P1-Section B Ecosystems Flashcards
What is an ecosystem ?
A community of plants and animals that interact with one another and their physical environment .
What is the meaning of ‘biotic’ , give examples of biotic components of an ecosystem .
Biotic means living = living components of an ecosystem , (plants , animals , bacteria .)
What is the meaning of ‘abiotic’ , give examples of abiotic components of an ecosystem .
Abiotic means living = non - living components of an ecosystem ( air , sun , water , temperature . )
What is an ecosytem made up of ?
Plants . animals and their surroudning physical environment , including soil , rainwater and sunlight .
Put the different sizes of an ecosytem in order starting from the smallest , include examples .
Local (habitat) Snd dune , Freshwater pond , garden .
Regional (Englands Lake district moorland )
Biomes - rainforests
Earth
What is a producer e.g
An organism that is able to absorbb energy from the sun through photosynthesis . PLANTS
What is a consumer (example given )
Creature that eats herbivores and / or plant matter . They obatin the enegry from what they eat , example : if they eat a producer they will get the suggars that are made .
What is a decomposer (example of one )
Micro-organisms , such as fungi and bacteria are decomposers . They help to breakdown dead plants and animals , releasing nutreints into the ecosystem so they can be recycled .
What is a food chain
The connections between different organisms (plants and animals ) that rely upon one another as their source of food .
What is Nutrient Cycling
Is the movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter . The process is regulated by the food web pathways that decompose matter into mineral nutrients .
What is the case study to use in an exam for small -scale ecosytems ?
CASE STUDY : Freshwater Pond (UK ) - Frensham pond - its jus all in a small area only difference .
What is the significance of plants in an ecosystem ?
Plants include trees , wild flowers , grasses , mosses and algae . They provide food and shelter for amny animals .
What is the signigicance of rocks in an ecoystem ?
Rocks help in the formation of soils and rock type is importamt . Weathering realeses nutrients stored in rocks into the ecostyem .
What is Weathering ?
Weathering describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface of the Earth
What is the significance os soil in an ecosytem ?
Soil store water and contain nutrient swhich plants can use . Soil are home to inscects and decomposers .
What are the improtant relationships linking biotic and abiotic parts of the eocystem together w examples .
Physical Linkages - animals eaying the plants .
Chemical Linkages 0 Mild acids in rainwater spped up the decay of dead leaves .
What are two most improtant things an ecosytem relies on .
Constant input of light from the sun as well as rain from the atmosphere .
What are top carnivores
these animals will hunt and eat other carnivores in the ecosytem, as well as the herbivores (lions and tigers )
what are carnivores or secondary consumers
these animals feed on herbiovres (foxes or cats )
What are herbivores or primary consumers ?
plant-eating animals (cows or rabbits )
What are plants or primary producers
green plants that use photosynthesis and take nutrients from the soil using their roots .
Put the feeding groups of an ecosytem in order ?
Plants or primary produercs
Herbivores
Carnivores
Top Carnivores
In a freshwater Pond , describe the bottom of the pond in details .
Very little oxygen , little light
usually rotting plants and stones
decompsoers (maggots and snails) and scavnegers live here . They fed on the particles drifitng down from the surface .
What is the pond margin how it is ueseful
The pond margin is filled with vegetation , (pond marigold) abd provide sheler andnesting for birds and other organisms
adaptations of water lillies for a pond
roots of water lillies cling to the pond bottom while their leaves on long flexible stems float on the surface , wide surface area to absorb as much sunlgiht .
What factors affect an ecosystem ?
Temperature
Floating vegetataion - blocks sunlight (lilly pads and alage)
Oxygen
What do ecosystems depend on the most ?
ecosystems depend on the constant input of light from the sun as well as rain from the atmosphere .
describe in the pond - mid water zone
fish are the main predators
Breathe through gills or skin
sticklebeck - fish
What is a food web
the interelationship between species - all the food chains in the eoosystem .
what would happen if there was no sun in an ecosytem
there would be no producers (apart from canivorous plants) as plants need sunlgiht
what would happen if there were no herbivoers in an ecosystem
the predators would die as they have no food source .
what would happen if there was no perciciptiation in an ecosystem
it will all dry up whole eco system destoyed
no leaf litter in an ecsystem
all the thing eating the leaf litter will be dead
no carnivores in an ecosytem
there will be too many herbiovers and the amount of plnt swill decreas
if there are no plants in an eoocystem
herbivores iwll die out
no decomposers in an ecosytem
dead leaves, dead insects, and dead animals would pile up everywhere.
