Small Scale UK Ecosystem Case Study — Epping Forest

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

East of London
Used for recreational activities: hunting grounds, timber resource
Home to 20 dragonfly species

Question 2

Food Web

Answer 2

Mosses, grasses, —> Rabbit —> Fox
herbs, ferns —> Insects,
beetles, —> Mouse —> Owl, Fox
Dec. trees—> worms,—>Small birds—>Sparrow hawk, Owl
cater- —> Badger
Shrubs —> pillars

Question 3

Native Tree Species

Answer 3

Oak, elm, beech, ask —> deciduous trees

Question 4

X species of fungi

Answer 4

700 species of fungi —> decomposers

Question 5

Nutrient Cycle

Answer 5

1. Biomass store is large because of the height of the trees and the dense undergrowth beneath them
2. Soil store is large because there is lots of humus
3. Litter store is small because there is lots of leaching and surface run-off from heavy rainfall

Question 6

Ecosystem’s Interdependence

Answer 6

1. Forest’s producers, consumers, decomposers are all interdependent
2. Most of the trees are deciduous, so they lose they leaves in the winter —> winters are darker and cooler, shedding leaves reserves energy
3. Forest floor is covered with leaf litter and decomposers break it down during autumn
4. Nutrients stored in the leaves are converted to humus in the soil by decomposers