Studied by 17 peopleEcosystem
A self-regulating biological community in which living things interact with their physical environment.
Biome
Very large scale, global ecosystem
Autotroph
Self feeders. Produce their own food by photosynthesis.
Heterotroph
'Other feeders' or consumers. Animals which obtain energy by eating green plants directly or animals that have previously eaten green plants
Detritovore
Eats non-living or decaying organic matter. Includes millipedes, dung beetles or earthworms.
Primary succession
Stages of growth on surfaces where there has been no previous vegetation such as bare rock and sand dunes.
Secondary succession
Growth of vegetation following the destruction or modification of the existing plant community e.g. by fire or landslides
Pioneer species
First plants to colonise bare ground
Climatic climax
Vegetation and animals found if succession is allowed to continue undisturbed.
Arresting factor
A change in conditions that halts natural succession.
Plagioclimax
Succession that is interrupted by human factors e.g. deforestation, slash and burn, grazing of animals.
Biomass
The dry weight of all the organic matter within organisms in an ecosystem
Psammosere
Process of succession in a sand dune system
Trophic pyramid
Shows the weight of organic matter per unit area and shows energy transfers within an ecosystem.
Deciduous woodland
A woodland whose trees that lose their leaves in the winter
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The amount of energy captured by green plants in an ecosystem minus the energy used for respiration. Represented as biomass in grammes/m2/year
Surtsey
An island off the coast of Iceland that formed in 1963. An example of primary succession.
Supporting services
Benefits of biodiversity that allow ecosystems to exist, such as primary production, soil formation, and nutrient cycling
Provisioning services
Benefits of biodiversity that humans use, including food, water, wood and fuel
Regulating services
benefits of biodiversity that include climate regulation, flood control, and water purification
Cultural services
benefits of biodiversity that provide aesthetic, spiritual, or recreational value
indicator species
Species that are monitored and serve as early warnings that a community or ecosystem is being degraded.
biotic factors
living parts of an ecosystem e.g. plants, animals, fungi, decomposers
abiotic factors
non-living components of an ecosystem e.g. wind, water, sunlight, temperature
Note
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