# data[].attributes.body
Located around the equator, they make up one of the Earth's largest biomes

*biomes are major life zones

https://www.britannica.com/science/tropical-rainforest

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Origin

Tropical rainforests represent the oldest major vegetation type still present on the terrestrial Earth. Like all vegetation, however, that of the rainforest continues to evolve and change, so modern tropical rainforests are not identical with rainforests of the geologic past.

Tropical rainforests grow mainly in three regions: the Malesian botanical subkingdom, which extends from Myanmar (Burma) to Fiji and includes the whole of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu and parts of Indochina and tropical Australia; tropical South and Central America, especially the Amazon basin; and West and Central Africa ( see biogeographic region). Smaller areas of tropical rainforest occur elsewhere in the tropics wherever climate is suitable. The principal areas of tropical deciduous forest (or monsoon forests) are in India, the Myanmar- Vietnam-southern coastal China region, and eastern Brazil, with smaller areas in South and Central America north of the Equator, the West Indies, southeastern Africa, and northern Australia.

The flowering plants ( angiosperms) first evolved and diversified during the Cretaceous Period about 100 million years ago, during which time global climatic conditions were warmer and wetter than those of the present. The vegetation types that evolved were the first tropical rainforests, which blanketed most of Earth's land surfaces at that time. Only later-during the middle of the Paleogene Period, about 40 million years ago-did cooler, drier climates develop, leading to the development across large areas of other vegetation types.

It is no surprise, therefore, to find the greatest diversity of flowering plants today in the tropical rainforests where they first evolved. Of particular interest is the fact that the majority of flowering plants displaying the most primitive characteristics are found in rainforests (especially tropical rainforests) in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, particularly South America, northern Australia and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia, and some larger South Pacific islands. Of the 13 angiosperm families generally recognized as the most primitive, all but two- Magnoliaceae and Winteraceae-are overwhelmingly tropical in their present distribution. Three families-Illiciaceae, Magnoliaceae, and Schisandraceae-are found predominantly in Northern Hemisphere rainforests. Five families-Amborellaceae, Austrobaileyaceae, Degeneriaceae, Eupomatiaceae, and Himantandraceae-are restricted to rainforests in the tropical Australasian region. Members of the Winteraceae are shared between this latter region and South America, those of the Lactoridaceae grow only on the southeast Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, members of the Canellaceae are shared between South America and Africa, and two families- Annonaceae and Myristicaceae-generally occur in tropical regions. This has led some authorities to suggest that the original cradle of angiosperm evolution might lie in Gondwanaland, a supercontinent of the Southern Hemisphere thought to have existed in the Mesozoic Era (252 to 66 million years ago) and consisted of Africa, South America, Australia, peninsular India, and Antarctica. An alternative explanation for this geographic pattern is that in the Southern Hemisphere, especially on islands, there are more refugia-i.e., isolated areas whose climates remained unaltered while those of the surrounding areas changed, enabling archaic life-forms to persist.

The first angiosperms are thought to have been massive, woody plants appropriate for a rainforest habitat. Most of the smaller, more delicate plants that are so widespread in the world today evolved later, ultimately from tropical rainforest ancestors. While it is possible that even earlier forms existed that await discovery, the oldest angiosperm fossils- leaves, wood, fruits, and flowers derived from trees-support the view that the earliest angiosperms were rainforest trees. Further evidence comes from the growth forms of the most primitive surviving angiosperms: all 13 of the most primitive angiosperm families consist of woody plants, most of which are large trees.

As the world climate cooled in the middle of the Cenozoic, it also became drier. This is because cooler temperatures led to a reduction in the rate of evaporation of water from, in particular, the surface of the oceans, which led in turn to less cloud formation and less precipitation. The entire hydrologic cycle slowed, and tropical rainforests-which depend on both warmth and consistently high rainfall-became increasingly restricted to equatorial latitudes. Within those regions rainforests were limited further to coastal and hilly areas where abundant rain still fell at all seasons. In the middle latitudes of both hemispheres, belts of atmospheric high pressure developed. Within these belts, especially in continental interiors, deserts formed ( see desert: Origin). In regions lying between the wet tropics and the deserts, climatic zones developed in which rainfall adequate for luxuriant plant growth was experienced for only a part of the year. In these areas new plant forms evolved from tropical rainforest ancestors to cope with seasonally dry weather, forming tropical deciduous forests. In the drier and more fire-prone places, savannas and tropical grasslands developed.

