What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a community of living things along with non-living components that function together as a system. These two components interact with each other in a common environment. An ecosystem generally consists of two main parts, biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are living organisms in an ecological setting, such as trees, animals, bacteria, and more. Besides the biotic factors, there are other vital factors that keep the living species survive in a suitable environment. These non-living components are known as abiotic factors of an ecosystem. Sunlight, water, oxygen and soil are some of the most important abiotic factors. These two types of factors work together to form a healthy and inter-supporting ecosystem.
Coniferous Forest - Structure
Often when people study about plants, trees are usually the first things to their attention. There are two basic kinds of trees, which are broad-leaved and needle-leaved trees. Broad-leaved trees have characteristics of wide, flat leaves. The wood of the broad-leaved trees tends to be hard; hence broad-leaved trees are often called hardwoods. Most broad-leaved trees are deciduous, which signifies that they shed their leaves in the winter, and regrow them in the spring time. However, a few broad-leaved trees are evergreen, meaning they don't shed their leaves. (e.g. California Bay and California Scrub Oak). Common examples of broad-leaved trees include oaks, maples and cottonwoods. Needle-leaved trees are another kind of trees. With very few exceptions (for example, Tamarack), all needle-leaved trees are evergreen. Evergreen trees have green leaves all year long. The needles may be stiff or soft, long or short, all depending on the type of tree it is. Also, needle-leaved trees are conifers, which mean they don't grow flowers; instead they produce seeds that are contained in cones. Cones are like organs on the conifer trees that contain reproductive structures. Reproduction cycles are also applied to the cones. There are two kinds of cones, the pollen-producing cones (male), and the seed producing cones (female). Pollen-producing cones are small, usually clustered at the tip of the branches of needle-leaved trees. On the other hand, seed-producing cones are larger in size and are more conspicuous. The seed-producing cones have individual plates, which are called scales. They have ovules which contain an egg, and become seeds when fertilized by pollen. In the spring time, the pollen-producing cones (male) produce a large amount of pollen, which gets carried to the female cones by the wind. When the ovule is fertilized and has become a seed, eventually the scales on the cones will open, letting the seeds drop to the ground. The cones are very important, as they are the reproductive structures of the conifer trees.
Coniferous Forests - Ecosystem
Did you know that about 30% of earth's land is covered with forest ecosystems? Forests are areas of land filled with trees and other wooded vegetation. In general, there are two habitat types on the earth, which are aquatic and terrestrial. 71% of the earth is covered with water, most of it rather salty. The remaining 29% is terrestrial, with mountains, flat plains, forests, etc., which is basically land. Whether aquatic or terrestrial, no two ecosystems are alike, each presenting its own challenges to living things. The coniferous forests are terrestrial biomes, found in temperate regions. Coniferous forests are located in areas which the weather is mostly cold throughout the year. Few plants can live in the extremes of climates, so this puts forward an opportunity to adapt to challenges if it is to persist. Also, the coniferous forests are rather dark. Throughout the year, it is shady in the forest because these trees barely shed their leaves. That's why these ecosystems don't really support undergrowth due to the low amount of sunlight. Some plants and mosses thrive in these conditions. In conclusion, these coniferous forest ecosystems have many biotic factors which rely on it as a habitat.
