Ecosystems are controlled both by external and internal factors. External factors such as climate, the parent material that forms the soil, and topography control the overall structure of an ecosystem and the way things work within it, but are not themselves influenced by the ecosystem. Other external factors include time and potential biota. Ecosystems are dynamic entities—invariably, they are subject to periodic disturbances and are in the process of recovering from some past disturbance. Ecosystems in similar environments that are located in different parts of the world can have very different characteristics simply because they contain different species. The introduction of non-native species can cause substantial shifts in ecosystem function. Internal factors not only control ecosystem processes but are also controlled by them and are often subject to feedback loops. While the resource inputs are generally controlled by external processes like climate and parent material, the availability of these resources within the ecosystem is controlled by internal factors like decomposition, root competition or shading. Other internal factors include disturbance, succession and the types of species present. Although humans exist and operate within ecosystems, their cumulative effects are large enough to influence external factors like climate. Biodiversity affects ecosystem function, as do the processes of disturbance and succession. Ecosystems provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend; the principles of ecosystem management suggest that rather than managing individual species, natural resources should be managed at the level of the ecosystem itself. Classifying ecosystems into ecologically homogeneous units is an important step towards effective ecosystem management, but there is no single, agreed-upon way to do this. Energy and carbon enter ecosystems through photosynthesis, are incorporated into living tissue, transferred to other organisms that feed on the living and dead plant matter, and eventually released through respiration. Most mineral nutrients, on the other hand, are recycled within ecosystems. Primary production is the production of organic matter from inorganic carbon sources. Overwhelmingly, this occurs through photosynthesis. The energy incorporated through this process supports life on earth, while the carbon makes up much of the organic matter in living and dead biomass, soil carbon and fossil fuels. It also drives the carbon cycle, which influences global climate via the greenhouse effect.

A terrestrial ecosystem is an ecosystem found only on landforms. Six primary terrestrial ecosystems exist: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland and desert. A community of organisms and their environment that occurs on the land masses of continents and islands. Terrestrial ecosystems are distinguished from aquatic ecosystems by the lower availability of water and the consequent importance of water as a limiting factor. Terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by greater temperature fluctuations on both a diurnal and seasonal basis than occur in aquatic ecosystems in similar climates. The availability of light is greater in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic ecosystems because the atmosphere is more transparent in land than in water. Gases are more available in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic ecosystems. Those gases include carbon dioxide that serves as a substrate for photosynthesis, oxygen that serves as a substrate in aerobic respiration, and nitrogen that serves as a substrate for nitrogen fixation. Terrestrial environments are segmented into a subterranean portion from which most water and ions are obtained, and an atmospheric portion from which gases are obtained and where the physical energy of light is transformed into the organic energy of carbon-carbon bonds through the process of photosynthesis. Terrestrial ecosystems occupy 55,660,000 mi² (144,150,000 km²), or 28.26% of Earth's surface. Although they are comparatively recent in the history of life (the first terrestrial organisms appeared in the Silurian period, about 425 million years ago) and occupy a much smaller portion of Earth's surface than marine ecosystems, terrestrial ecosystems have been a major site of adaptive radiation of both plants and animals. Major plant taxa in terrestrial ecosystems are members of the division Magnoliophyta (flowering plants), of which there are about 275,000 species, and the division Pinophyta (conifers), of which there are about 500 species. Members of the division Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts), of which there are about 24,000 species, are also important in some terrestrial ecosystems. Major animal taxa in terrestrial ecosystems include the classes Insecta (insects) with about 900,000 species, Aves (birds) with 8,500 species, and Mammalia (mammals) with approximately 4,100 species.

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. Finally, the organisms in terrestrial ecosystems have evolved many methods of transporting gametes in environments where fluid flow is much less effective as a transport medium. The organisms in terrestrial ecosystems are integrated into a functional unit by specific, dynamic relationships due to the coupled processes of energy and chemical flow. Those relationships can be summarized by schematic diagrams of trophic webs, which place organisms according to their feeding relationships. The base of the food web is occupied by green plants, which are the only organisms capable of utilizing the energy of the Sun and inorganic nutrients obtained from the soil to produce organic molecules. Terrestrial food webs can be broken into two segments based on the status of the plant material that enters them. Grazing food webs are associated with the consumption of living plant material by herbivores. Detritus food webs are associated with the consumption of dead plant material by detritivores. The relative importance of those two types of food webs varies considerably in different types of terrestrial ecosystems. Grazing food webs are more important in grasslands, where over half of net primary productivity may be consumed by herbivores. Detritus food webs are more important in forests, where less than 5% of net primary productivity may be consumed by herbivores. There is one type of extensive terrestrial ecosystem due solely to human activities and eight types that are natural ecosystems. Those natural ecosystems reflect the variation of precipitation and temperature over Earth's surface. The smallest land areas are occupied by tundra and temperate grassland ecosystems, and the largest land area is occupied by tropical forest. The most productive ecosystems are temperate and tropical forests, and the least productive are deserts and tundras. Cultivated lands, which together with grasslands and savannas utilized for grazing are referred to as agroecosystems, are of intermediate extent and productivity. Because of both their areal extent and their high average productivity, tropical forests are the most productive of all terrestrial ecosystems, contributing 45% of total estimated net primary productivity on land.