what is a herbivore - eg
an animal that feeds on plants horse , cow rabbit
what is a carnivore - eg
an animal that feeds on other animals
what is an omnivore
an animla or person that feeds on plants and animals
what are the two categories in which change falls into
natural changes
humann inflicted changes
example of natural changes
climae change , exreme weather conditions
example of human inflicted changes
fertlisers - too many chemicals pesticies can kill the crops
farming -
deforestsaiton - cutting trees - destroys habitats , remoes oxygen from the air , removes food sources ,rremoves nutrients in the soil and dosen’t put them back
draining ponds - removing vegetation from around hte plants
hdege rows getting removed for bigger fields . - have lots of insects in them
(DEFORESTATION - short term - one a niaml looes home - long term - new plants grow in that area , so new animals come to eat those pmatns , change the aniamls that eat those animals , new animals like insects come eat all the other trees - ibrds come to eat the insects )
What are the three stores in an ecosytem
biomass
litter
soil
what is biomass
biomass refers to all living things e.g plants and animals
what is litter
dead materials from the biomas - when plants+aanimla sdie or any decaying matter
what is soil
when the litter has broen down
an exxamole of the basic nutrient ccle (just the three stoes )
Leves fall from trees , move nutriens from biomass to the litter , oveertime leaves are broken down by worms and woodlice (decomposers ) which moves nutriens from the litter to the soil . Eventually nutrients are taken up by plants from the roots of teess and it is turned into biomass again .
Example of what can effect biomass
deforestation
How does rain effect nutirent cycle and what store
LITTER Rainfall adds nutrrients into the cycle (s rain contains nutrients )
however too much rainfall can wash some of the ntureitns of the soil called RUNOFF -
How does weathering affect nutrient cycle and what store
SOIL store - weathering causes rocks around to slwol breakdown , particles gettign smaller and smaller makingup the soil along with decojmposing material from the litter so weathering adds nutrients to the soil .
How does Leaching affect the nutreints cycle and what store
SOIl can loose nutrients , heavy rainfall cuses the soil to become saturated which dissolbes nutrients from the soi into the water and carrying them away .
What is the case study for decidous forests
Epping forest uk
where is epping forest located
east of london
What ways has epping forest been maaged and how long
hutnging grounds for royalty
recreation for 1000 year
what is biodversity like in epping forest and why
biodiversity has remained nturally high due to careful management , so there is a complex food web composed of thousands of species .
what are thre native tree species of epping forest
oak , elm ,ash , beech
native shurb layer of epping frest
holly and hzel , ferns 177 species of moss and lichen
consumers of epping forest
insects , mammals birdss , 38 bird spcecies , 9reptie and amiphiian species .
decomposers of eppign forest
700 species of fungi
meaning of interdependence
the dependence of two or more people or things on each other.
how is the ecosytem of epping ofrest interdependent
this is clearly shown by the ANNUAL LIFE CYCLE OF THE TREES
most of the trees are deciduous , meaning that they lose their leaves in winter - (in the uk winter darker n coole rthan summers only 5degrees in jan and 18 in july) as a reult trees grow broad green leaves in spring .Allowing them to maximise photosynthesis in dummrt , they shed their leaves in autun to conserve energy in winter . In susgumn ghd forest floor is coever by thic layer of leaves .Nutrients in leaves is coneverted nutrient rich humus in the soil soil whcih be passed ot the producers afgaoin (nutrient cycle )
what is nutrient cycling
a set of processes whereby oragnisms extracxt minerals necessary for growth from soil or water , before pasing them on thrrough the food ,c ahin , and ultimately back to the soil and water .
who are primary cosumers
herbivoers e.g plant eating animals
who are secondary consumers
canivoers , feed on herbivores foxes and cats
who are tertiary consumers
also known as top consumers , these hunt and eat othe rcarnivores in the ecosytesm as well as other herbivores these inckude lions and lions but can aslo include frogs and fish .
what is a biome
a biome is a large sclae ecoystem
coniferous
Coniferous woodland is a biome found between 50° and 60° north of the equator and is characterised by evergreen coniferous trees with needles instead of leaves. It is also known as Taiga.
Typical trees include spruce, pine and fir. Animals commonly found in the region are reindeer, voles and hares.
NJKUTJEYREJDLES LEVES RETAIN MOR MWTAEA TH NIRAK KE
describe the decidous biome and vegetation
the biome has few extreemes of climates and can be found in the eastern half of North Maric , and the west of Europe . It can also be found in Asia . The forest has four distinct seasons , spring , summer , autumn and winter . In the autuumn , the leaves change colour .During the winter months the trees loose their leaves . THINK UK
Describe the tundra biome and its vegetatgion
temperatures stay below 0°C most of the year. The ground remains frozen, apart from a few centimetres of thaw in the summer. The precipitation is gentle, mainly falling as snow. The winds can be very strong.
Summers may have many hours of continuous daylight. Winters are long, dark periods.