Human factors
Human disturbance is a big factor in this ecosystem. Habitat destruction, forest fires, and acid rain are all factors of breaking down a coniferous forest ecosystem. Habitat destruction is mainly caused by human activities for natural resources and urbanization. Habitat Destruction is when people cut down the trees for industry productions or to fulfil other needs. This affects the coniferous forest ecosystem negatively because it destroys wildlife habitat and leads to loss of biodiversity. The roles of the conifer trees are very important to the human population as well. The trees provide oxygen supply and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as meeting global demands for lumber and fiber. As a result, if we cut down too many trees, it will lead to poor air quality and other problems. Urbanization is also a human activity that disturbs the ecosystem. In order to build new roads, houses, ski slopes, landfills, etc., they have to cut down an area of trees. Additionally, forest fires are not necessarily a bad thing, as some pinecones need a fire in order to open up their scales and release the seeds. However, it can contribute to air pollution and other factors that can harm the ecosystem. Finally acid rain is a large part of human disturbance. What is acid rain? It is rain that is acidic by atmosphere pollution such as poisonous gases from cars, factories and power stations. Car-exhaust fumes contains poison, which is adds to the atmosphere pollution. Factories and power stations release poisonous sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the air. The atmosphere pollution gets carried by the wind and adds into the rain and creates acidic rain. The effects of acid rain has caused soil to be poor in nutrients and has become very acidic. In Germany, a forest, which is known as "the black forest" has died due to acid rain. The acid rain has caused the loss of biodiversity and is now filled with dead, black trees. This is a severe case of acid rain. To conclude, these factors all affect the ecosystem negatively, and these human factors could be prevented for the benefit of the ecosystem.
Needs of living things in the ecosystem
In order to sustain life in an ecosystem, it has to provide important things which include food, shelter/protection and organism interaction. Food or nutrients are necessary for organisms to be alive, since it provides the energy for their bodies to function. Shelter/protection is also needed for the biotic elements to hide from their predators. The shelter can also protect them from harsh weather as well. Interaction is essential to all the organisms in the ecosystem. Organisms can interact by reproduction and symbiotic relationships. These are factors which sustain life in the coniferous forests.
The Abiotic and Biotic Elements
In the vast lands of coniferous forests, there are biotic and abiotic elements. Biotic elements consist of plants, animals, and other living things. Martens, squirrels, black bears, coyotes, and crows are some things that are often seen in coniferous forest ecosystems. The biotic elements are the ones who functions the ecosystem itself, creating a successful habitat for themselves and others as well. Abiotic elements provide a suitable environment for the biotic elements to survive. Abiotic Elements includes sunlight, water, soil, air and more. Sunlight is the main source of energy for most ecosystems of the world. Only very few organisms use chemical energy to sustain life. Water is something that almost all organisms depend on in order for their body to function properly. As mammals, humans need water to survive too. Soil provides nutrients for the plants to grow. Lastly, air is crucial to almost all organisms because every cell in the organisms need oxygen to perform metabolic activities to live.
Important Organisms in the Ecosystem
Within the coniferous forest, many plants and animals thrive in this area. However, some of these organisms are more important to the health of the ecosystem than others. One of the most important organisms is plants. Plants are known as primary producers and are vital to a healthy ecosystem. Without these photosynthesizing organisms, there would be no food for the other organism in the area. Another important organism in the forest is the deer. Since it is primary consumer, it will be able to control the number of the producers so they don’t overpopulate themselves. Furthermore, the deer is a prey to many animals, providing food for the organisms above it. By allowing itself to be food for others, it helps the ecosystem have a large variety of different species. Thirdly, the bear is also every important to the ecosystem. Since the bear is an omnivore, it will eat both plants and animals. Therefore, it will also be able to control the amount of other animals and plants, such as the population of deer and blackberries. Without its presence, the population of other animals will become uncontrollable. Lastly, vultures are very important to the coniferous forest. Vultures act as a detritivores which means that it feeds on dead matter lying on the forest floor. Vultures will eat almost anything that is dead, no matter what it is. Without vultures in the community, many dead plants and animals will be left to rot. As the dead organism rot, it will attract a lot of bacteria to the area, causing harm to the other healthy organism living around it. Therefore the vulture is the most important out of all of them. In conclusion, the health of an ecosystem depends on the different organisms living in it.
The Population of Organisms in the Ecosystem
Within these vast Coniferous Forests of BC, there are many different species and populations of plants and animals. A population consists of a group of same or similar species, who live together in a specific area. The location could be a swamp, a certain part of a forest, or in the deep sea. For this example the area is the Coniferous Forest. Firstly, there are the main population of animals that spend most of their time in the air, some of them being the Eagle, Hawk, Cardinal, and Vultures. They are very important to the health of the ecosystem because if all of these populations of animals were all living on the ground, it would become chaotic. This brings us to the terrestrial animals such as, deer, bears, cougars, squirrels and mice. Compared to the animals that spend most of their time in the air, there are many more populations of animals that live on the forest floor. Since they these animals all have different niches, the ecosystem of the Coniferous Forest is very healthy.
