Environments and Ecosystems

Transcription

1 Background 1. What is a habitat? 2. What is a microhabitat? 3. What is biodiversity? 4. What is sustainability? 5. What is succession? 1

2 Part I: Biomes Biomes notes: Freshwater Biomes Marine Biomes Forest Biomes 2

3 Part I: Biomes, continued Biomes notes: Grassland Biomes Desert Biomes Tundra Biomes 3

4 Part II: Biodiversity Round 1 1. How many trees were left standing? 2. Why were so many trees wiped out? 3. How did the lack of biodiversity in this ecosystem contribute to its sustainability? Round 2 1. How many trees were left standing? 2. Why were so many trees left standing? 3. How did the biodiversity of this ecosystem contribute to its sustainability? 4. Why is biodiversity important? 4

5 Part III: Succession in Microhabitats Picture 1 It was the last day of school. The lawn maintenance crew came and trimmed the trees and cut the grass of the schoolyard. They locked the gates after the students left and didn t plan to return until the week before school started. Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4 5

6 Part IV: Succession after a Forest Fire Lightning has started a forest fire in a pine forest. Trees, bushes, and grasses are being burned very quickly. Nothing is left but black skeletons of trees and grey ash covers the ground. What was once a forest habitat is gone. The animals have fled, and you can see the barren hills in the distance. The land begins to recover. Grasses and weeds are the first to arrive and grow in the gray ashy soil. You can still see the stumps of the burned, but many have rotted away. Since there are no trees, the grass and weeds grow very fast. 6

7 Part IV: Succession after a Forest Fire, continued The grass and weeds continue to grow, but wild flowers are beginning to appear. With them come the butterflies, and the hills begin to look green again. After many growing seasons with grasses, weeds, and flowers, the soil becomes richer. Tall flowers begin to grow, and small animals and larger insects begin to show up. Now the soil is rich enough to support bushes and small fast-growing trees, along with the larger more fire resilient trees. Birds and other small animals come back to the area. Some of the grasses, weeds, and flowers die because the trees and bushes block the sun from them. Finally the larger, less fire resilient, hardwood trees begin to grow, slowly killing off the fast-growing smaller trees. Birds live in the regrown forest and small animals use the area for shelter. Not as many grasses, weeds, and flowers live in the forest but there are plenty of food sources for the animals. 7

8 Reflections and Conclusions 1. What are the abiotic factors that typically define a biome? 2. What is the difference between a biome and a microhabitat? 3. How does biodiversity contribute to the sustainability of a habitat? 4. What natural disturbances might disrupt a habitat? 5. What human activities might disrupt a habitat? 6. How does succession help a habitat recover? 7. Describe the order of succession for the regrowth of the fire destroyed forest. 8