There are three broad categories of forest definitions in use: administrative, land use, and land cover. Administrative definitions are based primarily upon the legal designations of land, and commonly bear little relationship to the vegetation growing on the land: land that is legally designated as a forest is defined as a forest even if no trees are growing on it. Land use definitions are based upon the primary purpose that the land serves. For example, a forest may be defined as any land that is used primarily for production of timber. Under such a land use definition, cleared roads or infrastructure within an area used for forestry, or areas within the region that have been cleared by harvesting, disease or fire are still considered forests even if they contain no trees. Land cover definitions define forests based upon the type and density of vegetation growing on the land. Such definitions typically define a forest as an area growing trees above some threshold. These thresholds are typically the number of trees per area (density), the area of ground under the tree canopy (canopy cover) or the section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks (basal area). Under such land cover definitions, and area of land only be defined as forest if it is growing trees. Areas that fail to meet the land cover definition may be still included under while immature trees are establishing if they are expected to meet the definition at maturity. Under land use definitions, there is considerable variation on where the cutoff points are between a forest, woodland, and savanna. Under some definitions, forests require very high levels of tree canopy cover, from 60% to 100%, excluding savannas and woodlands in which trees have a lower canopy cover. Other definitions consider savannas to be a type of forest, and include all areas with tree canopies over 10%. Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass. Forest ecosystems can be found in all regions capable of sustaining tree growth, at altitudes up to the tree line, except where natural fire frequency or other disturbance is too high, or where the environment has been altered by human activity. The latitudes 10° north and south of the equator are mostly covered in tropical rainforest, and the latitudes between 53°N and 67°N have boreal forest. As a general rule, forests dominated by angiosperms (broadleaf forests) are more species-rich than those dominated by gymnosperms (conifer, montane, or needleleaf forests), although exceptions exist.

Forests sometimes contain many tree species within a small area (as in tropical rain and temperate deciduous forests), or relatively few species over large areas (e.g., taiga and arid montane coniferous forests). Forests are often home to many animal and plant species, and biomass per unit area is high compared to other vegetation communities. Much of this biomass occurs below ground in the root systems and as partially decomposed plant detritus. The woody component of a forest contains lignin, which is relatively slow to decompose compared with other organic materials such as cellulose or carbohydrate. A forest consists of many components that can be broadly divided into two categories that are biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The living parts include trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants, mosses, algae, fungi, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and microorganisms living on the plants and animals and in the soil. A forest is made up of many layers. Starting from the ground level and moving up, the main layers of all forest types are the forest floor, the understory and the canopy. The emergent layer exists in tropical rainforests. Each layer has a different set of plants and animals depending upon the availability of sunlight, moisture and food. Forest floor contains decomposing leaves, animal droppings, and dead trees. Decay on the forest floor forms new soil and provides nutrients to the plants. The forest floor supports ferns, grasses, mushroom and tree seedlings. Understory is made up of bushes, shrubs, and young trees that are adapted to living in the shades of the canopy. Canopy is formed by the mass of intertwined branches, twigs and leaves of the mature trees. The crowns of the dominant trees receive most of the sunlight. This is the most productive part of the trees where maximum food is produced. The canopy forms a shady, protective "umbrella" over the rest of the forest. Emergent layer exists in the tropical rain forest and is composed of a few scattered trees that tower over the canopy.

Boreal forests occupy the subarctic zone and are generally evergreen and coniferous. Temperate zones support both broadleaf deciduous forests (e.g., temperate deciduous forest) and evergreen coniferous forests (e.g., temperate coniferous forests and temperate rainforests). Warm temperate zones support broadleaf evergreen forests, including laurel forests. Tropical and subtropical forests include tropical and subtropical moist forests, tropical and subtropical dry forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests. The number of trees in the world, according to a 2015 estimate, is 3 trillion, of which 1.4 trillion are in the tropics or sub-tropics, 0.6 trillion in the temperate zones, and 0.7 trillion in the coniferous boreal forests. The estimate is about eight times higher than previous estimates, and is based on tree densities measured on over 400,000 plots. It remains subject to a wide margin of error, not least because the samples are mainly from Europe and North America.