The climatic conditions mean that the landscape is quite bare, with little vegetation.
describe the temperate grassland biome and its vegetaiton
a large biome with rolling rerrains of grasses , flowers and herbs . It is a region where the average of annual precipitiaiton is great enough to support grasses , and in some areas a few trees . The percipitaiton is so unprediatble that drought a fire prevent large forests from gorrowing .
describe the tropical rainofest biome and its vegetation
this is a very hot and wet biome located on or around the equator , Ut has the greatest biodiverisity , number of plants and animals found anywhere on earth .
describe the desert biome and its vegetatin
this biome is very hot and also very , very dry ,As a result of this , very littlegrows only vert hardy plants such as cactus which can survive drought .
describe the mediterranean biome and its vegetation
this is a biome that is found n small arreas on of most of the continents . The west coast of the United states , the west coasts of south america , the cape own area of south africa , the western tip of australia and the coastal areas of the meditteranean . This biome has flat plains , rocky hills and mountain slopes . Very hot and dry - the winter is ver mild (ten degrees) the summer is hot and dry about 40 degrees , that fires and droughts are very common .
describe the savannah biome and its vegetatoion
a dry and hot area composed of mainly grassland and scattered shrubs and isolated trees , which can be found betwen a tropical rainforest and a desert biome in africa arabia and even australlia .
where is avington park
winchester hampshire
what happened to avington park
several years ,the lake had deterriorated due to the lack of maintenance .Silt had accumulated an excessive vegetation .
How are the going to restore avington park
-partially remove silt to create lake depth of 1m , a barrier was pput in to prevent silt washing into river itchin . Gentle slope created to the pond .
-carex was planted around the edges of the lake m.
-wanted to decrease the chance of eutrophicatio .
how does eutrophocation work
excessibe nutrients from fertillisers are flushed from the land into rivers or lakes by rainwater
-these pollutants cause aquatic plant growth of alage , duckweed and other plants .
3.algae blooms , oxygen is depleted . preventing sunlight reaching the plants plants die .
4. dead plants broken downby decomposers using even more oxygen of the water
5.death of ecocsytem , oxygen levels reach a pojnt where no life is possible , fish and other organisms die .
what is biodiveersity
the variety of life in the world or a particular habitat .
how can physical and human forces disturb ecostem balance
periods of extrene weather annd climate change can disrupt the balance of an ecosystem .
what are trophic leevels
hierachal levels in an ecosytem
where is yellow stone national park
usa wyoming
what are some management strategues to increase biodiversity in yellow stone
-increasing tree covers provides habitats for song birds
- beavers create ponds and flooded areas to promote asper.
-more hills made by wolves provide more food for scaengers .
-reduction in produ tionf rom coyotes kead to increse n mce and other rodents
referenc to the hadley cell - why does the rainforest have lots of precipitation
rainforests are associated with areas of low pressure(ar rising) meaning they receive alot of precipitation .
reference to the hadley cell , why do deserts receive hardly any rainfall
deserts are associated with res pf high pressure (air sinking ) this mans they receive hardly any rainfall .
(2marker)desrvibe the location of tropical rainforests
tropical rainforest are located in abroad belt around 10degrees north and south of the equator , (between tropics cancer and capricrn) in south east asia and central africa .
Describe the climate of a tropical rainforst and suggest hot it supports high levels of biodiversity (4mrker)
1.tropical rainofrests get a lot of percipitation (2000ml of rain per year) .
2.Rainfall is high due to warm air rising and condensing formign clouds .
3.Temperatures range fro 27-32degrees
4.High temperatures , precipitation and sungliht all year rounds means that there is rapid growth and vegetation .
5. the rainforest is the most producive large scale ecosystem onthe plane t, that has high levels of biodiversity .
how does the tropical rainforest get its nutrients despite the thin soil >
ITS RAPID NUTRIENT CYCLE
the soils of the trpoical rainforest are mainly thin , howeveer , the warm and humid conditions cause the littler to decompose quickl ,
- the little rain that reaches the forest floors washes away thw litter nutriens before they become part of the soil ,
even tho soils inferitle , plats pick up eogij mitoremt tp sirvive , many nutrients are stored in large thic trees .
what is destroying bidoiversity of tropical rainforests
human exploitation
what is the order of the strucutre of the TRF starting from the bottom
shrub layer
lower /under canopy
main.middle canopy
top canopy (emergent layer)
what do the bars of a bar graph show
percipiation
what do the lines of a bar graph show
temperature
describe the shrub layer
or forest floor , it is extremely dark , only 2% of light reaches this lin layer so plants gorw slowly .(buttress roots support trees in shallow soil )
describe the lower or under canopy
is where shade loving plants live as a reuslt of , low light condditions (2-15%) Lianas here ?
describe the main , middle canopy
main , middle canopy has the most trees and animals who feed off them .(trees tall and thin to reach sunlgiht)
describe the top canopy (emergent layer)
has the tallest trees , rising baove others to get the most lgiht . Fast gorwing trees such as Kapok out complete other trees for sungliht . Many leaves have flexible bases so they turn to face the sun and driptips .
what does vertical stratification mean
whenn the haibtt /vegetation is vertically sepearted into layes or strata .