Retreat of the rainforests was particularly rapid during the period beginning 5,000,000 years ago leading up to and including the Pleistocene Ice Ages, or glacial intervals, that occurred between 2,600,000 and 11,700 years ago. Climates fluctuated throughout this time, forcing vegetation in all parts of the world to repeatedly migrate, by seed dispersal, to reach areas of suitable climate. Not all plants were able to do this equally well because some had less-effective means of seed dispersal than others. Many extinctions resulted. During the most extreme periods (the glacial maxima, when climates were at their coldest and, in most places, also driest), the range of tropical rainforests shrank to its smallest extent, becoming restricted to relatively small refugia. Alternating intervals of climatic amelioration led to repeated range expansion, most recently from the close of the last glacial period about 10,000 years ago. Today large areas of tropical rainforest, such as Amazonia, have developed as a result of this relatively recent expansion. Within them it is possible to recognize "hot spots" of plant and animal diversity that have been interpreted as glacial refugia.

Tropical rainforests today represent a treasure trove of biological heritage, and they also serve as sinks for more than 50 percent of all atmospheric carbon dioxide absorbed by plants annually. They not only retain many primitive plant and animal species but also are communities that exhibit unparalleled biodiversity and a great variety of ecological interactions. The tropical rainforest of Africa was the habitat in which the ancestors of humans evolved, and it is where the nearest surviving human relatives- chimpanzees and gorillas-live still. Tropical rainforests supplied a rich variety of food and other resources to indigenous peoples, who, for the most part, exploited this bounty without degrading the vegetation or reducing its range to any significant degree. However, in some regions a long history of forest burning by the inhabitants is thought to have caused extensive replacement of tropical rainforest and tropical deciduous forest with savanna.

Not until the past century, however, has widespread destruction of tropical forests occurred. Regrettably, tropical rainforests and tropical deciduous forests are now being destroyed at a rapid rate in order to provide resources such as timber and to create land that can be used for other purposes, such as cattle grazing ( see deforestation). Today tropical forests, more than any other ecosystem, are experiencing habitat alteration and species extinction on a greater scale and at a more rapid pace than at any other time in their history-at least since the major extinction event (the K-T extinction) at the end of the Cretaceous Period, some 66 million years ago ( see Sidebar: Status of the World's Tropical Forests).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tropical rainforest | Definition, Characteristics, Location, Climate, Animals, Plants, & Facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Tropical rainforest, luxuriant forest found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands near the Equator. Tropical rainforests are dominated by broad-leaved trees that form a dense upper canopy and contain a wide array of vegetation and other life. Worldwide, they make up one of Earth's largest biomes (major life zones).

# data[].attributes.body
A very large, extremely dry area with sparse vegetation. They are one of Earth's major types of ecosystems, covering more than 1/5 of Earth's land mass.

https://www.britannica.com/science/desert

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
desert, any large, extremely dry area of land with sparse vegetation. It is one of Earth's major types of ecosystems, supporting a community of distinctive plants and animals specially adapted to the harsh environment. For a list of selected deserts of the world, .

Desert environments are so dry that they support only extremely sparse vegetation; trees are usually absent and, under normal climatic conditions, shrubs or herbaceous plants provide only very incomplete ground cover. Extreme aridity renders some deserts virtually devoid of plants; however, this barrenness is believed to be due in part to the effects of human disturbance, such as heavy grazing of cattle, on an already stressed environment.

According to some definitions, any environment that is almost completely free of plants is considered desert, including regions too cold to support vegetation-i.e., "frigid deserts." Other definitions use the term to apply only to hot and temperate deserts, a restriction followed in this account.

Origin

The desert environments of the present are, in geologic terms, relatively recent in origin. They represent the most extreme result of the progressive cooling and consequent aridification of global climates during the Cenozoic Era (65.5 million years ago to the present), which also led to the development of savannas and scrublands in the less arid regions near the tropical and temperate margins of the developing deserts. It has been suggested that many typical modern desert plant families, particularly those with an Asian centre of diversity such as the chenopod and tamarisk families, first appeared in the Miocene (23 to 5.3 million years ago), evolving in the salty, drying environment of the disappearing Tethys Sea along what is now the Mediterranean-Central Asian axis.

Deserts also probably existed much earlier, during former periods of global arid climate in the lee of mountain ranges that sheltered them from rain or in the centre of extensive continental regions. However, this would have been primarily before the evolution of angiosperms (flowering plants, the group to which most present-day plants, including those of deserts, belong). Only a few primitive plants, which may have been part of the ancient desert vegetation, occur in present-day deserts. One example is the bizarre conifer relative welwitschia in the Namib Desert of southwestern Africa. Welwitschia has only two leaves, which are leathery, straplike organs that emanate from the middle of a massive, mainly subterranean woody stem. These leaves grow perpetually from their bases and erode progressively at their ends. This desert also harbours several other plants and animals peculiarly adapted to the arid environment, suggesting that it might have a longer continuous history of arid conditions than most other deserts.

