Ecosystems..

ECOSYSYTEMS...

An ecosystem = 

A community of plants and animals that interact with each other in their physical environment.

Producer - Converts energy from the environment (sun) into sugars, e.g photosynthesis (leaves)

Consumer - get energy from the sugars, e.g pond snail eats plants

Decompsoers - break down plant and animal materials and return them to the soil, e.g bacteria 

Food chain - Direct links between producers and consumers. 

Food web - shows all conections between producers and consumers. 

Nutreint cycling - Foods that are used by plants/ animals to grow. 2 main sources - rainwater washes chemicals from atmosphere. Weathered rock releases nutrients into soil.

When plants or animals die, decomposers help return the nutrients to the soil making them available for the growth of other plants and animals.

Nutrients are foods that are used by plants of animals to grow such as pottasium

Rain water washes the chemicals out the atmosphere or weathered rock releases nutrients into the soil

When plants or animals die, decomposers recycle the nutrients, making them available for more plants and animals to grow.

Equipment:

Map of site

Photos

Clipboard

Pen 

Quadract

2 ranging poles

tape measure 

Please refer to book 1 for images and more details on the fieldwork. 

From our field work we discovered - 

In our quadrat 88% was abiotic, the rest biotic

The abiotic items included, litter, dead leaves, dead brambles and dead nettles. 

Biotic items included: leaves, woodlouse, fly and soil. 

We dropped the quadrat randomly ensuring we weren't biased

Our results are understandable as it was the winter season. Mnay trees were Deciduous trees meaning they drop leaves.

We also discovered a road, air polloution and fumes damage the ecosystem. There was also and electricity box nearby so that can disrupt the ecosystem as it has built on the land and mechanics can walk through the ecosystem.

Food chain - flow of energy through an ecosystem. It is simple and shows simple links in a line

Food web - more complex showing many links between producers and consumers

Abotic - non living 

Biotic - living 

Biome - formation of plants and animals that share the same charecteristics due to climate. 

Component - neccesary part of an eco system 

A duck is a good consumer as it consumes both plants and smaller animals 

the pond weed and marsh marigold is a producer as it collects energy from the sun (photosynthesis) 

If the pond became pollouted it would kills plants and smaller animals meaning the consumers would be low for food to consume 

decomposers - found in plants or bottom surface in soil, important as they return nutrients to the soil.

Can take a long time to develop - usually hundreds of years. 

To keep an ecosystem stable it must be in balance 

If there is a change for just one component it can have knock on effects for the whole eco system

Can be upset by human impacts e.g climate change and polloution

Humans demand items that polloute the earth e.g cars. - extreme weathers, climate change, flash floods, river levels to rise. 

• Human disruptions:
• Woods cut down for human demand 
• Pond land drained for farming 
• Hedgegrows removed to increase field area 

If owner cut down pond vegitation -

many consumers will die as no food. (Short term) 

Plants will grow back helping develop a new ecosystem (long term)

If disease wiped out all perch in the pond - 

Many birds that consume the perch will have no food source and go elsewhere. (short term) 

small fish become over populated and could die (long term)

• Wolves killed deer scaring them off. As a result vegitation grew back attracting rabits, badgers e.t.c. The wolves ate these leaving carcas attracting vultures. The vegitation on the river bank caused erosion and the river didnt meander and went in a streight line.

Tropical rainforests, 

close to Brazil, Africa and the Equator. 

High temperatures, heavy rainfall. Ideal for plants. Cover 6% of Earths surface. 1/2 of worlds animals from here and 1/4 of worlds medicines.

Polar 

Arctic, Antartic. 

Low temperatures, dry conditions. Temperatures can fall belwow -50 degrees. 

Medditeranian: 

S. France, Spain, South Africa, Western Australia

Hot sunny, dry summers, olive trees, fruit trees, 

Temperate deciduous forest

Uk, Europe, China, U.S.A 

Trees drop leaves in winter, no extreme temperatures.

Coniferous forest/ Taiga:

Russia, N. Europe

Evergreen trees, maximise photosynthesis in summer, colder climates

Temperate grassland: 

Inland, N. America, E.Europe

warm, dry summers. Cold winters, grazing animals

Desert:

N. Africa, Australia, India 

1/5 of worlds surface, high day temperature, low night temperature, plants and animals must be well adapted e.g fur, carry water

Tropical grassland:

Africa, South America 

Wet and dry seasons, hot wildfires, Violent thunderstorms. Large herds of animals graze e.g lions and lepords. 

Tundra: 

Canada, Nothern Europe, Arctic circle 

Low growing plants , adaptable to heat and moisture, easily damageb by tourists, Reindeer.

Polar

Medditeranean

Deciderous