The Natural Communities in the Ecosystem
There are many natural communities in a coniferous forest ecosystem. The communities can be found in the forest canopy, shrub layers, and the ground layer. Animals and plants in those areas all work together in different communities and are dependent on each other.
The Economic, Environmental and Social Factors to be Considered in the Management of the Ecosystem's Habitat
There are many factors to be considered when managing an ecosystem. An economic factor of coniferous forests would be the large amount of money spent in order to keep the forest healthy. For example the pine beetles have been devastating our forest and killing many trees. In order to stop this problem, the government will need to use a large amount of money to end this crisis. We also need to take in consideration for the environmental factors. Sometimes it is necessary to have forest fires to rejuvenate the forest and to kill off the dying and sick trees. After the fire a succession will happen it will improve the quality of the soil because the burnt logs will eventually turn nutrients so the soil can be enriched. However these fires will produce a lot of pollution, building up greenhouse gases leading to bad air quality. Lastly, social factors always get in the way when anyone brings up the topic of managing forests. Constantly there are protests on whether to reduce clear cutting or to increase cutting down of trees for business purposes. There is an ongoing conflict that is taking place for the decision of building the Northern Gateway Pipeline. This social factor considers the health of forests or to build it for economic growth. In conclusion, there are three factors you must consider when managing an ecosystem.
A Local Example of Coniferous Forests
An example of a coniferous forest in the tri cities is the forest on Westwood Plateau. It can be seen that there are thousands of cone bearing trees at the top of the mountain. The grass up on the fill is especially green, due to the amount of fresh air up on the hill. Not only are there many different types of plants, there is also an abundance of different organisms. There are a lot of squirrels running around and even coyotes, black bears and brown bears roaming the area.
An ecosystem is a community of living things along with non-living components that function together as a system. These two components interact with each other in a common environment. An ecosystem generally consists of two main parts, biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors are living organisms in an ecological setting, such as trees, animals, bacteria, and more. Besides the biotic factors, there are other vital factors that keep the living species survive in a suitable environment. These non-living components are known as abiotic factors of an ecosystem. Sunlight, water, oxygen and soil are some of the most important abiotic factors. These two types of factors work together to form a healthy and inter-supporting ecosystem.
Coniferous Forest - Structure
Often when people study about plants, trees are usually the first things to their attention. There are two basic kinds of trees, which are broad-leaved and needle-leaved trees. Broad-leaved trees have characteristics of wide, flat leaves. The wood of the broad-leaved trees tends to be hard; hence broad-leaved trees are often called hardwoods. Most broad-leaved trees are deciduous, which signifies that they shed their leaves in the winter, and regrow them in the spring time. However, a few broad-leaved trees are evergreen, meaning they don't shed their leaves. (e.g. California Bay and California Scrub Oak). Common examples of broad-leaved trees include oaks, maples and cottonwoods. Needle-leaved trees are another kind of trees. With very few exceptions (for example, Tamarack), all needle-leaved trees are evergreen. Evergreen trees have green leaves all year long. The needles may be stiff or soft, long or short, all depending on the type of tree it is. Also, needle-leaved trees are conifers, which mean they don't grow flowers; instead they produce seeds that are contained in cones. Cones are like organs on the conifer trees that contain reproductive structures. Reproduction cycles are also applied to the cones. There are two kinds of cones, the pollen-producing cones (male), and the seed producing cones (female). Pollen-producing cones are small, usually clustered at the tip of the branches of needle-leaved trees. On the other hand, seed-producing cones are larger in size and are more conspicuous. The seed-producing cones have individual plates, which are called scales. They have ovules which contain an egg, and become seeds when fertilized by pollen. In the spring time, the pollen-producing cones (male) produce a large amount of pollen, which gets carried to the female cones by the wind. When the ovule is fertilized and has become a seed, eventually the scales on the cones will open, letting the seeds drop to the ground. The cones are very important, as they are the reproductive structures of the conifer trees.
