ecosystems Flashcards
ecosystem
a living community of plants and animals sharing an environment with non-living elements such as climate and soil
biome
a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment
biotic
living things in a natural environment
abiotic
non-living or chemical things in a natural environment
what is the nutrient cycle
biomass, litter soil
what does the nutrient cycle consist of
consumers, producers and decomposers
what do the consumers do in the nutrient cycle
the consumers eat sugars or other minerals produced by the producers
what do the producers do in the nutrient cycle
convert energy in their environment into sugars
what do the decomposers do in the nutrient cycle
the decomposers break down waste into nutrients
food chain
shows links between producers and consumers
forest floor
bottom layer
covered with ferns and deep litter of fallen leaves and branches
shrub layer
small trees and shrubs especially near rivers
above forest floor
under canopy
limited sunlight
saplings wait for larger plants and trees to die, leaving a gap in the canopy which they can grown into
above the shrub layer
canopy
dense layer
trees 20, 30m tall
includes hard woods and mahogony
emergent layer
50m tall trees
trees normally have support buttress roots
epiphytes
plants that grow on other plants for support
found in the canopy
buttress roots
shallow roots that stick out above ground to provide stability
drip tip leaves
leaves that are long and sharply pointed to allow water to quickly flow off it
economic gains for deforestation
development of farms which provide income and create jobs
dams and HEP stations built to provide cheaper more plentiful energy
useful minerals and ores that have high market value
economic losses of deforestation
- water can pollute water and cause water shortages
- fire used to burn down trees release gas and ash
- deforestation would deter tourist
- ## deforestation leads to rising temperatures which contribute to global warming
goods of the amazon rainforest
- timber provided by the trees
- rubber can be extracted from trees
- minerals and ores found from trees
services of the amazon rainforest
- provides habitats
- helps to prevent flooding
- lungs of the earth
statistics about the amazon rainforest
- 2000 species of fish found
- create 20% of oxygen
- 20% of all birds found
- most food and materials from the rainforest
remember TEA
Trends - is it increasing? decreasing?
Example - specific years/rate
Anomalies - any points that don’t fit
why is nutrient cycling very rapid in tropical rainforests
hot and wet, faster enzyme reactions
