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- Description/Unique Characteristics
Grasslands are generally open and continuous, fairly flat areas of grass. They are often located between temperate forests at high latitudes and deserts at subtropical latitudes. The height of grass correlates with the amount of rainfall it receives. Grasslands receive about 500 to 950 mm of rain per year compared to deserts, which receive less than 300 mm, and tropical forests, which receive more than 2,000 mm. While temperatures are often extreme in some grasslands, the average temperatures are about -20°C to 30°C. Tropical grasslands have dry and wet seasons that remain warm all the time. Temperate grasslands have cold winters and warm summers with some rain. The grasses die back to their roots annually and the soil and the sod protect the roots in cold and dry conditions.

- Plants and Animals
Plants commonly found in grasslands include purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, galleta, asters, blazing stars, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers, psoralens, and wild indigos. Animals in the grassland include zebras, bison, elephants, jaguars, emu, wildebeest, hyenas, gazelle, cheetahs, giraffes, rhinoceroses, lions, and prairie dogs.

- Human Impact
Due to the burning of fossil fuels, climate change may further dwindle grassland health, causing changes in temperature and causing droughts. Humans' agriculture in the grasslands is causing an increase in soil erosion. Furthermore, many different animal species lose their habitats due to the damage to grasslands. Grasslands are threatened by habitat loss, caused by human actions, such as unsustainable agricultural practices, overgrazing, and crop clearing. Because temperate grasslands have rich soil, most of the grasslands in the United States have been converted into fields for crops or grazing land for cattle.

- Fun Fact
In North America, they are mostly called prairies. In South America, they are known as pampas. Europe and Asia, mostly have steppes. In Africa, they are known as savannas, and in Australia, people often know them as rangelands.

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- Description/Unique Characteristics
The tropical rainforest is very wet with over 2,000 mm of rainfall per year, a very high annual rainfall. They have high average temperatures, with an average daily temperature of 28°C. The temperature never drops below 20°C and rarely exceeds 35°C. The atmosphere is very hot, humid, and wet. The climate is consistent all year round, there are no distinct seasons. However, the rainforest has nutrient-poor soil. The tropical rainforests have very high levels of biodiversity (species richness) and have many plants which provide homes for many different living things. It is known for its dense canopies of vegetation that form three different layers. The top layer or canopy contains giant trees that grow to heights of 75 m (about 250 ft) or more. Not only do they provide air, water, medicine, food, and shelter to a multitude of living beings, but they are also one of our best natural defenses against climate change because of their capacity to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

- Plants and Animals
Plants commonly found in the tropical rainforests include bromeliaceae, orchids, palms, coconut trees, lobster claws, cacao, kapok tree, epiphyte, bougainvillea, camu camu, brazil nuts, stinking corpse lily, acai palm, passion flowers, and titan arum. Animals include the jaguar, gorillas, okapi, poison dart frog, sloths, chimpanzee, toucans, capybaras, tapir, boa constrictors, ocelot, caiman, macaws, red-eyed tree frogs, anacondas, and spider monkeys.

- Human Impact
Human activities have severely disrupted the rainforests of the world. Millions of acres are lost each year to farming, logging (much of it illegal), mining, and other human endeavors. If unchecked, these activities could potentially eliminate the rainforests of most of Asia, Africa, and South America. Tropical rainforests are one of the most over-exploited biomes on Earth. These rainforests are deforested for timber, land conversion to agriculture and trekking spots, and hunting among others. Also, as global warming increases from burning fossil fuels and cutting down these trees, the climate in the rainforest becomes drier as temperatures rise and precipitation patterns shift. This affects plant growth and the species living in the rainforest.

- Fun Fact
Tropical forests cover at least 8 percent of Earth's land surface or 2.5 percent of its total surface area.

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- Description/Unique Characteristics
Desert biomes are the driest of all the biomes. In fact, the most important characteristic of a desert is that it receives very little rainfall. Most deserts receive less than 300 mm a year compared to rainforests, which receive over 2,000 mm. They also have moisture deficits, meaning that water evaporates more quickly than it can be replenished by precipitation. Most deserts have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation, as well as specialized vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Soils often have abundant nutrients because they need only water to become very productive and have little or no organic matter.

