Ecosystems

Mindmap - Click button to download

Ecosystems
- Units in nature in which living and non-living things interact with each other
- Biotic factors
  - Levels
    - Producers
      - Plants that can create their own food through photosynthesis
      - Autotrophic
    - Consumers
      - Organisms that cannot create food but have o eat other organisms
      - Heterotrophic
    - Decomposers
      - Organisms that break down dead matter or waste products
        Fungi
        Bacteria
        Maggots
- Abiotic factors
  - Non-living things
    - Provide the basis for an ecosystem
    - Physical features of the land
  - Soil
    - Sandy
      - Sandy
      - Holds little water
    - Loamy
      - Mixture of
        Sand
        Silt
        Clay
        Humus
        The organic material in soil formed by decomposition of organisms by decomposers
      - Soapy
      - Holds a moderate amount of water
    - Clay
      - Sticky
      - Holds a lot of water
    - pH
      - Most plants grow in soil that is slightly acidic
      - Some grow better when it is slightly alkaline
        Highveld grass
  - Water
    - The water cycle
- Example analysis
  - An interaction between abiotic and biotic occurs when an animal eats grass
  - An interaction between biotic factors occur when predator kills prey
  - An interaction between abiotic factors occur when the trees use the water