Desert floras and faunas initially evolved from ancestors in moister habitats, an evolution that occurred independently on each continent. However, a significant degree of commonality exists among the plant families that dominate different desert vegetations. This is due in part to intrinsic physiologic characteristics in some widespread desert families that preadapt the plants to an arid environment; it also is a result of plant migration occurring through chance seed dispersal among desert regions.

Such migration was particularly easy between northern and southern desert regions in Africa and in the Americas during intervals of drier climate that have occurred in the past two million years. This migration is reflected in close floristic similarities currently observed in these places. For example, the creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata), although now widespread and common in North American hot deserts, was probably a natural immigrant from South America as recently as the end of the last Ice Age about 11,700 years ago.

Migration between discrete desert regions also has been relatively easier for those plants adapted to survival in saline soils because such conditions occur not only in deserts but also in coastal habitats. Coasts can therefore provide migration corridors for salt-tolerant plants, and in some cases the drifting of buoyant seeds in ocean currents can provide a transport mechanism between coasts. For example, it is thought that the saltbush or chenopod family of plants reached Australia in this way, initially colonizing coastal habitats and later spreading into the inland deserts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Desert | Definition, Climate, Animals, Plants, & Types

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Desert, any large, extremely dry area of land with sparse vegetation. It is one of Earth's major types of ecosystems, supporting a community of plants and animals specially adapted to the harsh environment. In deserts, trees are usually absent, and shrubs or herbaceous plants provide only very incomplete ground cover.

# data[].attributes.body
Estuaries are bodies of water where the river meets the sea. The intermediate area results in a water type known as brackish water. Brackish water is a mix of fresh water from the land and seawater.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/estuary.html#:~:text=Estuaries%20and%20their%20surrounding%20wetlands,the%20land%20and%20salty%20seawater.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea. Estuaries are home to unique plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water-a mixture of fresh water draining from the land and salty seawater.

However, there are also several types of entirely freshwater ecosystems that have many similar characteristics to the traditional brackish estuaries. For example, along the Great Lakes, river water with very different chemical and physical characteristics mixes with lake water in coastal wetlands that are affected by tides and storms just like estuaries along the oceanic coasts. These freshwater estuaries also provide many of the ecosystem services and functions that brackish estuaries do, such as serving as natural filters for runoff and providing nursery grounds for many species of birds, fish, and other animals.

Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Many animals rely on estuaries for food, places to breed, and migration stopovers.

Estuaries are delicate ecosystems. Congress created the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to protect more than one million acres of estuarine land and water. These estuarine reserves provide essential habitat for wildlife, offer educational opportunities for students, and serve as living laboratories for scientists.

Video Transcript

Estuaries: Where the River Meets the Sea. Estuaries. Where freshwater rivers meet the salty open sea. There is a lot to love in an estuary. A popular destination for fishing, boating, birding and hiking, estuaries are a beautiful place to be. Miles of beaches, flowing grasses, marshes, creeks, and streams. This salty freshwater mix is where life begins and is the nursing grounds for 75% of the fish we catch. Estuaries are lined with marshes and sea grasses that filter water flowing to the ocean and act as a buffer protecting us from coastal storms. NOAA works closely with coastal states to manage the National Estuarine Research Reserve System of 28 protected areas along the nation's coasts. These valuable reserves are living laboratories for scientists and exciting, hands-on classrooms for students and teachers. At the reserves, scientists study sea level rise, water pollution, erosion, and impacts of human development. These studies provide strong scientific knowledge to help us create healthy, productive estuaries. The Chesapeake Bay, the ACE Basin in South Carolina, and San Francisco Bay in California, are just a few of the 28 reserves that can be found near you . So visit an estuary and experience firsthand the beauty and wildlife where the river meets the sea.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
national oceanic and atmospheric administration

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea.

# data[].attributes.body
The tundra is one of the coldest and harshest biomes, they are covered with snow for a large portion of the year

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/tundras-explained/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Image

Photograph by Ira Block

Tundra ecosystems are treeless regions found in the Arctic and on the tops of mountains, where the climate is cold and windy, and rainfall is scant. Tundra lands are covered with snow for much of the year, but summer brings bursts of wildflowers.

Plants and Animals in Tundras
Mountain goats, sheep, marmots, and birds live in mountain-or alpine-tundra and feed on the low-lying plants and insects. Hardy flora like cushion plants survive in the mountain zones by growing in rock depressions, where it is warmer and they are sheltered from the wind.