- Plants and Animals
Plants found in the desert include ocotillo, prickly pear, cactus, desert lily, desert willow, creosote, agave, yucca, brittlebush, aloe vera, succulents, and yellow bells. Animals commonly found in the desert are the sand cat, kangaroo rat, fennec fox, camels, tortoises, lizards, bobcats, cougars, roadrunners, sand cat, jackrabbits, ostrich, meerkats, scorpions, great horned owl, and tarantulas.

- Human Impact

Development, off-highway vehicle use, livestock overgrazing, construction of roads and utilities, military training exercises, air pollution, and the spread of non-native plant species have seriously altered the desert ecosystem over the last century. expansion and intensive use of agricultural lands, poor irrigation practices, deforestation, and overgrazing. This land places enormous pressure on the land by altering its soil and water available.

- Fun Fact
Although deserts are normally scorching hot, at night the temperatures get very cold.

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- Description/Unique Characteristics
Out of the four seasons, the deciduous forests grow in one of the suitable seasons. Deciduous forests have a long, warm growing season as one of four distinct seasons. Deciduous forests are rich in moisture. The soil of the deciduous forests is rich in minerals. Most deciduous trees are broad-leaved, with wide, flat leaves. The trees often have a rounded shape, with branches that spread out as they grow. The flowers, called blossoms, turn into seeds and fruit. Deciduous trees thrive in areas that have a mild, wet climate.

- Plants and Animals
Plants in the temperate deciduous forest are oak, maple leaves, birch, pinus, lindens, hickory, elm, spruce, sycamore, and dogwood. Animals commonly found in the temperate deciduous forests include raccoons, squirrels, red foxes, opossums, white-tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, porcupines, rabbits, owls, mountain lions, bald eagles, and cardinals.

- Human impact
Deciduous woodlands are under threat from deforestation, which has both social and economic causes. Deciduous trees are slow-growing, so they are often cut down faster than they can be replaced. In some areas, they are replaced by faster-growing, cheaper coniferous trees for use in the construction industry. Chronic stress from drought and warming temperatures also exposes temperate forests to insect and disease outbreaks. And as temperatures rise in many regions, fires grow in frequency and severity causing losses in private property, natural resources, and lives.

- Fun Fact
In the temperate deciduous forest, leaves change to different colors in autumn, all the leaves fall off in the winter, and then they grow back in the spring. This allows trees to survive cold winters.

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- Description/Unique Characteristics
Tundra winters are long, dark, and cold, with mean temperatures below 0°C for six to 10 months of the year. The temperatures are so cold that there is a layer of permanently frozen ground below the surface, called permafrost. Tundras also get fewer than ten inches of rain each year, less than any other biome. Another unique characteristic is that the Tundra summer can be as short as 6 weeks long and the highest temperatures only reach about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Plants and Animals
Common plants in the tundra include the arctic willow, lichen, labrador tea, moss, cotton grass, tufted saxifrage and sedges. Animals found in the Tundra include lemmings, voles, caribou, arctic hares, arctic foxes, wolves, polar bears, ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, and sandpipers.

- Human Impact
Human effects on the tundra include disruption of the permafrost by roads, the establishment of permanent communities, oil and mining operations, and other developments that can cause localized but lasting damage to tundra life. The oil, gas, and mining industries can disrupt fragile tundra habitats.

- Fun Fact
One fun fact about the tundra is that in summer, daytime lasts for an entire 24 hours each day.

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- Description/Unique Characteristics
Taigas are thick forests. Coniferous trees, such as spruce, pine, and fir, are common. Coniferous trees have needles instead of broad leaves, and their seeds grow inside protective, woody cones. While deciduous trees of temperate forests lose their leaves in winter, conifers never lose their needles. It is the coldest of the forest biomes and the precipitation is only slightly more than the desert or the tundra.

- Plants and Animals
Common plants in the Taiga include conifers, jack pine, paper birch, partridge berry, pine, spruce, tamarack, balsam fir, and black spruce. Animals in the Taiga are wolfs, reindeer, brown bears, lynx, moose, arctic foxes, bobcats, and beavers.

- Human Impact
A main human threat to the taiga is deforestation through logging and clear-cutting. These methods are used to provide timber for wood and paper products. Forests are also cleared for urbanization, which can lead to habitat fragmentation. Taiga ecosystems are threatened by direct human activity and climate change. Animals of the taiga, such as foxes or bears, have always been hunted.

- Fun Fact
The world's largest taiga stretches about 5,800 kilometers (3,600 miles), from the Pacific Ocean to the Ural Mountains.