Temperate needleleaf forests mostly occupy the higher latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, as well as high altitude zones and some warm temperate areas, especially on nutrient-poor or otherwise unfavourable soils. These forests are composed entirely, or nearly so, of coniferous species (Coniferophyta). In the Northern Hemisphere pines Pinus, spruces Picea, larches Larix, firs Abies, Douglas firs Pseudotsuga and hemlocks Tsuga, make up the canopy, but other taxa are also important. In the Southern Hemisphere, most coniferous trees (members of the Araucariaceae and Podocarpaceae) occur in mixtures with broadleaf species, and are classed as broadleaf and mixed forests.
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests include a substantial component of trees in the Anthophyta. They are generally characteristic of the warmer temperate latitudes, but extend to cool temperate ones, particularly in the southern hemisphere. They include such forest types as the mixed deciduous forests of the United States and their counterparts in China and Japan, the broadleaf evergreen rainforests of Japan, Chile and Tasmania, the sclerophyllous forests of Australia, central Chile, the Mediterranean and California, and the southern beech Nothofagus forests of Chile and New Zealand.

There are many different types of tropical moist forests, with lowland evergreen broad leaf tropical rainforests, for example várzea and igapó forests and the terra firma forests of the Amazon Basin; the peat swamp forests, dipterocarp forests of Southeast Asia; and the high forests of the Congo Basin. Seasonal tropical forests, perhaps the best description for the colloquial term "jungle", typically range from the rainforest zone 10 degrees north or south of the equator, to the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Forests located on mountains are also included in this category, divided largely into upper and lower montane formations on the basis of the variation of physiognomy corresponding to changes in altitude. Tropical dry forests are characteristic of areas in the tropics affected by seasonal drought. The seasonality of rainfall is usually reflected in the deciduousness of the forest canopy, with most trees being leafless for several months of the year. However, under some conditions, e.g. less fertile soils or less predictable drought regimes, the proportion of evergreen species increases and the forests are characterised as "sclerophyllous". Thorn forest, a dense forest of low stature with a high frequency of thorny or spiny species, is found where drought is prolonged, and especially where grazing animals are plentiful. On very poor soils, and especially where fire or herbivory are recurrent phenomena, savannas develop.

There are about 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, some 260–290 thousand, are seed plants. Green plants provide most of the world's molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earth's ecologies, especially on land. Plants that produce grains, fruits and vegetables form humankind's basic foodstuffs, and have been domesticated for millennia. Plants play many roles in culture. They are used as ornaments and, until recently and in great variety, they have served as the source of most medicines and drugs. The scientific study of plants is known as botany, a branch of biology. Land plants, also known as Embryophyta Plantae sensu strictissimo "Plants in the strictest sense". This group includes the liverworts, hornworts, mosses, and vascular plants, as well as fossil plants similar to these surviving groups. Green plants, also known as Viridiplantae, Viridiphyta or Chlorobionta Plantae sensu stricto "Plants in a strict sense". This group includes the green algae, and land plants that emerged within them, including stoneworts. The names given to these groups vary considerably as of July 2011. Viridiplantae encompass a group of organisms that have cellulose in their cell walls, possess chlorophylls a and b and have plastids that are bound by only two membranes that are capable of storing starch. Archaeplastida, also known as Plastida or Primoplantae Plantae sensu lato "Plants in a broad sense". This group comprises the green plants above plus Rhodophyta (red algae) and Glaucophyta (glaucophyte algae). This clade includes the organisms that eons ago acquired their chloroplasts directly by engulfing cyanobacteria.

In contrast, most other algae (e.g. brown algae/diatoms, haptophytes, dinoflagellates, and euglenids) not only have different pigments but also have chloroplasts with three or four surrounding membranes. They are not close relatives of the Archaeplastida, presumably having acquired chloroplasts separately from ingested or symbiotic green and red algae. They are thus not included in even the broadest modern definition of the plant kingdom, although they were in the past. The green plants or Viridiplantae were traditionally divided into the green algae (including the stoneworts) and the land plants. However, it is now known that the land plants evolved from within a group of green algae, so that the green algae by themselves are a paraphyletic group, i.e. a group that excludes some of the descendants of a common ancestor. Paraphyletic groups are generally avoided in modern classifications, so that in recent treatments the Viridiplantae have been divided into two clades, the Chlorophyta and the Streptophyta (or Charophyta). The Chlorophyta (a name that has also been used for all green algae) are the sister group to the group from which the land plants evolved. There are about 4,300 species of mainly marine organisms, both unicellular and multicellular. The latter include the sea lettuce, Ulva. The other group within the Viridiplantae are the mainly freshwater or terrestrial Streptophyta, which consists of the land plants together with the Charophyta, itself consisting of several groups of green algae such as the desmids and stoneworts. Streptophyte algae are either unicellular or form multicellular filaments, branched or unbranched. The genus Spirogyra is a filamentous streptophyte alga familiar to many, as it is often used in teaching and is one of the organisms responsible for the algal "scum" that pond-owners so dislike. The freshwater stoneworts strongly resemble land plants and are believed to be their closest relatives. Growing underwater, they consist of a central stalk with whorls of branchlets, giving them a superficial resemblance to horsetails, species of the genus Equisetum, which are true land plants.

