Life

In the terrestrial environment

The environment with the most daily and seasonal changes in the factors that affect animal life is the terrestrial one. These factors depend, among other things, on latitude (from the poles to the Equator) and altitude (from the sea level to mountaintops). Temperature is therefore an important limiting factor for life on Earth. The other limiting factor for terrestrial organisms is the availability of atmospheric water, i.e. humidity in the air and soil due to rains. The harder the temperature and water conditions, the fewer the animal species. Terrestrial animals have developed, however, a number of mechanisms to resist sudden changes in temperature, such as hibernation, migration, production of feathers or hairs, fat and many others. The groups of animals that have evolved the most and that have therefore adapted to all the environments of the Earth are Reptiles, Birds and Mammals and Insects. To divide animals by the terrestrial environment in which they live, it is useful to follow the distribution of biomes. A biome is the typical community of one climatic region and is generally classed on the basis of its vegetation. Terrestrial biomes are the tundra, the boreal conifer forest, the temperate forests, the Tropical rainforest, the prairie, the Mediterranean scrub and the desert.