Biomes & Ecosystems

Tropical rainforests near the equator host more than half of all known plant and animal species.

Deserts are defined by extremely low precipitation and can be either extremely hot or surprisingly cold.

The tundra's permanently frozen subsoil layer, called permafrost, keeps most trees from taking root.

The savanna's grasslands and scattered trees host some of the largest land animal migrations on Earth.

Coral reefs, built by tiny organisms, are so biodiverse they're often called the rainforest of the sea.

The taiga, also called the boreal forest, is the largest land biome on Earth.

Temperate grasslands, including prairies and steppes, get too little rain to support widespread forest.

Deciduous forests shed their leaves each autumn as they pass through four distinct seasons.

Coniferous forests are dominated by cone-bearing evergreens that typically keep their needles year-round.

The alpine biome above the tree line forces plants and animals to adapt to thin air and intense sun.

The Amazon rainforest stores carbon, recycles moisture and supports exceptional biodiversity. The popular lungs-of-the-planet label…

The Sahara, the largest hot desert on Earth, spans an area nearly as large as the entire United States.

The Serengeti hosts one of Earth's largest terrestrial mammal migrations across its vast grasslands.

A food web maps how energy flows between species, offering a more realistic picture than a simple food chain.

An invasive species harms its new environment and often spreads rapidly without natural predators.

Wetlands, saturated with water for long periods, act as natural filters that improve water quality.

Chaparral shrubland's hot dry summers make it naturally prone to periodic wildfires.

The deep sea, below sunlight's reach, hosts organisms adapted to extreme pressure and total darkness.

An estuary, where river meets sea, ranks among the most biologically productive ecosystems on Earth.

Freshwater lake ecosystems support distinct zones of life that shift with depth and available light.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system, is large enough to be visible from space.

A keystone species has an outsized ecological impact, and its removal can dramatically reshape an ecosystem.

A biodiversity hotspot combines exceptional biodiversity with serious threat, prioritized in global conservation.

The Everglades, a vast Florida wetland, is sometimes poetically described as a slow-moving river of grass.