Supergroup affiliation
Primoplantae/Archaeplastida - Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Glaucophyta (Cyanobacteria). These algae have 'primary' chloroplasts, i.e. the chloroplasts are surrounded by two membranes and probably developed through a single endosymbiotic event. The chloroplasts of red algae have chlorophylls a and c (often), and phycobilins, while those of green algae have chloroplasts with chlorophyll a and b without phycobilins. Land plants are pigmented similarly to green algae and probably developed from them, thus the Chlorophyta is a sister taxon to the plants; sometimes the Chlorophyta, the Charophyta, and land plants are grouped together as the Viridiplantae.

Excavata and Rhizaria - Chlorarachniophytes and Euglenids (Green algae). These groups have green chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and b. Their chloroplasts are surrounded by four and three membranes, respectively, and were probably retained from ingested green algae. Chlorarachniophytes, which belong to the phylum Cercozoa, contain a small nucleomorph, which is a relict of the algae's nucleus. Euglenids, which belong to the phylum Euglenozoa, live primarily in fresh water and have chloroplasts with only three membranes. The endosymbiotic green algae may have been acquired through myzocytosis rather than phagocytosis.

Chromista and Alveolata - Heterokonts, Haptophyta, Cryptomonads, and Dinoflagellates (Red algae). These groups have chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and c, and phycobilins. The shape varies from plant to plant; they may be of discoid, plate-like, reticulate, cup-shaped, spiral, or ribbon shaped. They have one or more pyrenoids to preserve protein and starch. The latter chlorophyll type is not known from any prokaryotes or primary chloroplasts, but genetic similarities with red algae suggest a relationship there. In the first three of these groups (Chromista), the chloroplast has four membranes, retaining a nucleomorph in cryptomonads, and they likely share a common pigmented ancestor, although other evidence casts doubt on whether the heterokonts, Haptophyta, and cryptomonads are in fact more closely related to each other than to other groups. The typical dinoflagellate chloroplast has three membranes, but considerable diversity exists in chloroplasts within the group, and a number of endosymbiotic events apparently occurred. The Apicomplexa, a group of closely related parasites, also have plastids called apicoplasts, which are not photosynthetic, but appear to have a common origin with dinoflagellate chloroplasts.

Some species of algae form symbiotic relationships with other organisms. In these symbioses, the algae supply photosynthates (organic substances) to the host organism providing protection to the algal cells. The host organism derives some or all of its energy requirements from the algae. Examples are: Lichens (an association of a fungus and a photosynthetic symbiont resulting in a stable vegetative body having a specific structure), Coral reefs (accumulated from the calcareous exoskeletons of marine invertebrates of the order Scleractinia. These animals metabolize sugar and oxygen to obtain energy for their cell-building processes, including secretion of the exoskeleton, with water and carbon dioxide as byproducts), Sea sponges (green algae live close to the surface of some sponges, the alga is thus protected from predators; the sponge is provided with oxygen and sugars which can account for 50 to 80% of sponge growth in some species).

Abundant worldwide, most fungi are inconspicuous because of the small size of their structures, and their cryptic lifestyles in soil or on dead matter. Fungi include symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi and also parasites. They may become noticeable when fruiting, either as mushrooms or as molds. Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and exchange in the environment. They have long been used as a direct source of human food, in the form of mushrooms and truffles; as a leavening agent for bread; and in the fermentation of various food products, such as wine, beer, and soy sauce. Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the production of antibiotics, and, more recently, various enzymes produced by fungi are used industrially and in detergents. Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests. Many species produce bioactive compounds called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and polyketides, that are toxic to animals including humans. The fruiting structures of a few species contain psychotropic compounds and are consumed recreationally or in traditional spiritual ceremonies. Fungi can break down manufactured materials and buildings, and become significant pathogens of humans and other animals. Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g., rice blast disease) or food spoilage can have a large impact on human food supplies and local economies.

The fungus kingdom encompasses an enormous diversity of taxa with varied ecologies, life cycle strategies, and morphologies ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms. However, little is known of the true biodiversity of Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at 1.5 million to 5 million species, with about 5% of these having been formally classified. Ever since the pioneering 18th and 19th century taxonomical works of Carl Linnaeus, Christian Hendrik Persoon, and Elias Magnus Fries, fungi have been classified according to their morphology (e.g., characteristics such as spore color or microscopic features) or physiology. Advances in molecular genetics have opened the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated into taxonomy, which has sometimes challenged the historical groupings based on morphology and other traits. Phylogenetic studies published in the last decade have helped reshape the classification within Kingdom Fungi, which is divided into one subkingdom, seven phyla, and ten subphyla.
Before the introduction of molecular methods for phylogenetic analysis, taxonomists considered fungi to be members of the plant kingdom because of similarities in lifestyle: both fungi and plants are mainly immobile, and have similarities in general morphology and growth habitat. Like plants, fungi often grow in soil and, in the case of mushrooms, form conspicuous fruit bodies, which sometimes resemble plants such as mosses. The fungi are now considered a separate kingdom, distinct from both plants and animals, from which they appear to have diverged around one billion years ago.

