Types

Major Forest Grass Pond Desert Types

of
of an

Ecosystem
ecosystems Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem Ecosystem

land

They have their own characteristics features, structures and functions . FOREST ECOSYSTEM: These are the ecosystems having predominent of trees that interspersed with large number of hurbs , shrubs climbers , linches algae and wide variety of wild animals and birds. The characteristic of forest ecosystem are decided by the abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic factors having the characteristics properties like alttitude, sunlight , soil, latitude and temprature.

FOREST ECOSYSTEM: These are the ecosystems having predominent of trees that interspersed with large number of hurbs , shrubs climbers , linches algae and wide variety of wild animals and birds. The characteristic of forest ecosystem are decided by the abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic factors having the characteristics properties like alttitude, sunlight , soil, latitude and temprature.

The biotic factors are types of trees , plants, herbs climbers , grasses, flowering plantsand non-flowering species The animals can be mammals , birds , reptiles , amphibians fungi and microbes.

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST: They are evergreen broadleaf forest found near the equator. They are characterised by high temprature high humidity and high rainfall , all of which favour the growth of trees.

All through the year the climate remains more or less uniform. Best example is the emergent layer is the topmost layer of the tallest broad leaf evergreen trees , below which lies the canopy where top branches of short trees form an umbrella like cover .

On the tree trunks some woody climbers are found to grow which are known as LIANAS.

There are some other plants like ORCHIDS which are epiphytes ie they are attached to the trunks or branches of big trees.

The orchids have special type of leaves to capture and hold the water. Some large epiphytes can hold as much as 4 litres of water, equivallent to small bucket.

Interestingly the flowers of forest trees are very large , colourful fragrant and attractive which helps in pollination by insects birds ,bats etc RAFFLESIA ARNOLDI , the biggest flower 7kg weight is known to smell like rotten meat and attracts flies and bettles which helps in pollination.

The silent valley in kerala is the only tropical rain forest lying in India which is the natural habitat for a wide variety of species.

CONIFEROUS FORESTS

It is characterised by needle like leaves of evergreen trees like popular brich , pine trees ,
spruce, fir are the dominant trees and anmials like black beer, porcupine , snow shoe , hare , lyrix red squrriel, northern flying squrriel , etc the presence of green plants increases the annual rate of primary production of this biome The Coniferous Forest is a forest of Conifers (too much to handle, isn't it?). A Conifer is a tree that produces its seeds in cones. The Pine tree is the most common example. Conifer leaves conserve water with the thick, waxy layer that covers their leaves, also known as needles. The vegitation in the Coniferous forest is small in size, but large enough to feed the vast herbivore population. Most of these animals survive the brutal winters by migrating or hibernating.

Average Annual Rainfall- 14-29.5 in. Average Temperatures in the Summer- 57.2F Average Temperatures in the Winter- 14F

Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome The Latin word "Deciduous" means "to fall off" There for, a temperate deciduous forest is a forest that is not hot nor cold and has leaves that fall off in Autumn. These trees lose their leaves in order to conserve water. A Temperate Deciduous Forest contains numerous species of trees and hundreds of species of animals. Average Rainfall: 29.5 inches Average Temperatures in Summer: 82.4 F Average Temperatures in Winter: 42.8F

PLANTS These forests consist of several layers of vegetation. These plants include shrubs, moss, ferns, and lichens because they do not need much sunlight. The trees in the forest are hardwoods such as oak, hickory, maple, beech, birch, and sweet gum.

ANIMALS Animals in these forests are so high in quantity that the my website server would crash before I listed all of them. There is a very diverse population, all adapted to survive the season changes. Examples of animals include cardinals, deer, black rat snake, opossum, mice, squirrell, ect.

The Tropical Rainforest has virtually no season change. There are THOUSANDS of species of trees in the rainforests. There is an even larger amount of species of animals, the vast majority of which have not been discovered yet. The soil is very poor, and the vegetation contains most of the nutrients. Most of the species live in the canopy of the Rainforest. Average Annual Rainfall: 157.5 in Average temperatures of Day- 93 F Average temperatures of Night- 68 F
PLANTS Most plants in the rainforest are trees, and there are also several types of mosses and shrubs that grow on the ground. Because only a small amount of sunlight reaches the floor, these plants are generally very small. ANIMALS The animals in the rainforest are so diverse, that scientists speculate that they only know of .1% of all of the animals. Among these are hundreds of species of parrots, snakes, millions of other birds, the monkey, tigers, Sumatran Rhinos, and millions of other species.

