections, Land Type Associations, Land Types, and Land Type Phases. The first three levels are described here.Provinces are units of land defined using major climate zones, native vegetation, and biomes such as prairies, deciduous forests, or boreal forests. There are 4 Provinces in Minnesota. Printable map of provinces
Sections are units within Provinces that are defined by origin of glacial deposits, regional elevation, distribution of plants, and regional climate. Minnesota has 10 sections. Printable map of sections
Subsections are units within Sections that are defined using glacial deposition processes, surface bedrock formations, local climate, topographic relief, and the distribution of plants, especially trees. Minnesota has 26 subsections. Printable map of subsections