Coniferous Forests - Ecosystem
Did you know that about 30% of earth's land is covered with forest ecosystems? Forests are areas of land filled with trees and other wooded vegetation. In general, there are two habitat types on the earth, which are aquatic and terrestrial. 71% of the earth is covered with water, most of it rather salty. The remaining 29% is terrestrial, with mountains, flat plains, forests, etc., which is basically land. Whether aquatic or terrestrial, no two ecosystems are alike, each presenting its own challenges to living things. The coniferous forests are terrestrial biomes, found in temperate regions. Coniferous forests are located in areas which the weather is mostly cold throughout the year. Few plants can live in the extremes of climates, so this puts forward an opportunity to adapt to challenges if it is to persist. Also, the coniferous forests are rather dark. Throughout the year, it is shady in the forest because these trees barely shed their leaves. That's why these ecosystems don't really support undergrowth due to the low amount of sunlight. Some plants and mosses thrive in these conditions. In conclusion, these coniferous forest ecosystems have many biotic factors which rely on it as a habitat.
Human factors
Human disturbance is a big factor in this ecosystem. Habitat destruction, forest fires, and acid rain are all factors of breaking down a coniferous forest ecosystem. Habitat destruction is mainly caused by human activities for natural resources and urbanization. Habitat Destruction is when people cut down the trees for industry productions or to fulfil other needs. This affects the coniferous forest ecosystem negatively because it destroys wildlife habitat and leads to loss of biodiversity. The roles of the conifer trees are very important to the human population as well. The trees provide oxygen supply and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as meeting global demands for lumber and fiber. As a result, if we cut down too many trees, it will lead to poor air quality and other problems. Urbanization is also a human activity that disturbs the ecosystem. In order to build new roads, houses, ski slopes, landfills, etc., they have to cut down an area of trees. Additionally, forest fires are not necessarily a bad thing, as some pinecones need a fire in order to open up their scales and release the seeds. However, it can contribute to air pollution and other factors that can harm the ecosystem. Finally acid rain is a large part of human disturbance. What is acid rain? It is rain that is acidic by atmosphere pollution such as poisonous gases from cars, factories and power stations. Car-exhaust fumes contains poison, which is adds to the atmosphere pollution. Factories and power stations release poisonous sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the air. The atmosphere pollution gets carried by the wind and adds into the rain and creates acidic rain. The effects of acid rain has caused soil to be poor in nutrients and has become very acidic. In Germany, a forest, which is known as "the black forest" has died due to acid rain. The acid rain has caused the loss of biodiversity and is now filled with dead, black trees. This is a severe case of acid rain. To conclude, these factors all affect the ecosystem negatively, and these human factors could be prevented for the benefit of the ecosystem.
Needs of living things in the ecosystem
In order to sustain life in an ecosystem, it has to provide important things which include food, shelter/protection and organism interaction. Food or nutrients are necessary for organisms to be alive, since it provides the energy for their bodies to function. Shelter/protection is also needed for the biotic elements to hide from their predators. The shelter can also protect them from harsh weather as well. Interaction is essential to all the organisms in the ecosystem. Organisms can interact by reproduction and symbiotic relationships. These are factors which sustain life in the coniferous forests.
The Abiotic and Biotic Elements
In the vast lands of coniferous forests, there are biotic and abiotic elements. Biotic elements consist of plants, animals, and other living things. Martens, squirrels, black bears, coyotes, and crows are some things that are often seen in coniferous forest ecosystems. The biotic elements are the ones who functions the ecosystem itself, creating a successful habitat for themselves and others as well. Abiotic elements provide a suitable environment for the biotic elements to survive. Abiotic Elements includes sunlight, water, soil, air and more. Sunlight is the main source of energy for most ecosystems of the world. Only very few organisms use chemical energy to sustain life. Water is something that almost all organisms depend on in order for their body to function properly. As mammals, humans need water to survive too. Soil provides nutrients for the plants to grow. Lastly, air is crucial to almost all organisms because every cell in the organisms need oxygen to perform metabolic activities to live.
