Terrestrial habitat
It refers to the land where all plants and animals survive. Animals and plants which live on land are called as terrestrial animals and terrestrial plants. Animals and plants living on the land respire oxygen from air. They release carbon dioxide during this process. Terrestrial habitat includes forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains and polar regions.
a) Forests: These are large areas covered with trees and plants. Organisms living in the forest depend upon abiotic factors like air, availability of water, temperature, sunlight etc. Wild life in the forest include both plants and animals. All these organisms are interdependent on one and other. Plants can synthesise their own food and store in their body. Animals make use of this food for survival.
Three types of forests are tropical forests, temperate forests and boreal forests.
Tropical forests are known as Rain forests are the forests which occur between equator and the two tropics. The temperature is maintained between 20oC and 34oC. They receive rainfall throughout the year. Annual rainfall is about 200cm. Different types of flora and fauna occur in these forests.
Temperate forests occur in Northeast Asia, North America and Central Europe. Temperature ranges between -30oC to 30oC. Annual rainfall is about 150cm and is received throughout the year. Summer season is demarcated from winter season. Trees are deciduous trees.
Boreal forests are also called as Taiga forests. These forests are scattered over many places which include, China, Canada, Russia, Northern Japan etc. Temperature ranges between -50oC to 30oC. Annual snowfall ranges from 40 to 100 cm.
b) Grasslands: These are mainly covered by long and thick grasses. Temperature ranges between -20oC and 30oC. Annual rainfall they receive varies between 50cm and 90cm. Animals like zebra, giraffe, lion and elephant are prevalent.
c) Deserts: These are the areas that receive scanty rainfall. These are dry with sand covering the whole region. Deserts are mostly hot regions but some of them are even too cold regions. Temperatures are too high during day time and too low during night time. Annual rainfall is less than 25 cm. Animals like camel, rattle snake, kangaroo rat are found in deserts. Plants like cactus and thorny plants are prevalent.
d) Mountains: These regions are rocky and dry. Sometimes water occurs as flowing streams. Plants present on hills are xerophytes. These are conical and evergreen. Many climbers are found covering the huge trees. As the height of the mountain increases, temperatures fall down and animals are adapted to live in those cold conditions. Winds are dry and cold. Animals like Yak, bear, hill goats, flying fox are the examples.
e) Polar region: These regions are covered with high snowy peaks. Animals found here are adapted by having thick furry coat on the skin. They also have a layer of fat under the skin. This fat is used as reserved food during ice-cold winter. Animals like polar bears, seals, foxes are seen. Penguins are seen standing in the ice. Fish are adapted to live in ice-cold water.
Aquatic habitat
It refers to the region covered with water where plants and animals survive. Aquatic habitat is further divided into freshwater habitat, marine habitat and coastal habitat. Water is the medium for the organisms living in aquatic habitats.
a) Freshwater habitat: These are the water bodies filled with fresh water. These include rivers, lakes, ponds, streams etc. Water present has very low concentration of salts. Plants growing in water are called as hydrophytes.
b) Marine habitat: Ocean and seas are termed to be marine habitat. These are full with life. Different varieties of organisms exist in marine habitat. Organisms like, corals, shelled animals, sponges, jelly fish, sharks and many others are found in this habitat.
c) Coastal habitat: This is the region represented by the place where land meets the sea. Estuaries are formed when the saltwater mixes with freshwater. These habitats are unique Special type of trees called as mangroves are found in this region. Animals are also well adapted to live in these regions.