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Living things in an environment (plants and animals)

BIOTIC

A line of linkages between producers and consumers. It shows how energy is passed on from one

organism to another.

FOOD CHAIN

This is made up of plants, animals and their surrounding physical

environment. Important interrelationships link them

together.

ECOSYSTEM

Non living things in an environment (rain, soil and sunlight)

ABIOTIC

Average weather conditions over at least a 30 year period. It is the

temperature and precipitation that an area usually has (what we expect

to see).

CLIMATE

Means the environment can support a large variety of plant and animal life in the habitat

e.g. Epping Forest.

HIGH BIODIVERSITY

The environment can only support a small variety of plants and animals (often because the environmental conditions are not easy to live in) e.g. Western Desert region, USA

LOW BIODIVERSITY

A diagram that shows all the linkages between producers and

consumers in an ecosystem.

FOOD WEB

Organisms at the bottom of the food chain so get their energy from

the sun.

PRODUCERS

Organisms that break down remains of dead plants and animals and

release the chemicals back into the soil.

DECOMPOSERS

Organisms that get their energy from eating dead plants and

animals.

SCAVENGERS

Organisms that get their energy from eating other organisms.

CONSUMERS

How nutrients move around an ecosystem (shown as a diagram with stores and

transfers)

NUTRIENT CYCLING

Case study of a tropical rainforest

MALAYSIA

Vegetation adaptations to a tropical rainforest climate

BUTTRESS ROOTS,LIANAS,

DRIP TIPS

Layering of tropical rainforests

STRATIFICATION

A rainforest soil (orange)

LATOSOL

A sustainable way that indigenous people use the trees in a tropical

rainforest

SHIFTING CULTIVATION(SLASH AND BURN)

Growing enough food to feed yourself and your family (none left

over to sell)

SUBSISTENCE FARMING

One economic reason why an area of Malaysia was deforested for an

energy development

BAKUN DAM HEP SCHEME

A sustainable way of using the trees in a tropical rainforest (fully grown trees selected, cut down without

damaging other trees, removed by a water buffalo, a replacement tree is

planted).

SELECTIVE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

LICs have some of their debts removed by HICs in return for not

deforesting their tropical rainforests.

DEBT FOR NATURE AGREEMENTS

Case study of a hot desert

WESTERN DESERTS REGION, USA

Productive land on the fringes (edges) of deserts are turned into

deserts.

DESERTIFICATION

Two causes of desertification (too much use of the soils by farmers for

crops and animals)

OVERGRAZING and OVERCULTIVATION

Solution to desertification – a wall of trees and other vegetation

GREAT GREEN WALL OF AFRICA

Small scale ecosystem case study

EPPING FOREST

Species reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park (and had

a large impact on the ecosystem)

GREYWOLF

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