Understanding Ecosystems and Biomes
Think of an ecosystem as nature's apartment block where every living thing has a role to play. It's a community of plants and animals interacting with each other in their non-living environment - like a forest where trees, foxes, insects, soil, and climate all work together.
Biomes are simply massive ecosystems that cover large areas of Earth. You'll need to know three key ones: tropical rainforests (hot and wet all year, found near the equator), deserts (very dry, found roughly 30ยฐ north and south of the equator), and deciduous forests like those in the UK seasonalchanges,found50โ60ยฐnorthoftheequator.
Every ecosystem has biotic factors (living things like plants and animals) and abiotic factors nonโlivingthingsliketemperature,rainfall,andsoil. The energy from the sun powers everything through food webs - producers make their own food through photosynthesis, consumers eat plants or other animals, and decomposers break down dead material.
Quick Tip: Remember the food web hierarchy - if one species disappears, it creates a ripple effect throughout the entire ecosystem!