ECOSYSTEMS / BIOMES Ecosystems: In a given area, all living things (BIOTIC) interacting with each other and the non- living things (ABIOTIC) in the same environment. Like a pond, lake, forest, river. Biomes: Regions where there is similar weather/climate, similar plants & animals, similar terrain (what the area looks like – mountains, prairie, beaches, etc)
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Ecosystems: In a given area, all living things (BIOTIC ...
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ECOSYSTEMS / BIOMES
Ecosystems: In a given area, all living things (BIOTIC) interacting with each other and the non-
living things (ABIOTIC) in the same environment. Like a pond, lake, forest, river.
Biomes: Regions where there is similar weather/climate, similar plants & animals, similar
terrain (what the area looks like – mountains, prairie, beaches, etc)
So another way to compare BIOMES to ECOSYSTEMS….
Look at the map below of the United States’ biomes:
North Carolina is on the right side (East side) of the country where that GREEN area is shaded
for the Temperate Forest Biome. We live in a global biome Temperate Forest which covers
many states in our nation.
And there are hundreds of ECOSYSTEMS within this Temperate Forest Biome – just here in
Western NC we have lakes, ponds, rivers, deciduous forests, coniferous forests, etc – all
different ecosystems from each other.
So you see how a BIOME is a much larger region where there is common rainfall amounts and
common climate; similar plants and animals living there. And within the BIOME are numerous
ECOSYSTEMS where these biotic organisms interact with local abiotic (non-living) elements.
SO…In Western North Carolina – a Temperate Forest Biome – we have lakes where fish and
amphibians live in a large collection of fresh water and interact with aquatic plants, algae,
insects, etc. But these fish and amphibians are in a very different ecosystem than the bear,
racoons, skunks, squirrels that live on one of our mountain-top ecosystems where there are
different plants than a lake has; and definitely much less water than a lake.
ECOSYSTEMS & BIOMES
Below are descriptions of the primary
ecosystems and biomes, although there are
many others.
AQUATIC
o Freshwater: lakes/ponds, streams/rivers
o Saltwater: oceans, estuaries, salt marshes
TERRESTRIAL
o Grasslands: prairies, savannas
o Forests: tropical rainforests, taiga forests,
temperate forests
o Deserts
o Tundra
AQUATIC Ecosystems
FRESHWATER
LAKES / PONDS
Definition: Almost Closed bodies of water. The water is still (not moving) or if movement it’s
slow. Lakes are larger than ponds. Lakes usually drain into streams or rivers. These hold
FRESH water.
Facts:
Fresh water
Closed bodies of water – water doesn’t flow, or little flow
Some lakes are very deep
Lakes/ponds have more stable ecosystems than streams/rivers
Ponds are shallower than lakes
Plants and algae grow along the edge (shore) where water is shallow
leopards/panthers, iguanas, bats, deer, tall trees, big plants, mosses, (2,000 types of
butterflies in the Amazon forests)
More about – click on links below:
Tropical Rainforests
T a i g a F o r e s t s
Definition: The taiga is the world's largest biome apart from the oceans. These forests contain primarily coniferous trees (evergreens, pines, spruces, fir)(trees that bear cones – think pine cones and needle-leaves)
In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States (northern Minnesota through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Upstate New York and northern New England), where it is known as the Northwoods or "North woods".
Taiga Forest Facts:
Taiga means “land of the little sticks” in Russian
Moderate (medium) to high amounts of annual precipitation
Colder than average temperatures – either near polar regions or high altitude (in high
mountains) – longer winters
Taiga Forests are endangered and diminishing due to logging