Grass land ecosystem

It is one of the self sustained ecosystems occupies 19% of earths surface . In the grass land ecosystem, the major community present is the grass with limited trees and hence grasses, shrubs are the primary producers. Cows ,buffaloes, deer, sheep , goats etc some insects termites etc. feed on the leaves of the grasses , carnivores are the secondary consumers. Grasslands cover less than one percent of the province and are generally found east of the forested Coast and Cascade Mountains. The grassland climate is dry with hot summers. Many people are familiar with the grasslands of the Okanagan valley from Vernon to Penticton and along the Trans Canada Highway around Kamloops as places they see on their summer vacation. The view from the boat on the lake or from the car on the highway in the height of summer is one of hot, dry, brown landscapes.

BIOMES IN INDIA :
The Grass land are found in the Himalayan foot hills, Central India and Decan Plateau. The mammals like black buck, chinkara wolf and birds are common . Carnivores animals are also found in grasslands.Most of the Grassland have been used over utilized and degraded by human Interference
chinkara

black buck

DESERT ECOSYSTEM

? System = regularly interacting and interdependent components forming a unified whole

Ecosystem = an ecological system; = a community and its physical environment treated together as a functional system

ECOLOGY

OIKOS = HOME LOGOS = STUDY STUDY OF HOME COINED BY EARNST HACKEL 1869.

Living things
All living things (organisms) need food (nourishment) to live.
Living things in an ecosystem depend on each other for food.

Producers or Autotrophs

A groups of organisms that can use the energy in sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into Glucose (food)
Autotrophs are also called Producers because they produce all of the food Ex. Plants and Algae

Heterotrophs
Organisms that do not make their own food

Another term for Heterotroph is consumer because they consume other organisms in order to live
Ex. Rabbits, Deer, Mushrooms

Consumers 1. Scavengers/Detritivores feed on the tissue of dead organisms (both plans and animals) Ex. Vultures, Crows, and Shrimp

Consumers
2. Herbivores eat ONLY plants
Ex.

Cows, Elephants, Giraffes

Consumers
3. Carnivores eat ONLY meat
Ex. Lions, Tigers, Sharks

Consumers 4. Omnivores eat BOTH plants and animals Ex. Bears and Humans

Energy flow
Simplistically:

heat Producers Consumers Decomposers

heat
This pattern of energy flow among different organisms is the TROPHIC STRUCTURE of an ecosystem.

FUNCTIONS OF ENERGY FLOW IN AN ECOSYSTEM Primarly refers to the relationship existing between abiotic and biotic components THREE TYPES PRIMARY FUNCTION: To Produce starch ( Photosynthesis) SECONDARY FUNCTION: Distributing the food energy from plants to all the organisms TERTIARY FUNCTION: Recycle of Nutrients

Energy is the important source for an ecosystem Solar energy is the ultimate source for our planet earth The lot of sunlight falls on the green plants and it is captured by 1% energy of the sunlight and the remaining energies distributed to other consumers. |This is the most essential step to provide energy for all the organisms. The conservation of solar energy is governed by the two thermodynamics laws

The Laws of Thermodynamics

Energy flow is a one-directional process. sun---> heat (longer wavelengths)

FIRST LAW of THERMODYNAMICS:

Energy can be converted from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed.

Food Chains
SCIENCE By A. JOHN BOSCO ASST PROF CHEMISTRY
C.

B.

Food Chain
Order in which animals eat plants and other animals. Each part of a food chain is a link connected to other links.

Herbivores
Herbivores

are animals that only eat plants.

Carnivores
Carnivores

are animals that eat meat. Carnivores will also eat animals that eat plants.

Omnivores
Omnivores

will eat both plants and animals. Some animals eat both plants and meat. People are omnivores

Insects eat plants

Insects

eat

plants. Fish, frogs, and birds eat the insects that eat the plants. This begins the food chain.

Birds, Animals and People Eat Fish

Birds

and other animals eat the fish. The fish eat the plants and insects. People eat fish too.

A Food Chain
Plant Insects Frog Bear

Fish

People