Ecosystem, Epping Forest

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

A network of biotic and abiotic components that interact harmoniously to create a unique environment

Question 2

What is a continental ecosystem called?

Answer 2

A biome

Question 3

What are trophic levels?

Answer 3

Feeding levels in an ecoststem

Question 4

What is a food chain?

Answer 4

A linear sequence showing how energy and nutrients transfer through an ecoststem as one organism eats another

Question 5

What is a food web?

Answer 5

A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains

Question 6

What are the primary producers in Epping forest?

Answer 6

Deciduous oak and beech trees

Question 7

What are some primary consumers in Epping forest?

Answer 7

Caterpillars

Question 8

What are some secondary consumers in Epping forest?

Answer 8

Carnivores and omnivores like birds (38 species), mice, badgers

Question 9

Tertiary consumers in Epping forest

Answer 9

Foxes and owls

Question 10

Decomposers in Epping forest

Answer 10

700 species of fungi, worms

Question 11

What do decomposers do?

Answer 11

They break down waste at every trophic level to recycle it

Question 12

Does biomass increase or decrease up trophic levels?

Answer 12

Decrease

Question 13

How does biomass decrease up trophic levels?

Answer 13

Waste - hair, bones, faeces
Natural processes - respiration, digestion

Question 14

Name some management techniques in Epping forest

Answer 14

Coppicing, grazing, information boards, pets

Question 15

What is coppicing?

Answer 15

Cutting down small trees so there’s more light on the forest floor, which allows more species to grow. This increases biodiversity

Question 16

What is the reason for information boards?

Answer 16

To explain to visitors how not to damage the ecosystem, increases awareness

Question 17

Why are pets allowed?

Answer 17

They help seed dispersal of flora

Question 18

What are the biggest nurtient cycle stores in Epping forest?

Answer 18

Biomass and soil

Question 19

What are the largest transfers in Epping forest?

Answer 19

Uptake and leaching

Question 20

Why are nutrients lost each year, and how is this absolved?

Answer 20

NPK lost through leaching, but leaf litter enriches nutrient cycle

Question 21

What is fallout?

Answer 21

When the leaves return to the leaf litter

Question 22

What role does precipitation play in the nurtient cycle?

Answer 22

Brings in dissolved nutrients in the rain

Question 23

What is uptake?

Answer 23

The transfer from soil to plants

Question 24

What does decomposition do?

Answer 24

Returns decaying leaf litter and hummus to the soil store

Question 25

What is leaching?

Answer 25

The loss of elements in percolating rainwater draining into the soil

Question 26

What are stores?

Answer 26

Where nurtients stay for a period of time

Question 27

List the three stores

Answer 27

Soil, biomass, litter