Most fungi lack an efficient system for the long-distance transport of water and nutrients, such as the xylem and phloem in many plants. To overcome this limitation, some fungi, such as Armillaria, form rhizomorphs, which resemble and perform functions similar to the roots of plants. As eukaryotes, fungi possess a biosynthetic pathway for producing terpenes that uses mevalonic acid and pyrophosphate as chemical building blocks. Fungi produce several secondary metabolites that are similar or identical in structure to those made by plants. Many of the plant and fungal enzymes that make these compounds differ from each other in sequence and other characteristics, which indicates separate origins and convergent evolution of these enzymes in the fungi and plants. Fungi have a worldwide distribution, and grow in a wide range of habitats, including extreme environments such as deserts or areas with high salt concentrations or ionizing radiation, as well as in deep sea sediments. Some can survive the intense UV and cosmic radiation encountered during space travel. Most grow in terrestrial environments, though several species live partly or solely in aquatic habitats. Around 100,000 species of fungi have been formally described by taxonomists, but the global biodiversity of the fungus kingdom is not fully understood.[38]On the basis of observations of the ratio of the number of fungal species to the number of plant species in selected environments, the fungal kingdom has been estimated to contain about 1.5 million species. A recent (2011) estimate suggests there may be over 5 million species.

Although often inconspicuous, fungi occur in every environment on Earth and play very important roles in most ecosystems. Along with bacteria, fungi are the major decomposers in most terrestrial (and some aquatic) ecosystems, and therefore play a critical role in biogeochemical cycles and in many food webs. As decomposers, they play an essential role in nutrient cycling, especially as saprotrophs and symbionts, degrading organic matter to inorganic molecules, which can then re-enter anabolic metabolic pathways in plants or other organisms. Many fungi have important symbiotic relationships with organisms from most if not all Kingdoms. These interactions can be mutualistic or antagonistic in nature, or in the case of commensal fungi are of no apparent benefit or detriment to the host.
Mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi is one of the most well-known plant–fungus associations and is of significant importance for plant growth and persistence in many ecosystems; over 90% of all plant species engage in mycorrhizal relationships with fungi and are dependent upon this relationship for survival.

Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between fungi and photosynthetic algae or cyanobacteria. The photosynthetic partner in the relationship is referred to in lichen terminology as a "photobiont". The fungal part of the relationship is composed mostly of various species of ascomycetes and a few basidiomycetes. Lichens occur in every ecosystem on all continents, play a key role in soil formation and the initiation of biological succession, and are prominent in some extreme environments, including polar, alpine, and semiarid desert regions. They are able to grow on inhospitable surfaces, including bare soil, rocks, tree bark, wood, shells, barnacles and leaves. As in mycorrhizas, the photobiont provides sugars and other carbohydrates via photosynthesis to the fungus, while the fungus provides minerals and water to the photobiont. The functions of both symbiotic organisms are so closely intertwined that they function almost as a single organism; in most cases the resulting organism differs greatly from the individual components. Lichenization is a common mode of nutrition for fungi; around 20% of fungi—between 17,500 and 20,000 described species—are lichenized.

Many insects also engage in mutualistic relationships with fungi. Several groups of ants cultivate fungi in the order Agaricales as their primary food source, while ambrosia beetles cultivate various species of fungi in the bark of trees that they infest. Likewise, females of several wood wasp species (genus Sirex) inject their eggs together with spores of the wood-rotting fungus Amylostereum areolatum into the sapwood of pine trees; the growth of the fungus provides ideal nutritional conditions for the development of the wasp larvae. At least one species of stingless bee has a relationship with a fungus in the genus Monascus, where the larvae consume and depend on fungus transferred from old to new nests. Termites on the African savannah are also known to cultivate fungi, and yeasts of the genera Candida and Lachancea inhabit the gut of a wide range of insects, including neuropterans, beetles, and cockroaches. Fungi ingrowing dead wood are essential for xylophagous insects (e.g. woodboring beetles).

Fairy rings indicate a portal or passageway between our world and the Faerie Realms; a series of dimensions within the Outer Realms. Destroying a fairy ring is unlucky and fruitless; it’ll simply return… over and over again. The faeries are persistent. After all, it’s their passageway, no matter where it manifests in our world.

Characters can enter the fairy ring system and attempt to activate its magical gateway which leads to the fairy path. This can be done via spell, artifact or if they know the mystical command word. Rings don't stay open long, but do remain gateways forever.

