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About
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- The place where organisms, including plants, live is called a plant habitat. Habitat means a dwelling place, a home .
- Habitat means a dwelling place (a home).
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Terrestrial Habitat
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- The plants and animals that live on land are said to live in terrestrial habitats.
- Examples: Forests, grasslands, deserts, coastal and mountain regions.
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Desert
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- Desert plants lose very little water through transpiration.
- Adaptation: The leaves in desert plants are either absent, very small, or they are in the form of spines.
- This helps in reducing loss of water from the leaves through transpiration.
- The leaf-like structure in a cactus is its stem.
- Photosynthesis in these plants is usually carried out by the stems.
- Waxy Layer: Desert plant stem is covered with a thick waxy layer, which helps to retain water in the tissues of the plant.
- Most desert plants have roots that go very deep into the soil for absorbing maximum water.
- Mountains: These habitats are normally very cold, windy and also snowy. These trees here are mostly cone shaped and have sloping branches.
- The leaves of some of these trees are needle-like.
- This helps the rainwater and snow to slide off easily.
 Trees of a Mountain Habitat
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Aquatic Habitats
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- The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called aquatic habitats.
- Examples: Lakes, rivers and oceans.
- Oceans and Seas: Seagrasses have a dense network of roots that anchor them in the sandy or muddy ocean floor.
- These roots help stabilize the plants.
- Ponds and Lakes: Some aquatic plants have their roots fixed in the soil below the water, roots are much reduced in size and their main function is to hold the plant in place.
- The stems of these plants are long, hollow and light.
- The stems grow up to the surface of water while the leaves and flowers float on the surface of water.
- Some aquatic plants are submerged in water.
- These plants have narrow and thin ribbon-like leaves which can bend in the flowing water.
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Some aquatic plants float on water. Some have their roots fixed in the soil at the bottom. Some aquatic plants are submerged in water.