I like LD's idea though I did not try myself. I was able to retain it after like 10th time reading about it. But heck yea it is so boring.
But Don't try to memorize everything in one shot I guess. Try to learn just one keyword for the specific biome at a time, and expand a little more after and I think you will be able to retain everything after a while. For example, Tundra - permafrost, tropical forest - most diverse species that type of thing.