Fairy forts (also known as raths from the Irish, referring to an earthen mound) are fortresses of brambles and thorns which may block an entire path. Usually they are empty, gutted of life but still with some cobwebbed weapons and tokens left behind — but sometimes they only appear empty.

Sacred Groves are places of sanctuary and worship for agents of the Parliament of Nature. Like a temple or chapel set within the natural world, they are places of spiritual refuge: places to calm the mind, refresh the spirit, and give comfort in times of distress. Many create new sacred groves – in their gardens, on their farms or on public land. To support an agent and any companions, a grove site must have several features. First, there must be a place for them to sleep. This can be a natural shelter, such as a cave, or one built from natural materials, such as a sod hut or tree house. Next, there must be a good supply of food and clean, fresh water. The food supply can include nuts and berries, tree fruit, and a diverse population of animals. In addition, most maintain at least one herb garden, and many also cultivate a patch of vegetables. The next vital feature is a system of protection for the agent and his charges, both plant and animal. This often takes the form of natural barriers, such as briar hedges or dense forest. Magical protections often come into play as well, but rarely set traps in their home areas unless they can be sure animals will not blunder into them and come to harm. Warmth is another vital issue. If the climate where they live is temperate or cooler, he requires a good source of firewood, coal, or other fuel. As with his other activities, he always harvests firewood in a manner that ensures that the forest can renew itself. He clears brush and fallen limbs from the forest floor and thins the trees to help ensure the forest’s viability. Many also possess the magic to make warmth
without fire, and they use this ability to avoid overharvesting wood. In addition, agents use natural materials to make warm clothing and blankets. Each generally has a cache of tools stashed away for sewing hides and weaving cloth from plant fibres or animal hair. Agents like to be prepared for emergencies, so most keep a supply of important magical and nonmagical items secreted about their groves—in hollow trees, under stones, and in unused animal lairs. Stashed magical items usually include goodberries and infusions of useful spells. Other useful items include small amounts of money (in case they need to visit a town), tools for starting a fire, a knife, torches, extra weapons, and skins of fresh water and food.

A grove's size  will be up to 5 square metres radius per WIS of the one who creates it, +5 additional square metres radius per year of its existence. It can also be enlarged through holy consecrations and blessings of adjoining areas.

All receive a +1 bonus to saving throws vs. spell, death magic, and wands while within a magical grove. The grove’s steward receives a +2 bonus. All in the grove are rendered immune to magical fear while within it. Dig spells never work within a grove. Natural (nonmagical) lightning never strikes trees or beings in the grove. Evil enchanted creatures cannot enter the grove unless it has been defiled.

A typical grove features some means for scrying— most often a pool of still, mirrorlike water. A large, highly polished rock also might make a good scrying device. In a pinch, an agent can use the create water spell to produce still water for scrying in a large container or natural crevice. Water from a source within the grove or dew gathered from the grass in the area has the properties of sweet water, but loses these special properties as soon as it is removed from the site. Anyone bathing in the water gains the benefit of simultaneous neutralize poison, cure disease, and cure serious wounds spells. The water loses all special properties outside the grove's boundaries, however, so characters cannot use it as a hearing potion. Also any pool or well within the grove may be used for divination.

Agents usually maintains one or more animal companions at all times. These creatures live with him in his grove and travel with him as he wishes, though they must also roam through the area at large to forage for food. Thus, a reasonably convenient means of egress from the grove must also be made available for them. Higher-level agents occasionally grant humanlike intelligence to plant or animal creatures through magic as well. Though awakened animals are not required to stay in their native areas, many choose to do so, either out of love for the land or friendship for the agent. The grove also supports populations of the types of animals, feys, and natural creatures that normally would live in such an area. Agents make an effort not to disturb the natural environment too much, so they rarely interfere with these local populations unless the creatures are nonnative and somehow harmful to the environment.

The magic from a Sacred grove will "awaken" D4 x3-metre-square patches of weeds, creepers, or bushes with semi intelligence, 4 Hit Dice, AC 10, and the ability to attack as an entangle spell. They will act to protect themselves and defend the grove. Any large, ancient tree living in the grove gains Intelligence and Wisdom (2D6+6), the spellcasting ability of a 5th-level druid, and the power of speech. It can use any of its branches at once like arms. It speaks in a deep, slow voice. In combat, treat it as a treant created by the liveoak spell. Roots bind it to the earth like a normal tree. Any normal or giant animal with an Intelligence score between animal and low can speak and understand the character's language for as long as it remains within the sacred grove. The animal's Intelligence does not increase. Also, casting animal summoning calls a 50% greater number (or Hit Dice) of animals than usual.