The Arctic tundra, where the average temperature is -34 to -6 degrees Celsius (-30 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit), supports a variety of animal species, including Arctic foxes ( Vulpes lagopus), polar bears ( Ursus maritimus), gray wolves ( Canis lupus), caribou ( Rangifer tarandus), snow geese ( Anser caerulescens), and musk oxen ( Ovibos moschatus). The summer growing season is just 50 to 60 days, when the sun shines up to 24 hours a day.

The relatively few species of plants and animals that live in the harsh conditions of the tundra are essentially clinging to life. They are highly vulnerable to environmental stresses like reduced snow cover and warmer temperatures brought on by global warming.

Climate Change Impact on Tundras
The Arctic tundra is changing dramatically due to global warming, a term that falls within a wider range of trends scientists now prefer to call climate change. The impacts in this region are broad and somewhat unpredictable. Animals that are typically found farther south, like the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes), are moving north onto the tundra. This means the red fox is now competing with the Arctic fox for food and territory, and the long-term impact on the sensitive Arctic fox is unknown.

Other tundra denizens, such as the wolf spider ( Lycosidae spp.), are growing bigger and thriving. Shrubs are getting taller, contributing to declines in the sensitive groups of lichen that caribou and other species depend on for food. Lakes and ponds are evaporating or draining away.

Perma Defrost
The Arctic's permafrost, the literal foundation for much of the region's unique ecosystem, is deteriorating with the warmer global climate. Permafrost is a layer of frozen soil and dead plants that extends some 450 meters (1,476 feet) below the surface. In much of the Arctic, it is frozen year-round. In the southern regions of the Arctic, the surface layer above the permafrost melts during the summer, and this forms bogs and shallow lakes that invite an explosion of animal life. Insects swarm around the bogs, and millions of migrating birds come to feed on them.

With global warming, the fall freeze comes later-in some places recently, not at all-and more of the permafrost is melting in the southern Arctic. Shrubs and spruce that previously couldn't take root on the permafrost now dot the landscape, potentially altering the habitat of the native animals.

Another major concern is that the melting of the permafrost is contributing to global warming. The frozen ground contains about one and a half times the amount of carbon already in the atmosphere today, as well as large amounts of methane, another potent greenhouse gas. Until recently, the tundra acted as a carbon sink, capturing huge amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as part of photosynthesis. That process helped keep the amount of this greenhouse gas from accumulating in the atmosphere.

Today, however, as the permafrost melts and dead plant material decomposes and releases greenhouse gases, the tundra has flipped from a carbon sink to a carbon contributor. That means not only is the planet less capable of preventing greenhouse gases from accumulating, but the tundra is also contributing to their buildup. Scientists are still learning about what else the permafrost harbors, and what could be released as it thaws. Recently a study found that it is also the largest store of mercury on the planet and could release the toxic heavy metal into the environment, to harmful effect.

Director

Production Managers

Program Specialists

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Barren tundra lands are home to hardy flora and fauna and are one of Earth's coldest, harshest biomes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Changing Seasons

Unlike in a rainforest, where the temperature stays the same year-round, it's easy to tell what season it is in a temperate forest. It's warm in the summer, but it gets cool in the fall, and cold in the winter. Most temperate forests don't get as much rainfall as tropical rainforests, but they do get enough rain-about 30 to 60 inches each year-to grow big trees. Certain trees in a temperate forest can grow up to 100 feet tall-that's as high as a seven-story building!

Temperate forests are found in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and central and western Europe. In North America, the Eastern Deciduous Forest stretches from Florida to Maine along the east coast and as far west as Texas and Minnesota. The forest extends over 26 U.S. states and as well as parts of southern Canada.

Part of an island in Japan is a temperate forest. Oak, ash and conifers grow in the lowlands of the island of Hokkaido. It's also the only place in Japan where brown bears live in the wild.

Sherwood Forest in England, where the legendary Robin Hood is said to have lived, is a tiny forest-less than one square mile-but is home to over 900 big oak trees.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Temperate forest habitat facts and photos

# data[].attributes.body
A body of water with a salt concentration of less than 1% is considered freshwater. Fresh water regions include:

ponds and lakes

streams and rivers

wetlands

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Home | Online exhibits | The world's biomes

Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration — usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration (i.e., ocean). There are different types of freshwater regions:

Ponds and lakes

These regions range in size from just a few square meters to thousands of square kilometers. Scattered throughout the earth, several are remnants from the Pleistocene glaciation. Many ponds are seasonal, lasting just a couple of months (such as sessile pools) while lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more. Ponds and lakes may have limited species diversity since they are often isolated from one another and from other water sources like rivers and oceans. Lakes and ponds are divided into three different "zones" which are usually determined by depth and distance from the shoreline.

