Unit 1B - ecosystems Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
a unit that includes all the biotic(living) parts and the abiotic(non-living) parts in an area
What are the three things organisms can be classed as?
- producers
- consumers
- decomposers
What is a consumer?
an organism that gets it’s energy by eating other organisms - it’s producers or other consumers
What is a producer?
an organism that uses sunlight energy to produce food
What does the food chain show?
what eats what
What is a decomposer?
an organism that gets its energy by breaking down dead material
What happens when dead material is decomposed?
nutrients are released into the soil, taken up from the soil by plants.
In some parts of an ecosystem, what do the depend on?
sources of food, habitat. So if one part changes so does the rest
The climate in an area determines what type of…?
ecosystems form
What are the two types of grasslands?
savannah and temperate
What are the contents of the savannah?
found between the tropic, distinct wet & and dry seasons, although rainfall is still relatively low
What is the vegetation like in the savannah?
grasses with a few scattered trees
Where are temperate grasslands found at?
higher latitudes where this is more variation in temp and less rainfall - no trees just grasses
What are the contents of a tundra?
found at high latitudes in northern Europe, Alaska, and northern Canada. Winters are very cold, summers are brief and their is little rainfall, hardly any trees - vegetation includes; mosses, grass and low shrubs.
What is a permafrost?
a permeant layer of frozen ground
What are the contents of a temperate deciduous forest?
found mainly in mid latitudes where their are four distinct seasons, summers are warm, winters are relatively mild and theirs little rainfall all year round
What happens in deciduous forests?
trees lose their leaves in winter to cope with cold weather
What are the contents of tropical forests?
found at the equator, between tropics, where its hot and wet all year round
What is vegetation like in tropical rainforests?
area of lush forest, dense canopies of vegetation forming distinct layers
What are the contents of the polar?
found at north and south poles, very cold, icy and dry, remains dark for several months each year so the growing season is short
What is vegetation like in the polar?
not much grows at all
What are the contents of hot desserts?
found between 15 and 35 degrees north and south of the equator where theirs little rainfall
What is the weather like in hot desserts?
very hot during the day and very cold at night
What is vegetation like in hot desserts?
shrubs and cacti are sparsely distributed in the sandy soil
