Because water buffers temperature fluctuations, terrestrial ecosystems usually experience greater diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations than do aquatic ecosystems in similar climates.
[3] Organisms in terrestrial ecosystems have adaptations that allow them to obtain water when the entire body is no longer bathed in that fluid, means of transporting the water from limited sites of acquisition to the rest of the body, and means of preventing the evaporation of water from body surfaces.
They also have traits that provide body support in the atmosphere, a much less buoyant medium than water, and other traits that render them capable of withstanding the extremes of temperature, wind, and humidity that characterize terrestrial ecosystems.
Common Types of Terrestrial Plants Four main groupings for terrestrial plants are bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms, have been existing for many years and have allowed diversity into our ecosystems .
Members of the division Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts), of which there are about 24,000 species, are also important in some terrestrial ecosystems.