Ecosystems Flashcards
What is an ecosystem
A community made up of plants, animals and their surrounding physical environment, including soil, rainwater and sunlight. Important interrelationships link together the biotic and abiotic parts of the ecosystem.
Biotic
Living /biological
Eg animals and plants
Abiotic
Non living/ physical
Eg soil, water and sun
What are the interrelationships
Physical linkages
And
Chemical linkages
What are physical linkages
EXAMPLE
Animals eating the plants
What are chemical linkages
EXAMPLE
Mild acids in rainwater speed up the decay of dead leaves
How does energy flow in an ecosystem
Ecosystems cycle energy and nutrients through the producers, consumers and decomposers.
What are the trophic levels
At the bottom are primary producers (plants) then the primary consumers (herbivores), next the secondary consumers (carnivores and herbivores) and then at the top are the tertiary consumers and they are the top predators
What are decomposers
Organisms that over Time break down dead organic matter and animal excretions. These include scavengers (insects that eat dead wood) and detritivores (bacteria). Decomposers help return nutrients to the soil in form of an organic substance called humus.
What’s a food chain
A sequence of feeding relationships between organisms, showing which organisms eats what and the movement of energy through trophic levels.
What is a food web
All the linkages, interconnected and overlapping food chains in an ecosystem make up a food web.
All food chains in a habitat are joined up together
What is the nutrient cycle
Nutrient cycle is made up of the components: biomass(organisms), litter(organic matter) and soil.
There are many linkages within these 3 components which make up the nutrient cycle.
Eg soil and biomass link as there is an uptake of nutrients by the plants, there is also a link between biomass and litter as dead animal tissue decomposes, & there is another recycling of nutrients as litter decomposes and turns to soil
Epping forest
An example of deciduous woodland located in north east London
Recreation activities In Epping forest
Walking eg- forest way Conservation centre Fishing Picnics Cycling
How is Epping forest managed
- Pollarding- cutting down trees to above shoulder height, it encourages new growth and maintains the trees for future generation.
- Allowing dead wood to rot- wood is used for food for fungi which encourages wildlife.
- Allowing areas of grassland to be left to grow which encourages wildlife such as butterflies.
- Mark out recreational areas for activities such as cycling to reduce damage to other areas of forest
- Cattle grazing- encourages growth of flora
