Ecosystems

- An ecosystem is made up of plants, animals and their surrounding physical enviroment (e.g. soil, rainwater and sunlight)

- Important interrelationships consist of:

physical links e.g animals eating plants

chemical links e.g. mild acids in rainwater speeding up the decay of leaves

- Ecosystems depend on a constant output of sunlight and rain

- They can be any size 

Local (a small scale ecosystem also called a habitat)

Regional (England's Lake District moorland)

Global Biomes (South America's tropical rainforest)

Earth

Plants or primary producers

- Green plants that use photosythesis and take nutrients from the soil using their roots

Herbivores or primary consumers

- Plant eating animals 

- e.g cows or rabbits

Carnivores or secondary consumers

- Animals that feed on primary consumers

Decomposers

- Breaks down dead material and releases nutrients back into the soil

- e.g. bacteria and fungi

- A large number of native tree species, including oak, elm, ash and beech

- A lower shrub layer of holly and hazel, overyling a field layer of grasses, brambles, bracken, fern and flowering plants (A great diversity of producer species)

- Many insect, mammal and bird consumer species are supported inncluding 9 amphibian and reptile species and 38 bird species

- 700 species of fungi (decomposers)

- Trees are decidious (lose their leaves in winter)

- Trees grow broad green leaves in spring to allow them to maximise photosynthesis during summer (cos winter is colf af)

- Lose leaves to conserve energy during winter

- By mid-autumn, the forest floor is covered with leaves 

- Leaves are decomposed by decomposers and detritivores 

- Nutrients released is converted to humus in ths oil

- The soil can now support the new seasons plant growth because of the nutrition from the dead leaves

- Human Interdependance: Visitors picking berries and flowers, spreading seeds.

 e.g the population of beetles is reduced by disease

- Direct impact on the woodpeckers, with fewer beetles to eat, their numbers decline

- In contrast, more oak trees grow now that fewer beetles are feeding on them