Biomes and Ecosystems

Biomes are large regions of the world with similar plants, animals, and
other living things that are adapted to the climate and other conditions.
Explore the links below to learn more about different biomes.
A biome is made of many similar ecosystems. An ecosystem is often
much smaller than a biome, although the size varies.
Ecosystems are the interactions between the living things and the
nonliving things in a place. In an ecosystem, the plants, animals, and
other organisms rely on each other and on the physical environment
the soil, water, and nutrients, for example.
Even though they are living in the same place, each species in an
ecosystem has its own role to play. his role is called a niche. he niche
for one species might be to climb trees and eat their fruit, while the niche
for another species might be to hunt for small rodents. !or a tree, a
niche might be to grow tall and make food with the "un#s energy through
the process of photosynthesis. If the niche of two species is very similar,
they might compete for food or other resources.
"ometimes ecosystems get out of balance. If, for example, it rains a lot
and a type of bird that thrives with extra water increases in numbers,
other species in the ecosystem might be crowded out. he birds might
take food or space or other resources from other species. hey might
eat all the food. "ometimes an ecosystem naturally gets back into
balance. $ther times an ecosystem will become more and more out of
balance. oday, human actions are having an impact on ecosystems all
over the world. %aking buildings and roads, fishing and farming all have
an impact on ecosystems. &ollution on land, air pollution, and water
pollution is sending many ecosystems out of balance too.