The topmost zone near the shore of a lake or pond is the littoral zone. This zone is the warmest since it is shallow and can absorb more of the Sun's heat. It sustains a fairly diverse community, which can include several species of algae (like diatoms), rooted and floating aquatic plants, grazing snails, clams, insects, crustaceans, fishes, and amphibians. In the case of the insects, such as dragonflies and midges, only the egg and larvae stages are found in this zone. The vegetation and animals living in the littoral zone are food for other creatures such as turtles, snakes, and ducks.

The near-surface open water surrounded by the littoral zone is the limnetic zone. The limnetic zone is well-lighted (like the littoral zone) and is dominated by plankton, both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Plankton are small organisms that play a crucial role in the food chain. Without aquatic plankton, there would be few living organisms in the world, and certainly no humans. A variety of freshwater fish also occupy this zone.

Plankton have short life spans — when they die, they fall into the deep-water part of the lake/pond, the profundal zone. This zone is much colder and denser than the other two. Little light penetrates all the way through the limnetic zone into the profundal zone. The fauna are heterotrophs, meaning that they eat dead organisms and use oxygen for cellular respiration.

Temperature varies in ponds and lakes seasonally. During the summer, the temperature can range from 4° C near the bottom to 22° C at the top. During the winter, the temperature at the bottom can be 4° C while the top is 0° C (ice). In between the two layers, there is a narrow zone called the thermocline where the temperature of the water changes rapidly. During the spring and fall seasons, there is a mixing of the top and bottom layers, usually due to winds, which results in a uniform water temperature of around 4° C. This mixing also circulates oxygen throughout the lake. Of course there are many lakes and ponds that do not freeze during the winter, thus the top layer would be a little warmer.

Streams and rivers

These are bodies of flowing water moving in one direction. Streams and rivers can be found everywhere — they get their starts at headwaters, which may be springs, snowmelt or even lakes, and then travel all the way to their mouths, usually another water channel or the ocean. The characteristics of a river or stream change during the journey from the source to the mouth. The temperature is cooler at the source than it is at the mouth. The water is also clearer, has higher oxygen levels, and freshwater fish such as trout and heterotrophs can be found there. Towards the middle part of the stream/river, the width increases, as does species diversity — numerous aquatic green plants and algae can be found. Toward the mouth of the river/stream, the water becomes murky from all the sediments that it has picked up upstream, decreasing the amount of light that can penetrate through the water. Since there is less light, there is less diversity of flora, and because of the lower oxygen levels, fish that require less oxygen, such as catfish and carp, can be found.

Wetlands

Wetlands are areas of standing water that support aquatic plants. Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all considered wetlands. Plant species adapted to the very moist and humid conditions are called hydrophytes. These include pond lilies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, and black spruce. Marsh flora also include such species as cypress and gum. Wetlands have the highest species diversity of all ecosystems. Many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds (such as ducks and waders), and furbearers can be found in the wetlands. Wetlands are not considered freshwater ecosystems as there are some, such as salt marshes, that have high salt concentrations — these support different species of animals, such as shrimp, shellfish, and various grasses.

Visit our gallery of wetlands images, which illustrate the amazing diversity of wetland ecosystems.

--

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Home | Online exhibits | The world's biomes Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration - usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration (i.e., ocean).

# data[].attributes.body
Examples: oceans, coral reefs and estuaries

Higher salt concentration than freshwater

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marine ecosystem: Marine ecosystem, complex of living organisms in the ocean environment. Marine waters cover two-thirds of the surface of the Earth.

# data[].attributes.body
Marine waters cover 2/3 (70%) of the surface of the Earth, it is the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_ecosystem

# data[].attributes.body
Grasslands are usually continuous mostly flat areas, they are located between temperate forest and deserts. They predominant flora in grasslands is grass

https://www.fog.org.au/grasslands.htm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grasslands are natural ecological communities dominated by grasses and with no or only sparse tree or shrub cover. They are dominated by a range of grass species but contain a diversity of other herbs. Grasslands are among the most species rich plant communities in Australia.

# data[].attributes.body
The amazon is the world's largest tropical rainforest, and the most biologically diverse ecosystem

https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/what-animals-live-in-the-amazon-and-8-other-amazon-facts#:~:text=The%20Amazon%20is%20an%20incredibly,freshwater%20systems%20are%20at%20risk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Amazon is an incredibly unique place. It is the world's largest rain forest and river system, and the most biologically diverse place on Earth. It contains millions of species, most of them still undescribed.

