What is an Ecosystem?

Grade 4 Unit 3 Lesson One

What Is An Ecosystem

Ecosystem: Defined area in which a community lives with interactions taking place among the organisms between the community and its non-living physical environment.

An ecosystem is formed by the interactions between all living and non-living things

Types of Ecosystem

Natural

Forest

Grassland

Aquatic

Desert

Artificial

Terres-

trial

Micro-

bialAqua

tic

Components of an Ecosystem

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS BIOTIC COMPONENTS

Sunlight Primary producers

Temperature Herbivores

Precipitation Carnivores

Water or moisture Omnivores

Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+) Detritivores

etc. etc.

All of these vary over space/time

Abiotic components:• ABIOTIC components ( Physical and Chemical)• Physical: Solar energy provides practically all

the energy for ecosystems.• Chemical:• Inorganic substances, e.g., sulfur, boron, tend to

cycle through ecosystems.• Organic compounds, such as proteins,

carbohydrates, lipids, and other complex molecules, form a link between biotic and abiotic components of the system.

BIOTIC components• The biotic components of an ecoLiving

members in an ecosystem• system can be classified according to their mode

of energy acquisition.• In this type of classification, there are:• Autotrophic and Heterotrophic• Organisms that produce their own food from an

energy source, such as the sun, and inorganic compounds (eg., Green plants, algae, bacteria)

• Organisms that consume other organisms as a food source.

Forest Ecosystem

• High rainfall

•Large number of organism and flora

• Highly diverse population

• Stability of ecosystem is very sensitive

Types of Forest

• Tropical evergreen forest• Tropical deciduous forest• Temperate evergreen forest• Temperate deciduous forest • Taiga

Features of Forest Ecosystem

• Forest canopy

• Forest floor

• Forest soil

Funtion of forest ecosystem

• Watershed Protection• Atmospheric regulation• Soil Erosion Control• Wind Erosion Control

Desert Ecosystem• High temperature, intense sunlight and low water

• Flora and fauna are very poorly developed and scarce

• Organisms are xeric adaptive

• Scarely populated

Types of desert

• Sand desert• Stony desert• Rock desert• Plateau desert• Mountain desert• Cold desert

Sand desert

Rock desert

Stony desert

Plateau desert

Mountain desert

Cold desert

Features of desert ecosystem

• Rainfall• Temperature • Soil• light• Plants and animals are adapted to live in

extremities

Funtion of desert ecosystem

• Solar energy resource• Mineral resource

Grassland Ecosystem

• Marginal rainfall• Vegetation is

dominated by grasses

• Unimproved wild-plant communities

• Densely populated

Types of Grassland Ecosystem

• Tropical grassland• Temperate grassland• Others

Function of grassland ecosystem

• Grassland provide food• Grasslands Are Breeding Areas• Human habitat

Aquatic Ecosystem

• Low temperature and sunlight• Soil and vegitation is submerged• Flora and fauna had adapted• Densely populated.

Types of Aquatic ecosystem

• Ocean• Lotic• Lentic• Wetland

Features of aquatic ecosystem

• Light and temperature• Current• Chemistry• Competitive organism

Funtion of Aquatic Ecosystem

• Recycles nutrients• Purify water• Resposible for proper rainfall• Attenuate floods• Recharge ground water