If the sacred grove contains plants that produce edible fruit, nuts, or berries, 3D6+20 enchanted examples sprout
each spring along with the usual crop. The magic fruit, nuts, or berries-the largest and most healthy will offer the benefits of a goodberry spell's products on the characters who eat them.

Any Nature worshiper in the grove may make a grove's temperature rise or fall within 10 degrees centigrade. This ability, possible once per day, affects the entire grove. Arctic or desert groves commonly feature this power, which enables those in the grove to survive brief climatic extremes, especially combined with the power to still winds (below). They can also cause winds to calm for up to one turn per level, as long as they concentrate on maintaining this power. Triple the duration when an ally of nature invokes it. This power, is quite common in desert, mountain, and arctic groves, as it protects the sacred grove and those in it from sandstorms, tornadoes, or snowstorm, and the like.

Beings allied to nature may heal wounds at twice the rate of natural healing while in the magical sacred grove. Healing related spells produce the maximum benefits. Any in the sacred grove who cast a Plant or Earth Elemental sphere spell within its boundaries, double the spell's duration, area of effect, and range.

Any who spend the night sleeping in the grove may receive a magical portent in a dream concerning the past, present,
or future. The nature of the prophecy remains the GM's decision, but it should never contain more information than would come to light using a properly cast commune with nature spell. The portent usually warns of danger or hints at a task Nature wishes the druid to perform. Additionally all who sleep overnight in the grove before praying for spells receive an extra spell.

Any ally of nature who has his ashes or remains buried in the sacred grove, becomes reincarnated (per the priest spell) in D6 days.

Any non supernatural creature will fail to perceive the grove as nothing other than a normal clearing (or the like) until they are led into it. The sacred grove also generates a continual protective field similar to protection from evil, 10'
radius, except it covers the entire grove. All mobile beings (not normal plants) within the grove when concealment is invoked become invisible for three turns per level of the druid or until they leave the grove.

A grove allows any to travel instantly from one sacred grove to another. The enchantment needs to be invested in
both sacred groves and each enchantment allows for the creation of a gate to only one other sacred grove. A single grove could be enchanted multiple times to allow for travel to more than one other sacred grove. Only one gate can be open at one time and only the seneschal can change which gate is operating. A character enters the gate by stepping into the stone or tree anchor at the heart of the grove (limiting travel to large or smaller creatures). The character exists the gate out of the destination grove's anchor. Each enchantment only forms half of the two-way gate
but the same caster is not needed to create both halves. A character could create the first half of the gate and then travel to the other grove to complete the gateway. Alternatively, two druids could agree to create this enchantment and travel separately to each grove to create their half of the gate.

Sacred Elemental Groves are discussed in The Parliament of Nature section.

For instance:
A terrible event takes place within the grove's boundaries: Someone reads a cursed scroll, a deity's avatar passes through, a druid dies violently, or another highly charged event takes place. The grove is deliberately defiled but not
destroyed. When plants begin to grow back, the grove may retain some twisted vestige of its original power. If the druid who sanctified the grove strays badly from the neutral alignment, abandons the Order, or takes up the path of
the Lost Druids, the grove's beauty and powers may become warped-perhaps as a warning to the erring steward.
To determine what curse has struck a particular sacred grove, the DM may roll on Table 5. A druid who discovers a cursed grove nearly always tries to find a way to lift the curse and ultimately resanctify the land. Some typical curses are described below.

Those who eat natural fruits of the grove or drink its water must save vs. spell or become charmed. They refuse to leave the grove, claiming they must defend this beautiful place. They resist forcefully if anyone tries to harm the grove or take them from it. The charm is broken if those it has entranced leave the grove, or it can wear off, per the charm person spell.

A terrible poison lives within the ground, although the plants in the grove m immune. Those who touch the vegetation (including grass) with bare skin must save vs. poison each round of contact or suffer D6 points of damage. Characters who eat fruits, etc., from the grove must save vs. poison or die.

The life forces of people who die in a haunted grove or within a mile of its boundaries are drawn into one of the grove’s trees or standing stones. The trunks of the trees or the surfaces of the stones contain twisted images of the dead trapped within. While trapped, these souls cannot be raised, resurrected, or reincarnated. To defend itself, the grove can summon any of its prisoners’ spirits as ghosts or banshees each summoning takes two rounds, but only one ghost or banshee can exist at any time. Resanctifying the grove ends the curse and frees the trapped spirits, who now may be reincarnated, raised, or resurrected. Destroying the grove before resanctifying releases all the trapped spirits as malevolent ghosts or banshees to haunt the region.

The trees in this grove have been animated by a hunger for flesh. Treat the 2D8 hungry trees of this cursed grove as evil treants. Masquerading as normal trees, they suddenly attack anyone entering the grove. They never cross its borders unless attacked from outside the grove, though; in that case, they re-enter the grove after defeating (and consuming) foes.

