Biomes Flashcards
Biosphere
The biosphere includes all the living components of the earth. It consists of all plants and animals, including all the microorganisms that live on the planet earth and their interactions with the surrounding environment.
Life on earth found where
Life on the earth is found almost everywhere. Living organisms are found from the poles to the equator, from the bottom of the sea to several km in the air, from freezing waters to dry valleys, from under the sea to underground water lying below the earth’s surface.
Major realms of the environments
Lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere.
Biosphere and interaction with the environment
The biosphere and its components are very significant elements of the environment. These elements interact with other components of the natural landscape such as land, water and soil. They are also influenced by the atmospheric elements such as the temperature, rainfall, moisture and sunlight. These interactions are important to the growth, development and evolution of the organism.
ecology
Literally, ecology is the study of the earth as a ‘household’, of plants, human beings, animals and microorganisms. They all live together as interdependent components.The study of interactions between life forms (biotic) and the physical environment (abiotic) is the science of ecology.
Ecological systems
The interactions of a particular group of organisms with abiotic factors within a particular habitat resulting in clearly defined energy flows and material cycles on land, water and air, are called ecological systems.
Habitat
A habitat in the ecological sense is the totality of the physical and chemical factors that constitute the general environment.
Ecosystem
A system consisting of biotic and abiotic components is known as ecosystem.
Types of Ecosystems
Ecosystems are of two major types: terrestrial and aquatic. Terrestrial ecosystem can be further classified into ‘biomes’. Aquatic ecosystems can be classed as marine and freshwater ecosystems. Marine ecosystem includes the oceans, estuaries and coral reefs. Freshwater ecosystem includes lakes, ponds, streams, marshes and bogs.
Biome
A biome is a plant and animal community that covers a large geographical area. The boundaries of different biomes on land are determined mainly by climate.
Structure of an ecosystem
The structure of an ecosystem involves a description of the available plant and animal species. From a structural point of view, all ecosystems consist of abiotic and biotic factors.
Abiotic and biotic factors
Abiotic factors include rainfall, temperature, sunlight, atmospheric humidity, soil conditions, inorganic substances (carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, etc.). Biotic factors include the producers, the consumers (primary, secondary, tertiary) and the decomposers.
Discuss producers, consumers and decomposers
The producers include all the green plants, which manufacture their own food through photosynthesis. The primary consumers include herbivorous animals like deer, goats, mice and all plant-eating animals. The carnivores include all the flesh-eating animals like snakes, tigers and lions. Certain carnivores that feed also on carnivores are known as top carnivores like hawks and mongooses. Decomposers are those that feed on dead organisms (for example, scavengers like vultures and crows), and further breaking down of the dead matter by other decomposing agents like bacteria and various micro- organisms. The producers are consumed by the primary consumers whereas the primary consumers are, in turn, being eaten by the secondary consumers. Further, the secondary consumers are consumed by the tertiary consumers. The decomposers feed on the dead at each and every level.
Foodchain, flow of energy
the sequence of eating and being eaten and the resultant transfer of energy from one level to another is known as the food-chain. For example, a plant eating beetle feeding on a paddy stalk is eaten by a frog, which is, in turn, eaten by a snake, which is then consumed by a hawk. Transfer of energy that occurs during the process of a foodchain from one level to another is known as flow of energy.
Food web
Food chains are not isolated, in fact interconnected. As a result, the food- chains get interlocked with one another. This inter- connecting network of species is known as food web.
Types of food chains
The grazing food chain starts with producers, typically green plants, that convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis. The detritus food chain begins with detritus, which consists of decomposing organic matter, such as fallen leaves, dead organisms, and waste products. This chain emphasises the role of decomposers and detritivores in recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem. Loss of energy at each level in both.
Types of Biomes
There are five major biomes — forest, desert, grassland, aquatic and altitudinal biomes.
Biogeochemical Cycles and types
These cyclic movements of chemical elements of the biosphere between the organism and the environment are referred to as biogeochemical cycles. There are two types of biogeochemical cycles : the gaseous and the sedimentary cycle. In the gaseous cycle, the main reservoir of nutrients is the atmosphere and the ocean. In the sedimentary cycle, the main reservoir is the soil and the sedimentary and other rocks of the earth’s crust.
