Ecosystems
In an environment the living and non-living things that interact
with each other form an Ecosystem.
An environment is everything around a living thing.
A population is a group of the same kind of living thing, living in
the same place at the same time.
A community is all of the populations that live in an ecosystem.
A habitat provides a population with all its needs and includes
living and non-living things.
Forests:
A Deciduous Forest is made up of trees that lose and regrow
their leaves each year. They grow in places that have warm, wet
summers and cold winters.
A Tropical Rain Forest grows where it is hot and wet all year.
There are three layers called the Canopy, the Understory , and
the Forest Floor.
A Coastal Forest grows where there is a lot of rain, but it is not
too warm and not too cold. It has the same three layers as the
Tropical Rain Forest.
A Coniferous Forest is found in places where the summers are
cool and the winters are very cold. Mostly you would find
conifers, trees that form seeds in cones and have needle like
leaves.
Desert:
A desert is an ecosystem where there is very little rainfall.
Desert plants and animals need very little water to live. There
are two kinds of deserts, Hot and Cold.
Hot Desert:
Cold Desert:
Grasslands:
A grassland ecosystem is made up of large, flat areas of land that
are covered with grass.
Grasslands are found on every continent, but Antarctica.
Water Ecosystems:
A body of water that has a lot of salt in it is called a Salt Water
ecosystem. In a Salt Water ecosystem the amount of salt may
vary from place to place. Near the surface and the shores the
water is less salty.
A body of water that has very little salt in it is a Fresh Water
ecosystem. Rivers, ponds, streams, and most lakes are fresh
water ecosystems. There are two kinds of Fresh Water
ecosystems, one where there is moving water and one where the
water is still. How fast the water moves helps to determine what
living things can survive in the water.