Earth is host to a wide diversity of habitat types, each of which supports its own specialized plant, animal, and microbial species assemblages.
DESERT Covering 20% of the Earth's land surface, deserts are not all "hot and dry."
FOREST Forests occupy approximately one-third of Earth's land area, account for over two-thirds of the leaf area of land plants, and contain about 70% of carbon present in living things.
MARINE There are many types of marine habitats. Habitats are classified using a variety of factors such as vegetation, substrate, depth, salinity, and wave action.
PRAIRIE Once a vast ecosystem type across the American Mid-west, prairies now exist as a shadow of their former range, which has been depleted by up to 99%.
The NBII Program is administered by the Biological Informatics Office of the U.S. Geological Survey