Classifying Ecosystems

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

A self sustaining unit made up of a community of organisms in an area, the physical environment in which they live, and the interactions between them.

Question 2

What is an environment?

Answer 2

The biotic and abiotic factors of an area.

Question 3

What is a habitat?

Answer 3

An area or environment within an ecosystem where an individual of a species lives, feeds
and reproduces.

Question 4

What is a biome?

Answer 4

A large scale category of ecosystem across a large geographical area. Characterised using climate, animals and plants.

Question 5

What is an abiotic factor?

Answer 5

The non-living components in an ecosystem.

Question 6

What is a biotic factor?

Answer 6

The living components in an ecosystem.

Question 7

What is a population?

Answer 7

A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular area at the same time.

Question 8

What is a community?

Answer 8

A group of populations of different species in an ecosystem living in close enough proximity to interact.

Question 9

Are biomes the same? Give an example.

Answer 9

Each type of biome shares similarities. For example, all savanna grasslands, whether they are in Australia or Africa, are characterised as an area of grass with few trees, a dry season that is either very hot or very cool, a warm wet season and less than 490mm of rain.

Question 10

List some examples of terrestrial biomes.

Answer 10

• Tundra
• Taiga
• Temperate forest
• Temperate grassland
• Tropical rainforest
• Savannah grassland
• Desert

Question 11

List some examples of aquatic biomes.

Answer 11

• Lake
• Coral reef
• Ocean
• Estuary
• Rocky shore

Question 12

List some biomes in Australia.

Answer 12

• Deserts
• Savannah grasslands
• Tropical/subtropical rainforests

Question 13

Describe grasslands.

Answer 13

• Arid regions.
• Ground cover <30%, typically hummocks and tussocks.
• Dominant species: grasses (2cm-2m tall).
• Many species adapted to fire and drought.

Question 14

Describe woodlands.

Answer 14

• Widely spaced canopy cover 10-30%.
• Well-developed shrubs and grasses.
• Widely spaced trees, fewer and more scattered than in forests.
• Mainly dominated by eucalypts.
• Found in southern, temperate Australia.

Question 15

Describe reefs and marshes.

Answer 15

• Dense growth.
• Reef: ridge of material at or near the surface of the ocean.
• Reefs occur naturally. Made of rocks or coral (remains of skeletons of small animals).
• Marsh: a wetland, an area of land where water covers the ground for long periods of time.

Question 16

Describe closed (rainforest) forests.

Answer 16

• Dense canopy 70-100%.
• Distinct layers/storeys within forest.
• Mostly evergreen tress.
• High amounts of rainfall.
• Tropical rainforests found near the equator. High temperatures and humidity.
• Temperate rainforests found near coastal, mountainous areas within mid-latitudes.

Question 17

Describe scrublands/shrub lands/heathlands.

Answer 17

• Foliage cover 30-70%.
• Contain many types of vegetation.
• Typical vegetation: shrubs.
• Variable overstored of small trees (mulga/eucalypts).
• Adapted to drought, fire and low rainfall.

Question 18

Describe deserts.

Answer 18

• Ground cover widely spaced (patches).
• Areas with less than 100mm of rainfall per year.
  -18% of mainland Australia is desert.
• Many plants are ephemerals, short-lived specie that follow after good rain. They rapidly germinate, grow, flower and set seed while soil is moist.
• Other plant are xerophytes, plants with physical adaptation suited to dry environments. Such as fewer, smaller leaves to minimise water loss.
• Common wattle: Australian mulga.

Question 19

Describe alpines.

Answer 19

• Low, fairly continuous ground cover.
• Found in cold mountain regions (above tree line where altitude makes temps too low for tree growth).
• Rocky landscape, may contain glacial lakes and seasonal snow coverage.

Question 20

Describe open (sclerophyll) forests.

Answer 20

• Fairly open canopy cover 30-70%.
• Good unrestored/ground cover.
• Fairly even height (25-35m).
• Moderately dense canopies that often join.
• Forest floor ranges from dry to damp. Covered with grasses and shrubs.
• Dominated by eucalypts.
• Most common forest type in Australia.

Question 21

Draw a flow diagram consisting of biomes, communities, environment, ecosystems and abiotic and biotic factors.

Answer 21

Biomes —> ecosystems —> communities (biotic) —> environment (abiotic)

Biotic: competitors, predators, disease, parasites, mates.
Abiotic: temperature, light intensity, texture and pH of soil, concentration of gases in the air, nutrient availability/water availability.