Iowa's Ecoregions

Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources.

An ecoregion is identified through patterns and composition of both biological and physical characteristics, including geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology.

The interactions and relative importance of each of these components varies between ecoregions, creating a unique ecosystem within each region.

Combined with a network of wadeable reference sites, ecoregions provide a framework for stream biological assessment, allowing researchers, watershed coordinators, and others interested in watershed improvement to make certain assumptions and predictions about the relative health of streams within an ecoregion.

There are 10 ecoregions and subecoregions within the state of Iowa:

40a -- Loess Flats and Till Plains

47a -- Northwest Iowa Loess Prairies

47b -- Des Moines Lobe

47c -- Iowan Surface

47d -- Missouri Alluvial Plain

47e -- Steeply Rolling Loess Prairies

47f -- Rolling Loess Prairies

47m -- Western Loess Hills

52b -- Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area)

72d -- Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain

Wadeable Reference Site FIBI Warm Water Results

Eco Desig	Eco Name	Min	25th Percentile	Mean	Median	75th Percentile	Max	Total Samples
40a	Loess Flats and Till Plains	16	34	40.7	41	48.5	63	47
47a	Northwest Iowa Loess Prairies	35	43	47.65	47	52	63	37
47b	Des Moines Lobe	13	38.75	51.46	53.5	63	85	140
47c	Iowan Surface	27	59	67.77	70	77	92	137
47d	Missouri Alluvial Plain	No reference sites						0
47e	Steeply Rolling Loess Prairies	12	28	37.14	37	43.5	74	35
47f	Rolling Loess Prairies	3	36.5	47.45	47	57	83	115
47m	Western Loess Hills	No reference sites						0
52b	Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area)	9	47	55.66	53.5	64.5	91	114
72d	Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain	14	33.5	37.82	38	46.5	54	11

Wadeable Reference Site BMIBI Warm Water Results

Eco Desig	Eco Name	Min	25th Percentile	Mean	Median	75th Percentile	Max	Total Samples
40a	Loess Flats and Till Plains	14	42.5	50.32	52	58.5	78	47
47a	Northwest Iowa Loess Prairies	10	44.5	50.95	51	58	88	43
47b	Des Moines Lobe	10	51	58.38	60	68	84	151
47c	Iowan Surface	23	57	65.8	68	76	91	145
47d	Missouri Alluvial Plain	No reference sites						0
47e	Steeply Rolling Loess Prairies	28	46.75	53.81	53	61.5	72	36
47f	Rolling Loess Prairies	20	54	61.06	61	69	86	112
47m	Western Loess Hills	No reference sites						0
52b	Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area)	52	62	70.74	71	78.75	87	46
72d	Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain	20	37	47.64	42	55.5	78	11

Wadeable Reference Site BMIBI Cold Water Results

Eco Desig	Eco Name	Min	25th Percentile	Mean	Median	75th Percentile	Max	Total Samples
47c	Iowan Surface	No reference sites						0
47f	Rolling Loess Prairies	No reference sites						0
52b	Paleozoic Plateau (Driftless Area)	42	60	68.45	69.5	77	92	100