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
What are the large scale natural global ecosystems
Biomes are the worlds largest climatic zones or ecosystems. There are 9 of them found within the earth and they are... Tropical forest Deciduous forest Coniferous forest Desert scrub Deserts Temperate grasslands Savannah Mountain Mediterranean Tundra
Characteristics of tropical rainforest biome
Found near the equator in central and South America, parts of Africa and Asia.
They are hot, wet and contain huge variety of plants and animals- around half of all the world species.
EQUATORIAL CLIMATE
Characteristics of savannah biome
Tropical grasslands are hot and dry, dominated by grass, scrub and occasional trees. They have 2 distinct seasons- a dry season when vegetation dies and a rainy season when it grows rapidly.
Found in central southern America, central Africa (Tanzania) and northern Australia
Characteristics of desert biome
Driest and hottest of areas. Worlds largest desert is called the Sahara in North Africa
What is scrub
Dense vegetation consisting mainly of small shrubs and bushes
Characteristics of desert scrub biome
Areas of scrub land that border deserts
Characteristics of Mediterranean biome
Climates aren’t to hot or cod. They are found around the Mediterranean Sea, near Cape Town in South Africa and Melbourne in Australia
Characteristics of temperate grasslands
Dominated by grass and trees. Temperate continental climates- the weather is mild with moderate rainfall. Temperate grasslands include places within Hungary, South Africa, Argentina and a specific example of the prairies in the USA
Characteristics of deciduous forest biome
Contain trees that lose their leaves and are found across Europe and the USA. Weather is mild and wet. Climate is called a temperate maritime
Characteristics of coniferous forest biome
Contain evergreen trees, (don’t lose leaves) found in Scandinavia, Russia and Canada. They have a cool climate with moderate rainfall called cool temperate.
Characteristics of mountain biome
Very cold at night and during winter. The growing season is short and at higher levels trees will not grow
Characteristics of tundra biome
Surrounds north and south poles. They have an extremely cold climate, limited numbers of plants and animals able to survive there.
Epping forest biodiversity and interdependence
Biodiversity is naturally high due to good management
700 species of fungi
177 species of moss and lichen
38 bird species
Many native tree species e.g. Oak and elm
Hot desert location
Mid latitudes between the tropics
Eg Sahara in North Africa
