Global Climate Classifications

The Global Environmental Stratification (GEnS) dataset is a means of classifying climate types based on a combination of temperature, precipitation and environmental variability statistics. Each discrete color represents a unique climate class that approximates an ecosystem type. Those climate classes can be mapped in baseline climate and projected into future climate scenarios to both show how climate will redistribute on the landscape and represent potential ecosystem level changes. As an example, a common effect of climate change that is evident in the maps is a contraction of cooler tropical montane climates (greens and yellows) and expansion of hotter tropical climates currently representative of lowland rainforests (violets and pink). The climate classification data shown here was produced by Dr. Robert Zomer for the SPARC project and is based on the original GEnS classes described in Metzger et al. 2012 Global Ecology and Biogeography (https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12022)