Important Organisms in the Ecosystem
Within the coniferous forest, many plants and animals thrive in this area. However, some of these organisms are more important to the health of the ecosystem than others. One of the most important organisms is plants. Plants are known as primary producers and are vital to a healthy ecosystem. Without these photosynthesizing organisms, there would be no food for the other organism in the area. Another important organism in the forest is the deer. Since it is primary consumer, it will be able to control the number of the producers so they don’t overpopulate themselves. Furthermore, the deer is a prey to many animals, providing food for the organisms above it. By allowing itself to be food for others, it helps the ecosystem have a large variety of different species. Thirdly, the bear is also every important to the ecosystem. Since the bear is an omnivore, it will eat both plants and animals. Therefore, it will also be able to control the amount of other animals and plants, such as the population of deer and blackberries. Without its presence, the population of other animals will become uncontrollable. Lastly, vultures are very important to the coniferous forest. Vultures act as a detritivores which means that it feeds on dead matter lying on the forest floor. Vultures will eat almost anything that is dead, no matter what it is. Without vultures in the community, many dead plants and animals will be left to rot. As the dead organism rot, it will attract a lot of bacteria to the area, causing harm to the other healthy organism living around it. Therefore the vulture is the most important out of all of them. In conclusion, the health of an ecosystem depends on the different organisms living in it.
The Population of Organisms in the Ecosystem
Within these vast Coniferous Forests of BC, there are many different species and populations of plants and animals. A population consists of a group of same or similar species, who live together in a specific area. The location could be a swamp, a certain part of a forest, or in the deep sea. For this example the area is the Coniferous Forest. Firstly, there are the main population of animals that spend most of their time in the air, some of them being the Eagle, Hawk, Cardinal, and Vultures. They are very important to the health of the ecosystem because if all of these populations of animals were all living on the ground, it would become chaotic. This brings us to the terrestrial animals such as, deer, bears, cougars, squirrels and mice. Compared to the animals that spend most of their time in the air, there are many more populations of animals that live on the forest floor. Since they these animals all have different niches, the ecosystem of the Coniferous Forest is very healthy.
The Natural Communities in the Ecosystem
There are many natural communities in a coniferous forest ecosystem. The communities can be found in the forest canopy, shrub layers, and the ground layer. Animals and plants in those areas all work together in different communities and are dependent on each other.
The Economic, Environmental and Social Factors to be Considered in the Management of the Ecosystem's Habitat
There are many factors to be considered when managing an ecosystem. An economic factor of coniferous forests would be the large amount of money spent in order to keep the forest healthy. For example the pine beetles have been devastating our forest and killing many trees. In order to stop this problem, the government will need to use a large amount of money to end this crisis. We also need to take in consideration for the environmental factors. Sometimes it is necessary to have forest fires to rejuvenate the forest and to kill off the dying and sick trees. After the fire a succession will happen it will improve the quality of the soil because the burnt logs will eventually turn nutrients so the soil can be enriched. However these fires will produce a lot of pollution, building up greenhouse gases leading to bad air quality. Lastly, social factors always get in the way when anyone brings up the topic of managing forests. Constantly there are protests on whether to reduce clear cutting or to increase cutting down of trees for business purposes. There is an ongoing conflict that is taking place for the decision of building the Northern Gateway Pipeline. This social factor considers the health of forests or to build it for economic growth. In conclusion, there are three factors you must consider when managing an ecosystem.
A Local Example of Coniferous Forests
An example of a coniferous forest in the tri cities is the forest on Westwood Plateau. It can be seen that there are thousands of cone bearing trees at the top of the mountain. The grass up on the fill is especially green, due to the amount of fresh air up on the hill. Not only are there many different types of plants, there is also an abundance of different organisms. There are a lot of squirrels running around and even coyotes, black bears and brown bears roaming the area.