Biology / Unit 14 Bio 3495 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Desert and Tropical Wet Forest Contrast
Captions available
The idea
Desert biomes have very low precipitation and support sparse, water-conserving vegetation, while tropical wet forest biomes have high, consistent precipitation and support the greatest plant diversity of any terrestrial biome.
In practice
A desert's scattered, spine-leaved shrubs contrast with a tropical wet forest's dense, multilayered evergreen canopy.
Where people slip
"Desert" describes low precipitation, not high temperature alone — cold deserts exist at high latitude and elevation.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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