Nature · Earth Science
Open plains and watery worlds
Grasslands are wide open landscapes ruled by grasses rather than trees, while wetlands are areas where water saturates the land for much of the year. Both are immensely productive — grasslands feed the world's herds and crops, and wetlands rank among the richest habitats on Earth.
Grasslands arise where there is too little rain for forest but too much for desert, often kept treeless by grazing and fire. Wetlands form wherever water collects and lingers — in river floodplains, coastal margins and shallow basins — saturating the soil and supporting water-loving life.
From dry land through reedy marsh into open water — shifting water depth creates zones of specialised plants and wildlife.
Grasslands dotted with trees
Savannas are warm grasslands sprinkled with hardy trees, where a long dry season and periodic fires keep the landscape open — and support the world's greatest grazing herds.
The great treeless plains
Prairies, steppes and pampas are seas of grass with soils so rich they have become the planet's great grain-growing and cattle-raising regions.
Reedy shallows alive with birds
Marshes are treeless wetlands thick with reeds and grasses, acting as natural water filters and nurseries brimming with birds, frogs and fish.
Wooded and mossy wetlands
Swamps are wetlands dominated by trees, while bogs are waterlogged, acidic peatlands built of moss. Both lock away vast stores of carbon in their soggy ground.