Biome map | Source publication | Primary data used | 1st tier | 2nd tier | 3rd tier | 4th tier | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | Label | No. of classes | Label | No. of classes | Label | No. of classes | Label | No. of classes |
Latin American Biogeography Scheme (LAB) | [30] | Geography, and secondarily species composition and endemism | Dominions | 2 | Regions | 3 | Subregions | 8 | Provinces | 55 |
Americas Basemap (AB) | [29] | Species composition and endemism | Biomes | 6 | Vegetation zones | 22 | Vegetation types | 73 | polygons | 597 |
WWF Ecoregions (ECO) | [16] | Species endemism, but landform used as primary data in areas lacking widely used biogeographic maps e.g. South America | Biomes | 111 | - | - | Ecoregions | 117 | polygons | 3,311 |
Land cover map (LCM) | [17] | Remote sensing and elevation | Biomes | 8 | - | - | Land cover classes | 65 | polygons | 71,153 |
Ecological Systems Map (ESM) | [31] | Climate, elevation, geology, land cover, and landform data | Domains | 3 | Divisions | 22 | Ecological systems | 604 | polygons | 285,0002 |