Living world Flashcards
what is an ecosystem?
the living and non-living relationships between the environment and the organisms
what is a biome?
a global ecosystem eg. a tundra, desert, savanna, rainforest, grassland, marine etc
what is a producer?
organisms that obtain their energy from the sun
what is a consumer?
organisms that obtain their energy from eating other organisms
what is a scavenger?
organisms that eat dead animals or plants
what is a decomposer?
bacteria that break down animals or plants
what is the nutrient cycle?
the recycling of nutrients. they are stored in the soil and biomass and litter
what is eutrophication?
lots of nutrients in a lake and causes lots of plant growth
local changes that can change ecosystems
hedgerow removal and agricultural change
global changes that can effect ecosystems
climate change (the world is changing 10,000 times faster than animals can adapt to it) and conflict
Malaysian case study…
is in south asia
between equator and tropic of cancer
14.4% of the rainforest has been cut down
the WWF is protecting 30% of the land
weathering can…
…make everything break down faster because of the warm weather and the biomass takes all the nutrients up
the fall out can…
…make the dead trees fall to the ground and make more litter
the precipitation can…
…add nutrients to the nutrient cycles
the run-off…
…nutrients are run out off the soil during heavy rain
leaching is where…
…nutrients are lost out of the soil during heavy rain
decay is…
…rapid decay due to warm weather, for the decomposers
what are the 4 layers of the rainforest?
- forest floor- dark and steamy, 2% of light, dead and decaying matter
- lower canopy- grows quickly and plants competing for life
- canopy- the main section, umbrella shapes
- emergent- thick trunks, and only one or two of the tallest trees
Lianas are…
woody creepers that are rooted to the ground but climb up thee trees
buttress roots are…
massive ridges to support bases and increases surface areas
epiphytes are…
plants that live on the trunks to make the most of the sunlight
how much of the world’s oxygen does the amazon rainforest create?
20%
what is subsistance farming?
it is the farmer creating food only for his own family
where is the amazon rainforest?
it is 2/3 of Brazil, north the topic of Capricorn and is south of the equator with its coast of the Atlantic Ocean