Both the Amazon's forest and freshwater systems are at risk. Since the year 2000, rainfall has declined across 69% of the Amazon forest. WWF estimates that 27% of the Amazon biome will be without trees by 2030 if the current rate of deforestation continues. Protecting and conserving the Amazon is no easy task, but WWF has been working to save this important place.

Learn more about this special region:

3. What kind of birds can you see in the Amazon?
Home to more than a thousand different species of birds like hummingbirds, channel-billed toucans, hoatzins and macaws, the Amazon is one of the most diverse areas for birds in the world. Macaws, an icon of the Amazon, are highly intelligent and social, living in flocks of 10 to 30 birds. They mate for life and can live up to 60 years. Some species can even mimic human speech. But macaws are under threat from deforestation and the illegal pet trade.
7. What is the Amazon Region Protected Areas program?
WWF and our partners launched an approach called P roject Finance for Permanence in Brazil to protect 150 million acres of the Brazilian Amazon. We joined public and private entities to raise $215 million to create, consolidate, and maintain a network of 114 protected areas. The network, called the Amazon Region Protected Areas program, is almost three times larger than all US national parks combined.

Now WWF is testing the same approach for the protected area systems in several other countries that are important for conservation, including Peru, Bhutan, and Colombia.

8. How is climate change impacting the Amazon?
Climate change threatens to disrupt the networks of water and forests wildlife depend on. Warmer temperatures and less rainfall have produced droughts of historic proportions. The Amazon suffered its worst droughts of 100 years in 2005 and 2010. Long dry spells wither crops, decimate fisheries and lead to forest fires. This can result in significant shifts in the makeup of ecosystems and a loss of species. WWF helps farmers protect their crops from severe rainfall and droughts and ensure nearby wildlife areas can adapt to a warmer world.

9. How can you help protect the Amazon?
There are many ways you can help protect the Amazon. You can educate your friends and family about the importance of the Amazon. You can become a discerning customer: ask how your food and other purchases have been produced, and buy products with the FSC label. You can reduce your use of fossil fuels, and your impact on the planet. You can also speak up for the Amazon peoples by sharing their stories and talking about environmental concerns.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What animals live in the Amazon? And 8 other Amazon facts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Amazon is an incredibly unique place. It is the world's largest rain forest and river system, and the most biologically diverse place on Earth. It contains millions of species, most of them still undescribed. Learn more about this amazing place.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Home | Online exhibits | The world’s biomes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Deserts are the driest places on Earth—they get fewer than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain a year. Some deserts may get a lot of rain all at once. Then it might not rain again for months—or even years!

# data[].attributes.body
The most famous desert is The Sahara

https://www.memphistours.com/blog/famous-deserts-of-the-world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Deserts are some of the most stunning landscapes in the world. The arid land is often uninhabited but possesses a unique beauty. So, take a look at this list of deserts in the world worth visiting.

# data[].attributes.body
Coral reefs house more than 25% of all marine life, making them one of the most diverse ecosystems

https://coral.org/en/coral-reefs-101/why-care-about-reefs/biodiversity/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species that can be found in a particular place. Coral reefs are believed by many to have the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem on the planet-even more than a tropical rainforest. Occupying less than one percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs are home to more than 25% of all marine life.

Why is that important? A highly biodiverse ecosystem, one with many different species, is often more resilient to changing conditions and can better withstand significant disturbances.

Each species plays its own function in a coral reef ecosystem. Some are herbivores and specialize in eating different kinds of algae, keeping corals from being smothered by their potentially deadly competitors. Others, like sharks, groupers, and other predatory fish, keep populations of smaller fish and other organisms in balance.

Parrotfish actually eat the reef itself. They scrape at the coral to get to the small algae (zooxanthellae) living inside the coral polyp, then grind up the coral skeleton with teeth in their throats and excrete it as sand. Those beautiful, white sand beaches? Thank parrotfish.

"Cleaner" fish (and shrimp) keep other fish healthy by freeing them of parasites, while crabs and sea cucumbers crawl about, scavenging and cleaning up detritus on the reef and ocean floor.

Even marine worms and snails perform important roles in the reef ecosystem. Worms filter organic matter in the water and sediments, while snails such as limpets and conchs graze on algae. The snails sometimes become food for sea stars-while sea stars can in turn be eaten by giant snails! Other creatures in the "spiny-skinned" or echinoderm family-such as feather stars and basket stars-capture plankton from the current.

