ECOSYSTEMS.

UNIT 5: ECOSYSTEMS 1.- What are you going to study?

2.-Find the words. You can use your dictionary or a computer.

MAIN LANGUAGE Habitat= ecosystem

Desert

saltwater

role

Consumer

Community

Rainforest

fresh water

survive

relationship

Grassland

pond

rainfall

heavy

adapt to

Decomposer

Forest

responsable for

Abiotic

conditions

Consumer

Deciduous

level

Biotic

few

Producer

Evergreen

absorbs

Food chain

release

5.1 WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM? 5.2 MAIN TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS 5.3 FOOD CHAIN IN AN ECOSYSTEM. 5.4 POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES. 5.5 PROTECTED ECOSYSTEMS IN CASTILLA LA MANCHA.

UNIT 5. ECOSYSTEMS. 5.1 WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?

An ecosystem is a community of animals and plants interacting with their environment. The components of an ecosystem are divided into: abitotic and biotic factors.

Abiotic factors are non-living things as minerals and soil, weather conditions as rain, wind...water etc.

Biotic factors are living things as plants, animals and bacteria. They play a different role in an ecosystem.

WHY ARE THE BIOTIC FACTORS IMPORTANT FOR THE ECOSYSTEMS? Plants are producers. They make food and oxygen for the animals. Plants are very important as they realise the photosynthesis.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS is so essential to life on Earth that living things can not survive without it. It is responsable for oxygen levels on the atmosphere. Plants absorbs carbon dioxide and release oxygen when they make their own food.

Animals

are consumers. They eat the plants and other animals.

Bacteria, funghi and some insects are decomposers, they eat dead plants and animals and release nutrients back to soil for the plants.

5.2 MAIN TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS. Ecosystems can be divided into two main groups: aquatic ecosystems and land ecosystems.

LAND ECOSYSTEMS In land ecosystems there are animals and plants that live on land and in the air. Here they can find all they need to live.

Deserts are very dry, because they get very Little rainfall. They are very hot during the day and very cold during the night. There are few animals and plants in a desert as they have to adapt to difficult conditions. Some of them are: cacti, scorpions, spiders...

Rainforest are wet places with heavy rainfall, sunlight and warm air. There are lots of trees and flowers and thousands of species, like monkeys, frogs, lizards and parrrots.

The Artic Region has very low temperatures and low rainfall. Arctic foxes, polar bears and arctic hares live in the Arctic Region. They are adapted to low temperatures.

Savanna are places with low rainfall, hot summers, and cold winters. The soil is very poor, so there are few trees and the plants are mainly grasses. Savannas are habitats for zebras, lions, cheetahs and antelopes.

Forests have medium to heavy rainfall, so there are a lot of different plants and animals that live in forests. They are places dominated by evergreen and deciduous trees. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn and grow new ones in the spring. Evergreen trees have leaves all year. Forest are habitats for foxes, mice, owls, bears and rabbits.

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS In aquatic ecosystems live animals and plants live. Depending on the type of water, there are two types of aquatic ecosystems: fresh water or salty water.

Oceans and seas are saltwater habitats. They are habitats for algae, fish, mammals, some births and many invertebrates.

Pond is a small area of fresh water . The most common animals are fish, frogs, turtles, birds, dragonflies and mosquitoes.

Rivers are streams of running fresh water.

Many plants are adapted to fast flowing water.

5.3 FOOD CHAIN IN AN ECOSYSTEM.

A food chain is made up of three groups: producers, consumers and decomposers who interact with each other in an ecosystem to get the energy they need.

5.4 POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES. Populations are groups of organisms of the same species which live in the same geographical area. Population gets bigger when there is food, water and shelter.

A population of penguins

Communities are groups of different species that live together and interact in the same area. In the rainforest we can find frogs, lizards and parrots.

A community in a grassland

5.5 PROTECTED ECOSYSTEMS IN CASTILLA LA MANCHA. 1.-Tablas de Daimiel, water ecosystem situated in the southwest of our region.

2.-Natural Park of Lagunas de Ruidera, made of 15 small lakes in the south centre of the region.

3.-Natural Park Alto Tajo, near Tajo River's beginning.

4.-Serranía de Cuenca, a mountain ecosystem in the north of Castile - La Mancha.

5.-Hayedo de Tejera Negra, the most southern beech forest in Europe, which you can find in the north of our region.

6.-Cabañeros, our National Park in Toledo's Mountains

You can see in this map the protected water and land ecosystems in our region Castilla - La Mancha.