Global ecosystem typology

Alternative site for the Global ecosystem typology with additional information for ecosystem profiles and indicative maps.

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S2.1 Anthropogenic subterranean voids

Biome: S2. Anthropogenic subterranean voids biome

Contributors:
(texts)

Industrial excavations create artificial voids that resemble caves. Like caves, they lack inputs of solar energy, and plants and herbivores are absent, except at their openings or around artificial lighting. They are colonised by opportunistic invertebrates and vertebrates, and microbes from the rock matrix or imported materials. Diversity is low, but depends on proximity to openings, human activity during occupation and time since excavation.

Key Features

Dry or humid subterranean voids created by mining or infrastructure development and colonised by opportunistic microbes, invertebrates and sometimes vertebrates..

Overview of distribution

Associated with urban and industrial infrastructure worldwide.

Profile versions

  • v1.0 (2020-01-20): DA Keith
  • v2.0 (2020-05-31): DA Keith; TM Iliffe; V Gerovasileiou; B Gonzalez; D Brankovits; A Martínez García
  • v2.01 ():
  • v2.1 (2022-04-06): DA Keith; TM Iliffe; V Gerovasileiou; B Gonzalez; D Brankovits; A Martínez García Full profile available at official site

Main references

Selected references for this functional group:

  • Gibert J, Deharveng L (2002) Subterranean ecosystems: a truncated functional biodiversity BioScience 52, 473-481 DOI:10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0473:seatfb]2.0.co;2

  • Engel AS (2010) Microbial diversity of cave ecosystems Geomicrobiology: Molecular and environmental perspective (Eds. LL Barton, M Mandl, A Loy), pp219-238. Springer, Dordrecht

Diagrammatic assembly model

Diagrammatic assembly model of S2.1 Anthropogenic subterranean voids. See general notes on diagrams. Open image full size.

Maps

Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (coloured red) or minor occurrences (coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. See general notes on maps.

There are 2 alternative versions of the indicative map for this functional group, please compare description and sources below.

S2.1.IM.orig_v1.0

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

S2.1.web.orig_v1.0

Terrestrial ecoregions containing major or minor occurrences of this ecosystem functional group were identified by consulting available ecoregion descriptions (Dinerstein et al. 2017), global and regional reviews, national and regional ecosystem maps, locations of relevant examples, and proofed by expert reviewers. Consequently they are coarse-scale indicative representations of distribution, except where they occupy small ecoregions. Ecoregions were mapped at 30 arc second spatial resolution. Open image full size.

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

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