Ecosystems Flashcards
What do living organisms do in order to survive and reproduce!
Interact with other organisms and the environment in which they live
What is an environment?
The sum total of the biological, physical and chemical conditions surrounding an organism
What is an ecosystem?
A particular area in which living components interact with one another and with non-living components
What is another name for the living components in an ecosystem?
Biotic
What is another name for the non-living components in an ecosystem?
Abiotic
What is the size of an ecosystem?
It can be a giant rainforest, or a tiny drop of water
What is ecology?
The study of relationships and interactions between living organisms and between the organism and the natural environment in which they occur
How many abiotic factors are there?
Seven
What are the seven abiotic factors?
Physiographic Edaphic Light Temperature Water Atmospheric gases Wind
What are the climatic factors?
The collective term for wind, temperature, light, water and atmospheric gases
What are three physiographic factors?
Aspect
Slope
Height above sea level
What is aspect?
Slope direction
It refers to the position of an area in relation to the sun
How does aspect influence vegetation?
One side of a slope gets more sunlight than another
Sun-loving vegetation therefore prefers this slope
Shade plants prefer the other side
Which side of a mountain (in SA) gets more sunlight?
North
What is slope?
How steep or flat a landscape is
What does slope affect?
The rate of water run-off
How does the rate of water run-off affect vegetation?
More run-off means more nutrients are washed away
There are fewer nutrients available
Few plants and animals are present
What kind of slope increases the rate of water run-off?
Steep
What kind of slope decreases water run-off?
Gentle
What kind of weather can be found high above sea level?
Extreme
Strong winds
Snow
What are edaphic factors?
Soil factors
What are five edaphic factors?
Type of soil Soil air Water-holding capacity Humus content pH
What are the three types of soil?
Clay
Loam
Sand
What kinds of particles are found in clay?
Tiny