Terrestrial ecosystem

Terrestrial ecosystems are ecosystems that are found on land. Examples include tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, deserts.^[1]

Terrestrial ecosystems differ from aquatic ecosystems by the predominant presence of soil rather than water at the surface and by the extension of plants above this soil/water surface in terrestrial ecosystems. There is a wide range of water availability among terrestrial ecosystems (including water scarcity in some cases), whereas water is seldom a limiting factor to organisms in aquatic ecosystems. Because water buffers temperature fluctuations, terrestrial ecosystems usually experience greater diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations than do aquatic ecosystems in similar climates.^[2]

Terrestrial ecosystems are of particular importance especially in meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15 that targets the conservation-restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.^[3]