What is an ecosystem?
The study of the biotic and abiotic aspects of an environment such as a woodland where the living things interact between each other and also with the non-living environment they are found within.
What is a biome?
Large scale ecosystem found across the globe; each bone has its own group of plants, animals and climate which makes it unique and distinctive.
What are the characteristics of a tropical rainforest?
- Hot all year - 25-30C.
- Wet all year (200-3000mm annual precipitation).
- Dense forests with several layers of trees, with other plants competing for light.
What are the characteristics of tropical grasslands?
- Hot all year 25-35C.
- 500MM-1000MM of rainfall annually - always tie a dry season.
- Tall grasses, with some drought-adapted shrubs and trees.
What are the characteristics of deserts?
- Hot all year, 30C+.
- Cool nights.
- Very low rainfall. 250MM- per year.
- Plants are scarce and have water storing features, spines instead of leaves and extensive root systems.
What are the features of Temperate Grasslands?
- Hot in summer 25C
- Very cold in summer - can reach -40C
- 500-900MM of rainfall per year, most in late spring/summer.
- Short grasses with very few trees and bushes.
What are the characteristics of Boreal (Taiga) Forests?
- Mild summers - 10-20C.
- Very cold winters - below 0.
- Low precipitation 500MM - which is mainly in summer.
- Coniferous tress such as pine.
What are the characteristics of Tundra?
- Temperatures below 0C for most of the year.
- Reaches 10C in summer.
- Low precipitation. 250MM-
- Short daylight hours in winter.
- Very few plants can live here, mostly lichens and mosses.
- Trees rare and stunted.
What are the four factors that affect biome distribution?
Rock type.
Soils.
Altitude.
Drainage.
How does the local factor rock type affect biome distribution?
- Some are easily weathered to form soils.
- Different rock types have different minerals.
- Minerals affect how rich the soil is in nutrients.
- Permeable rocks allow water to flow through them.
- Impermeable rocks don’t allow water to flow through them.
How does the local factor altitude affect biome distribution?
- Higher altitudes are colder, therefore, less plants grow.
- Higher the altitude means less animal species there too.
- Not much organic matter, so soils are thin or non-existent.
How does the local factor soil type affect biome distribution?
- More nutrient-rich soils can support more plants.
- Acidity and drainage of soils vary, affecting the plants that can grow.
How does the local factor drainage affect biome distribution?
- If drainage is poor, soil gets waterlogged and only plants adapted to wet conditions can grow there.
- Very wet areas may be home to aquatic species of plants and animals.
How does water affect biotic and abiotic components of the biome?
- Affects the plants that grow.
- Plants take in water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere, providing moisture for further rainfall.
How does the type and density of vegetation affect the type of soil it forms and the type of vegetation grows from the affected soil?
- Dense vegetation cover and lots of leaf fall means that lots of nutrients will be added to the soil, which can then support more plant growth.
What happens when some organisms create biological weathering?
- Rocks in the ground are broken up into smaller pieces by living things.
