Ecosystems of the world

Habitats describe a type of place. Ecosystems are named places: a particular landscape with its own climate, wildlife and rhythm. These guides cover 25 of them across land and sea, from European woodlands and the Pacific Northwest to the Amazon Basin, the Serengeti, the Himalaya and the Great Barrier Reef.

Each guide explains the landscape, who lives there, how the year unfolds, the pressures it faces and how to visit without harm. They are written for anyone curious about nature, with no experience needed.

• European Temperate Woodlands (Europe): Oak, beech and hornbeam from the Atlantic coast to central Europe.
• Mediterranean Basin (Europe): Cork oak, pine, maquis and garrigue around a warm inland sea.
• The Alps And European Mountains (Europe): From valley meadows to glaciers, wildlife in layers by altitude.
• Boreal Forest And Taiga (Europe, Asia and North America): A vast belt of spruce, pine and bog around the far north.
• Pacific Northwest Temperate Rainforest (North America): Giant conifers, moss and salmon streams on the wet Pacific coast.
• Great Plains And Prairies (North America): Grass as far as you can see, and the animals that follow it.
• Eastern Deciduous Forest And Appalachians (North America): Oaks, maples and salamanders in some of the oldest mountains on Earth.
• Sonoran And Mojave Deserts (North America): Saguaro, Joshua tree and life built around rare rain.
• Everglades And Gulf Coast Wetlands (North America): A slow river of grass, mangroves and tropical wading birds.
• Amazon Basin (South America): The largest tropical rainforest on Earth, laced with rivers.
• Andes And Páramo (South America): Cloud forest to high grassland along the spine of a continent.
• Pantanal And Cerrado (South America): The world's largest tropical wetland beside an ancient savanna.
• East African Savanna (Africa): Acacia plains, great herds and the Serengeti-Mara migration.
• Congo Basin Rainforest (Africa): Africa's great rainforest, home to forest elephants and great apes.
• Madagascar (Africa): An island continent where most wildlife is found nowhere else.
• Himalaya And Tibetan Plateau (Asia): The roof of the world, from subtropical foothills to ice.
• Southeast Asian Rainforests And Mangroves (Asia): Dipterocarp forests, orangutans and tangled coastal mangroves.
• Western Ghats And The Terai (Asia): Monsoon hill forests and the great tall-grass floodplain beneath the Himalaya.
• East Asian Temperate Forests (Asia): Maples, magnolias and macaques from Japan to central China.
• Australian Outback And Eucalypt Woodlands (Oceania): Red earth, gum trees and wildlife that waits for rain.
• Great Barrier Reef And Coral Triangle (Oceania and Southeast Asia): The richest marine life on Earth, built by tiny corals.
• Arctic Tundra And Polar Regions (Polar): Treeless land of permafrost and endless summer light.
• Pacific Coast Kelp Forests (Marine, North America): Underwater forests of giant kelp along the Pacific coast.
• Wadden Sea And North Sea Coast (Marine, Europe): Vast tidal flats where millions of birds refuel.
• Galápagos And The Eastern Tropical Pacific (Marine, South America): Remote volcanic islands where animals have little fear of people.

For a broader view, see the habitat guides or what is in season now.

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