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biome a region with a certain climate and certain forms of vegetation desert an area that receives less than 25 cm of rain per year canopy a leafy roof formed by tall trees in a forest understory a layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade of a forest canopy grassland an area populated by grasses and other nonwoody plants most grassland get 25 to 75 cm of rain each year savanna a tropical grassland with scattered clumps of trees deciduous tree a tree that sheds its leaves and grows new ones each year coniferous tree a tree that produces its seeds in cones and that has needle-shaped leaves tundra a polar climate region, found across northern Alaska, Canada, and Russian, with short, cool summers and bitterly cold winters; an extremely cold, dry biome permafrost permanently frozen soil found in the tundra climate region estuary a habitat in which the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean intertidal zone an area that stretches from the highest high-tide line on land out to the point exposed by the lowest low tide neritic zone the region of shallow ocean water over the continental shelf kelp forests marine ecosystem where large, brown algae called giant kelp grow coral reefs a structure of calcite skeletons built up by coral animals in warm, shallow ocean water plankton tiny algae and animals that float in water and area carried by waves and currents renewable resource a resource that is either always available or is naturally replaced relatively quickly clear-cutting the process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once selective cutting the process of cutting down only some trees in an area sustainable yield amount of a renewable resource harvested regularly without reducing future supply fishery an area with a large population of valuable ocean organisms aquaculture the farming of water organisms biodiversity the number of species in an area keystone species a species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem extinction the disappearance of all members of a species from Earth endangered species a species in danger of becoming extinct in the near future threatened species a species that could become endangered in the near future habitat destruction loss of a natural habitat poaching illegal killing or removal of wildlife captive breeding the mating of animals in zoos or wildlife preserves