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The Living World - Ecosystems - Coggle Diagram
The Living World - Ecosystems
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is all the biotic (living) parts (animals and plants) and the abiotic (non-living) parts (soil and climate) in an area
The organisms in an ecosystem can be classed as producers, consumers or decomposers
A
producer
uses sunlight energy to produce food
A
consumer
gets its energy by eating other organisms. They can eat producers or other consumers
A
decomposer
is an organism that obtains its energy by breaking down dead material. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers
Nutrient Cycle
1) When dead material decomposes nutrients are released into the soil
2) The nutrients are then taken up from the soil by plants. The plants may be eaten by the consumers
3) When the plants or consumers die the nutrients are returned to the soil
Food Webs and Chains
A food chain shows what eats what
A food web shows lots of food chains and how they overlap
All parts of an ecosystem are interdependent. Every part of an ecosystem depends on other parts. If one part changes it affects all the other parts that depend on it
UK Ecosystem
Case Study: Epping Forest, Essex
Epping Forest is located in the east of the UK, north east of London. The M11 runs through it and is north of London City Airport and south of Stanstead Airport
Over 700 species of fungi which are important decomposers in the ecosystem
38 species of bird
Several native tree including oak, elm, ash and beech
A lower shrub layer of grasses, brambles, and bracken that form the main producers
100 Lakes and ponds
177 species of lichen and moss
Size of organism increases further down food chain
Shows many food chains consisting of different animals
The interrelationship between producers, consumers, and decomposers together with abiotic factors can be illustrated by the annual life cycle of the deciduous trees.
Spring - Flowering bulbs photosynthesise to produce food for consumers
Summer - The broad tree leaves grow quickly in the spring, With a large surface area they maximise sun's energy for photosynthesis
Autumn - To conserve energy the trees shed their leaves
Winter - Bacteria and fungi decompose the leaf litter releasing nutrients into the soil
Case Study: Reigate Heath
West of Reigate just south of A25
Porous sandstone - greensand
SSSIs and Schedules Ancient Monuments
Recreational pressure - golf and trampling
Mosaic of habitats - encourages biodiversity
Scrub clearance maintains diversity
Water table
Oak, pine, heather, gorse, lichens
Global Ecosystem
The
climate
in an area determines what
type
of ecosystem forms. The are
seven major types
of ecosystem.
Tundra
Found at
high latitudes
(above 60° N) in Northern Europe, Canada and Alaska. Winters are very
cold
, summers are
brief
and there is
little rainfall
. There are hardly any trees - vegetation includes
mosses, grasses and low shrubs
. There's a layer of permanently frozen ground called
permafrost
Grassland
There are
two types of grassland
.
savannah
grasslands are found between the tropics. There are distinct
dry
and
wet
seasons, although rainfall is still relatively low. Most of the vegetation is
grasses
with a few scattered trees.
Temperate
grasslands are found at higher latitudes where there is more
variation
in temperature and less rainfall. There are
no tree
s here - just grasses
Boreal Forest
Also known as
taiga
. Found between 50-60° N. Winters are
cold
and
dry
, and summers are
mild
and
moist
. Trees are
coniferous
- they are
evergreen
and have
needles
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Found mainly in the
mid-latitudes
where there are four
distinct seasons
. Summers area warm and winters are relatively
mild
and there's rainfall all year round.
Deciduous
trees lose their leaves in winter to cope with the colder weather
Tropical Rainforest
Found around the
equator
, between the tropics, where its
hot
and
wet
all year round. This is an area of lush forest, with
dense
canopies of vegetation forming distinct layers.
Hot Desert
Found between 15° and 35° north and south of the equator where there's
little rainfall
. Its very
hot
during the day and very
cold
at night.
Shrubs and cacti
are sparsely distributed in the sandy soil
Polar
Found around the north and south
poles
. They are very cold icy and
dry
. Not much grows at all. They remain
dark
for several months each year so the growing season is very
short
- about two months