Sea anemones-like the clownfish anemone-have formed symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationships with fish and crabs. The sea anemones hide and protect the fish and crabs while the fish and crabs in turn protect the anemones. Animals that help filter and clarify the water on a reef include sea squirts and salps ("tunicates"), and giant clams (mollusks), which sieve and eat phytoplankton. And even primitive animals like sea sponges are important to reef health, providing habitat for crustaceans, marine worms, and young fish in their intricate aquiferous canals, and for barnacles and tiny mollusks in their complex surfaces. They are also "recyclers"-taking in nutrients they filter from the water and producing waste products that feed lots of other reef species. Sponges themselves become food for nudibranchs, sea stars, turtles, and fish. And they are valuable to humans as well, producing diverse chemical compounds that are being explored for human medicines.

Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).Photo by Jeff Yonover

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species that can be found in a particular place. Coral reefs are believed by many to have the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem on the planet-even more than a tropical rainforest. Occupying less than one percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs are home to more than 25%...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.[1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are s…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Grassland Animals List: What animals live in grasslands

Wolf (Ethiopian, Grey, Maned)

Rhinoceros (Sumatran, White, Black, Javan, Indian)

Tiger (Sumatran, Malayan)

Bison (American, European)

Jaguar (Pantanal, Bolivian, Paraguayan)

Lion (Asiatic, African)

Leopard (African, Indian, Persian)

Deer (White-tailed, Fallow)

Fox (Swift, Cape, Pampas)

Armadillo (Nine-banded, Giant)

Hare (African savanna, Ethiopian)

Rat (Kangaroo, Papua grassland mosaic-tailed, African wading, Grassland mosaic-tailed rat, Snow Mountains grassland mosaic-tailed, Sloggett's vlei, Sudanian grass, Angoni vlei)

Golden mole (Highveld, Sclater's, Hottentot, Fynbos, Arends's, Rough-haired, Robust, Stuhlmann's, Duthie's, Sclater's)

Vole (Meadow, Prairie, Günther's, Alai mole, Afghan, Montane, Beach, Caucasian snow, Robert's snow, Creeping, Bank, Townsend's)

Shrew (Least dwarf, Elliot's short-tailed, lesser Ryukyu, Fraser's musk, Prairie, Cinereus, Common, Lucina's, Mount Kenya mole, greater white-toothed, short-snouted elephant, Savanna)

Hedgehog (Amur, European, Somali, Daurian, Long-eared)

Weasel (African striped, Long-tailed)

Hyrax (Yellow-spotted rock, Southern tree, Western tree)

Elephant (African, Asian)

Duck (Northern pintail, Mallard, Northern shoveler, Garganey)

Macaw (Scarlet, Hyacinth)

Owl (Burrowing, African grass)

Goose (Greater white-fronted, Greylag, Barnacle)

Woodpecker (Red-headed, European green)

Grouse (Sharptail, Greater prairie)

Cockatoo (Sulpher-crested, Red-tailed black)

Hawk (Ferruginous, White-tailed)

Courser (Temminck's, Three-banded)

Crane (Black-crowned, Common, Blue, Demoiselle, Red-crowned)

Dove (Mourning, White-winged, Long-tailed ground, Plain-breasted ground)

Eagle (Chaco, Bald, Martial, Wedge-tailed, Golden, Short-toed snake, Long-crested)

Whydah (Pin-tailed, Shaft-tailed)

Flycatcher (Tyrant, Black-and-orange, African paradise, White-tailed blue, Marico, Pale, Chat, Suiriri, Ashy, African blue, Fiscal)

Falcon (Prairie, Saker, Amur, Aplomado, Black, Altai, Grey, Lanner, White-rumped)

Heron (Little-blue, Whistling, Capped, Black, White-necked, Rufous-bellied, Pied, White-faced, Indian pond)

Bushshrike (Green-breasted, Orange-breasted)

Ostrich (North African, Common, Somali)

Pheasant (Green, Common)

Starling (Superb, Emerald, Wattled, Common, Cape, Golden-breasted, Pied, Red-winged, White-collared)

Stork (White, Wooly-necked, Maguari, Black-necked, Storm's)

Finch (Zebra, Star, Grassland yellow, White-winged diuca, Puna yellow, White-bridled, Wedge-tailed grass, Pampa, Yellow-bridled, Short-tailed)

Caracara (Northern crested, White-throated, Chimango)

Bustard (Great Indian, White-bellied, Kori, Denham's, Little brown, Black-bellied, Great, Australian, Little)

Bowerbird (Yellow-breasted, Fawn-breasted)

Barbet (Usambiro, Acacia pied, Red-faced, Chaplin's)

