Ecozone.e00 was created by aggregating the 37 different Holdridge Life Zones into 10 categories: water, polar, sub-polar, boreal, cool temperate, warm temperate, subtropical dry, subtropical wet, tropical dry, and tropical wet. The source of the original data is: Leemans, Rik, 1990. "Global data sets collected and compiled by the Biosphere Project," Working Paper, IIASA-Laxenburg, Austria. The original data can be freely downloaded at: http://grid2.cr.usgs.gov. The online documentation at this website lists 38 ecozones, but there are only 37 in the downloadable GIS file.

This GIS data was created as part of The Center for International Development’s ongoing research into the role of geography in economic development (see www.cid.harvard.edu/economic.htm). It was created between 1998 and 1999. Please reference CID if you use this data in a publication.