The updated VT's Biophyscial Region Map (Ferree 2008), with 9 regions, replaces the older 8 region version from the VT Biodiversity Project (1998). The new biophysical region is the Champlain Hills, a section split off from the northeastern part of the former (now smaller) Champlain Valley region. The biophysical regions are a key aspect of the Vermont Conservation Design that is displayed in BioFinder. The updated and improved map should be used for all land use and planning puposes.

(Link to Metadata) This dataset divides Vermont into eight sub-regions on the basis of bedrock geology, gross physiography, climate, and broad-scale patterns of potential natural vegetation. These sub-regions, termed biophysical regions, are equivalent in scale and concept to the sub-sections of the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units ("ECOMAP") currently being developed by the USDA-Forest Service.

(Link to Metadata) This coverage represents the results of an analysis of landscape diversity in Vermont. Polygons in the dataset represent as much as possible (in a limited area) of the physical diversity in each of the state's 8 biophysical regions (BPRs)-- hence the name "representative landscapes" (RLs). Units of physical diversity were based on elevation, bedrock type, surficial deposits, and landform. Numbers of unique landscape diversity unit labels occurring in the 8 BPRs ranged from 586 to 956. Percent of diversity units represented in the RL polygons in this dataset ranged from a low of 74% (in 25% of the Champlain Valley BPR) to 87% (in 23% of the Northern Piedmont BPR). The most efficient repesentations were in the Northeastern Highlands and the Champlain Valley, where 83% and 81% (respectively) of the landscape diversity units occurring in the BPRs were represented in 17% of the BPR area.

Soil carbon study site characteristics. Contains fields: Plot, Natural Community, Biophysical Region and earthworm presence.

The expansion of cattle ranching and the creation of pastures are among the principal causes of deforestation in South America. This book, Expansao e trajetorias da pecuaria na Amazonia: Para, Brasil, investigates the socioeconomic and biophysical factors that influence the growth of cattle ranching in the Brazilian state of Para in the Amazon (2003). In-depth interviews were performed with land managers by an interdisciplinary team of researches. Data collection and analysis focused on the decision making process by which landholders take into account social and biophysical factors in their decision to (a) invest in cattle, in their (b) selection of pasture management technologies, and in (c) the strategies they adopt to deforest primary or secondary growth. The regional case study (162 pages) includes an introduction and six chapters: Context and Methodological Summary; Criteria for Site Selection; Why Landholders Invest in Cattle; Why Landholders Choose a Type of Pasture Management; Why Ranchers Deforest; Conclusion and Policy Recommendations. The book is written in Portuguese.