Hornbill (Southern ground, Red-billed, Abyssinian ground)

Harrier (Spotted, Marsh, Montagu's, Northern, Hen, Long-winged, Réunion, Papuan, Malagasy)

Kestrel (Nankeen, Spotted, American, Greater, Fox, Dickinson's, Common)

Turkey (Wild, Ocellated)

Vulture (Rüppell's, King, Cinereous, Black, Turkey, White-backed)

Warbler (Pale-footed bush, Grass, Lanceolated, Chestnut-backed bush, Taiwan bush, Oriental reed, Rufous-eared, Cricket, Red-fronted, Buff-bellied, Arabian, Red-winged grey)

Thrush (Nilgiri, Alpine, Mistle, Sentinel rock, Tristan, Groundscraper)

Roller (Indian, Lilac-breasted, European)

Quail (Common, Himalayan, Rain, Stubble, Scaled, New Zealand, Manipur bush, Rock bush, Northern bobwhite, Crested bobwhite)

Buzzard (Grey-faced, Augur, Archer's, Jackal, Mountain, Rufous-winged, Red-necked, Lizard, Long-legged)

Shrike (White-tailed, Mackinnon's, Emin's, long-tailed, Great grey, Loggerhead, Magpie)

Shrike-tyrant (White-tailed, Black-billed, Grey-bellied)

Bee-eater (Green, Somali, Olive, Blue-cheeked)

Thrasher (Long-billed, Curve-billed)

Snakes: Boa (Rubber, Constrictor), Cobra (Chinese, Forest), Python (Indian, Ball, Reticulated, African Rock), Mamba (Jameson's, Black), Garter snake (Butler's, Aquatic, Blackneck, Western terrestrial, Butler's, Blackneck), Rattlesnake (Western diamondback, Prairie, Eastern diamondback, Massasauga, Tiger, Grand Canyon), Fox snake (Eastern, Western), Kingsnake (Prairie, California), Glossy snake (Texas, faded), Adder (Common death, Mountain), Brown snake (Eastern, Ringed), Western hognose snake, Texas indigo snake, Egg-eating snake, Gaboon viper, Aurora house snake, Night snake, Eastern worm snake, Brown tree snake, Andean milk snake, Red-naped snake, Mole snake, Mulga snake, Texas rat snake, Western black-headed snake, Long-nosed snake, Coral snake, Thickhead ground snake, Kirtland's snake, Ring-necked snake, Smooth green snake, Slowinski's corn snake, Aesculapian snake, Arafura file snake

Turtles: Box turtle (Ornate, Common, Eastern, Three-toed, Desert) African helmeted turtle, Arizona mud turtle, Wood turtle, Savanna side-necked turtle

Geckos: Common leopard gecko, Afghan leopard gecko, Okavango dwarf gecko, Transvaal rock gecko

Chameleons: Flap-necked chameleon, Coarse chameleon, Marshall's pygmy chameleon, Black-headed dwarf chameleon, Jewelled chameleon, African chameleon, Graceful chameleon, Senegal chameleon, Antimena chameleon, Meller's chameleon

Toads: Cane toads, Guttural toads, Tibetan toads, Amatola toads, African red toads, Iranian earless toads, Gulf Coast toads, Western giant toads, American toads, Great Plains toads, Inyanga toads, Asiatic toads, Texas toads, African red toads, Douglas' toads, Canadian toads, Oak toads, European green toads, Spadefoot toads

Salamanders: Northwestern salamander, Gregarious slender salamander, Plateau tiger salamander, Lanza's alpine salamander, Blunt-headed salamander, Sacramento Mountain salamander, California slender salamander, Black salamander, California tiger salamander, Granular salamander, Tarahumara salamander, Paramo Frontino salamander

Newt: Coastal Range newt, Anderson's crocodile newt, Wanggao warty newt, Southern banded newt

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grassland Animals List: What animals live in grasslands Wolf (Ethiopian, Grey, Maned) Rhinoceros (Sumatran, White, Black, Javan, Indian) Tiger (Sumatran, Malayan) Bison (American, European) Jaguar (Pantanal, Bolivian, Paraguayan) Lion (Asiatic, African) Leopard (African, Indian, Persian) Deer (White-tailed, Fallow) Fox (Swift, Cape, Pampas) Armadillo (Nine-banded, Giant) Hare (African savanna, Ethiopian) Rat

# data[].attributes.body
Deserts do not have to have a hot climate to be considered a deserts, in fact the Antarctic desert is the largest desert in the world. The Sahara desert comes in third for total size trailing two cold climate deserts.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above 50,000 km2 (19,300 sq mi).