-each layer is inhabited by different animal and plant communities .
in the tropical rainforest . what is the main store and why
biomass is the main store , (soil nutrient is poor )
where are lianas located and what is their adaptation
lianas found in the ground - leevl , these are woody vines that have roots in the ground but climb up the trees to reach sunlight . Their leaves and flowers grow in the canopy .
where are thin tree trunks located and what is their adaptation
thin tree turnks are thin to reach and compete for sunlight . These tress have smooth bark to allow water to flow down into the roots of the tree .
where are drip tips located and what is their adaptation
dri[p tp leaves are located everywhere drip tip leaves repel water and have leaves with pointy tips . This allows water to run off the leaves quickly wihtout damaging or breaking the leaves .
where a buttress roots located and what is their adaptation
buttress roots can be found on the ground level ,buttress roots have largeroots which have ridges , this creates a large surface area that help to support large trees and take in nutrients from the soil quicikly and transport water , It may also help O2 and CO2 exchange by increasing the surface area .
where are epiphytes located an what is their adaptation
epiphytes are loacted in the under canop , these are plants which libe on the branch of trees high in the canopy , get its nutirents from the air and the water .
what are the adaptations of a sloth
(middle canopy)a sloth uses camouflage and moves very slowl to make it difficult for predators to spot .
what are the adaptations of a spider monkey
(top canopy) a spidermonkey has strong limbs to help it to climb through the rainforest .
what are the adaptations of a toucan
(middle canopy layer)has a long lagre bill to allow it to reach and cut fruit from branches that are too weak to support its wieght .
what are the adaptations of a jaguar
they are excelent swimmers unlike other caats .
they seek out water for bathing and swimming .jaguars fur keeps them cmouflaged .(understory)
what are the adaptations of a flying flog
has fully webbed hands and feet , a dlap od loose skin that streches between its limbs allows it to glide from plant to plant . (main canopy)
what is deforestation
the felling of trees at a large scale
how much of the rainforest has ben cut down
18-20%
what are the three main cities in brail where the rainforest can be accessed
rio de janerio , sao paulo and Brasilia .
how has mineral extraction caused deforestation
1.mines shwoing bare earth
2.land is completely deforetsed , soil is often removed with high pressure houses and chemicals .
3the run off foes into local rives and pollutes them.mercury is used in gold extraction , mercury containates water affecting local populations , dangerous for nervous sytema and kills fish in local area .
How has dam building , energy development , caused deforestation
unlimited water supply encouraged dams to be made . to generate HEP hydro electric power . It provides enrgy but ,
1.This invovlves flooding vast areas of the rainforest .
2.Dams usually hav a short life The submerged forest grduall rot making eater accidic corrodes turbines , blocked dams .
3.People may have to move.
4.Drowned forests rots and adds carbon to the atomospehrre .
how has commerical farming caused deforestaiton
frorest cleared away for vast plantations like banan , pal oil , sgar ceane . after few yeas , more rainforest cut down for new plantations , growing sugar can is becomign a biofuel to become mjor crop .
how has settlements and popualtion growth caused deforestation
land is being cleared ofr new homes nad seettlements , A demand despecially for overcrowiding cities. All jobs n rainforest people need settlements .
why does brazil need to utilise its own natural resources
poverty - t
cannot improt things
so have to use their natural resources fo rmoney .mil people living in povrty despite lifiting 28m oout of poverty ,
how is river poullution an impact of deforestation
mercury from gold mining containates water (local reivers ) effects of human and fish
how is decline of indignous trbes an impact of deforestation .
many indigenous people have been forced out by :
the construction of roads
logging
the creation of ranches plantations and reservoirs
openings of mines .
how is conflict a cause an impact of deforestation
disputes between indigneous people and loggers and other developers o te rianforest often end in open conflict ,Disputes arise because people conflicitng views abput the rainforest .
the tropical rinofrest is vluable provider of a resourcer and opportunities
those provided by the rainforest in its natural state
-those provided by the land ocne it s cleared
examples of good provided by the ecosytem
native foods - suagr vanilla , cinammon suagr
wild meat , fish
building materials
medicine
examples of services providied by the eoxsyem
wildlife habitts
employments and opportunities
biodiversity
air puriicaiton
