This dataset is part of the publication: Keith DA, Ferrer-Paris JR, Nicholson E, Bishop MJ, Polidoro BA, Ramirez-Llodra E, Tozer MG, Nel JL, Mac Nally R, Gregr EJ, Watermeyer KE, Essl F, Faber-Langendoen D, Giller PS, Robson B, Franklin J, Lehmann CER, Etter A, Roux DJ, Stark JS, Rowland JA, Brummitt NA, Fernandez-Arcaya UC, Suthers IM, Iliffe TM, Gerovasileiou V, Sakihara TS, Wiser SK, Donohue I, Jackson LJ, Pennington RT, Linardich C, Pettorelli N, Andrade A, Kontula T, Lindgaard A, Tahvanainan T, Terauds A, Venter O, Watson JEM, Chadwick MA, Murray NJ, Moat J, Pliscoff P, Corlett RT, Young KR, McGlone MS, Williams RT, Loidi J, Russell-Smith J, Gibson D, Eldridge DJ, Anesio AMB, Körner CH, Harper R, Bogaart PW, Bhanumati P, Sharma M, Hose GC, Gonzalez BC, Brankovits D, Martínez García A, Lamson M, Seidel B, Sedar DM, Santos S, Havird J, Catford JA, Rains MC, Irvine K, Arthington AH, Kelly-Quinn M, Bertilsson S, Hollibaugh JT, Channing A, Siegert MJ, Reidy Liermann C, Beveridge M, Bianchi TS, Woodland RJ, Dafforn KA, McSweeney SL, Cutler NA, Orth RJ, Altieri AH, Rossi S, Sheppard CRC, Swearer SE, Rykaczewski RR, Shannon LJ, Priede IG, Sutton TT, Claisse JT, Acosta ATR, Carnell PE, Crowe TP, Firth LB, Hay SE, García L, Zager I, Bland LM, Kingsford RT (2020) 'The IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology v2.0: Descriptive profiles for Biomes and Ecosystem Functional Groups'. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Gland. The PLuS Alliance supported a workshop in London to initiate development. DAK, EN, RTK, JRFP, JAR & NJM were supported by ARC Linkage Grants LP170101143 and LP180100159 and the MAVA Foundation. The IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management supported travel for DAK to present aspects of the research to peers and stakeholders at International Congresses on Conservation Biology in 2017 and 2019, and at meetings in Africa, the middle east and Europe.

This dataset includes the original version of the indicative distribution maps and profiles for Ecological Functional Groups - Level 3 of IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (v2.0). Please refer to Keith et al. (2020). The descriptive profiles provide brief summaries of key ecological traits and processes for each functional group of ecosystems to enable any ecosystem type to be assigned to a group. Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (value of 1, coloured red) or minor occurrences (value of 2, coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. Minor occurrences are areas where an ecosystem functional group is scattered in patches within matrices of other ecosystem functional groups or where they occur in substantial areas, but only within a segment of a larger region. Most maps were prepared using a coarse-scale template (e.g. ecoregions), but some were compiled from higher resolution spatial data where available (see details in profiles). Higher resolution mapping is planned in future publications. We emphasise that spatial representation of Ecosystem Functional Groups does not follow higher-order groupings described in respective ecoregion classifications. Consequently, when Ecosystem Functional Groups are aggregated into functional biomes (Level 2 of the Global Ecosystem Typology), spatial patterns may differ from those of biogeographic biomes. Differences reflect the distinctions between functional and biogeographic interpretations of the term, “biome”.