Habitats

Deserts are dry ecosystems that receive very little rainfall, yet support a surprising variety of specially adapted plants and animals.

Forests are complex ecosystems with multiple layers of life, from the forest floor to the canopy, supporting extraordinary biodiversity.

Freshwater habitats — rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands — cover less than 1% of Earth's surface but support about 10% of all known species. They include still (lentic) and flowing (lotic) water environments.

Grasslands are biomes dominated by grasses, with few or no trees. They cover about 40% of Earth's land surface and include tropical savannas, temperate prairies, and steppe regions. They support huge numbers of grazing animals.

Oceans cover over 70% of Earth's surface and contain a huge variety of habitats, from sunlit surface waters to the pitch-dark deep sea.