Atmospheric Filter Symbiotes: These microscopic helpful creatures thrive in the human lung, where they feed on the trace elements which would otherwise prove harmful to their hosts. This allows the user to survive in almost any toxic environment. Filters expelled from the body (i.e., exhaled or ejected in a cough) die quickly outside of the lungs. On average, Filters outside of the body can live no more than five minutes. Weight: Not Applicable

Biocontacts: These are transparent lenses worn in the eye. The user must insert them, keep his eyes closed, and remain at rest for eight hours to activate the contacts and allow them to adapt to his body chemistry. (This is normally done during a sleep period. ) Once activated, the biocontacts are specific to the owner and will not function for anyone else. They can be removed and stored or kept in the eyes indefinitely. They draw nourishment from the owner's tears, and so, if removed, must be stored in a special solution. The wearer needs to increase his fluid consumption slightly while wearing them for extended periods of time. Biocontacts give the wearer enhanced infrared vision (for night vision) and squinting will give up to a 5x magnification. Weight: Insignificant

Biosampler: The biosampler is a plant programmed to determine edibility of plant and animal tissue. Communication is simple: if it eats the material, it is safe; if it refuses it, it is toxic. Weight: 0.5 kg

Direction Finder: In form, this is a slimy green translucent creature with metallic bronze flecks inside, resting on a grey-brown, shell-like base. Regardless of how the plant is turned, the bronze flecks will always congregate toward planetary north. Weight: 0.5 kg

Earplugs: In a wide variety of environments, hearing protection is desirable. Heavy equipment and weaponry often create intense noise. One of the problems with most hearing protectors is that some necessary sounds are dulled or lost. This problem can range from a minor irritation, such as a conversation being difficult to hear, to a real danger, such as an enemy being undetected when close by. This plant is largely a tube of muscle the approximate diameter of the human ear canal possessing its own sense of hearing. When noise reaches a dangerous level, the plant clenches shut, protecting delicate human hearing mechanisms. When the noise level drops, the plant relaxes, allowing normal hearing once again. The earplug cannot be worn for more than six hours at a time or it perishes from lack of nutrients. When not being worn, it is to be stored inside an opaque vial of sugar water. Weight: Insignificant

Hibernation Inducers: These plants look like globs of glistening black jelly about ten centimetres in diameter. On the underside, they have a soft white hair, which is much like a cat's fur. When placed on the back of a human being, the plant is able to sense the flow of energy in the spinal column; it then gradually stretches out until it covers the length of the back, from the base of the skull to the tailbone. After about a minute, its hairs extend into the skin of the subject, but because of chemicals secreted during this process, the patient feels nothing. After about five minutes, the tendrils of the plant reach the bones of the spine ad slip into the nerves beneath. Once this contact is made, it begins to take control over much of the body. As this occurs, the injured person sinks into unconsciousness, if not in such a state already. After about ten minutes, during which time the metabolism drops dramatically, the body is stabilized in a state of deep hibernation. At this point, there is almost no measurable brain activity, the heart is all but stopped, and breathing is shallow and infrequent. Time passes very slowly for a person in this condition, roughly one hour of subjective time for every week of real time. When the hibernating body is delivered to medical facilities for care, the plant is removed and the patient gradually returns to a normal state, and after four hours is fully out of the hibernation state. Weight: 1.5 kg

Pest Controller: This plant chemically attracts insects, catches them in its sticky surface, and slowly absorbs them. Weight 1.5 kg

Pod Plant: The pod plant in form, it is a hardy, dark green, vining plant that produces pods similar to gourds, but with much stronger shells (stronger than ironwood). Pods are harvestable when they reach a size of one quarter of a litre interior volume; but if left to grow, they can attain volumes of up to 500 litres. While growing, they are very sensitive to long-term outside pressure, and as a consequence, if a wire-mesh form is built around a developing pod, the pod will grow to fill the space the form marks out. Pods can be grown to nearly any shape and size before harvesting, making them of great use as crates, barrels, furniture, canteens, or many other commonly needed items. Once the pod is harvested, one end is opened and the pulp inside is scooped out. The shell is then allowed to air cure for several hours. Fittings such as reclosable necks are then affixed if the pod is to become a reusable container. lf the pod is to be used as a shipping crate, the item to be packed is placed inside, and packing material is inserted. The opening is then reclosed by gluing the removed piece back into place, making an airtight seal. Weight: Variable

F.A.R.M.

The Parliament of Nature

Control Insect

Control Monster

Control Plant

Emission Plant Cage

Emission Plant Net

Empathic Ecological

Field Plant

Metamorph Animal

Metamorph Dinosaur

Metamorph Dragon

Metamorph Insect

Metamorph Monster

Metamorph Mythic Animal

Metamorph Plant

Metamorph Wood

Mimicry Animal

Mimicry Dinosaur

Mimicry Dragon

Mimicry Insect

Mimicry Monster

Mimicry Mythic Animal