Key Words: Ecosystems

ecosystem: a community of plants and animals and the environment in which

they live

biotic parts: living parts of the ecosystem e.g. plants and animals. They depend
on each other for food

abiotic parts: non-living part of the ecosystem e.g. rocks and climate. This non-
living environment provides nutrients, warmth, water and shelter for the living
parts of the ecosystem.

biome: largest-scale ecosystem e.g. tropical biome. These usually correspond to
climate zones

BENEFITS PROVIDED BY ECOSYSTEMS (Key services):
Green: Environmental
Red: Economic and Social

Maintaining a steady supply of clean water to rivers
Preventing soil erosion
Reducing the risk of river floods
Providing natural materials such as timber for building, or plants for
medicinal use; 75% of the worlds population still rely on plant extracts to
provide then with medication
Providing food stuffs such as honey, fruit and nuts

Key services provided by specific ecosystems:
Tropical rainforests support thousands of plants and wild animals that
contain chemical that may be useful to agriculture or medicine
Coniferous (boreal or taiga) forests provide people with the opportunity
to develop recreation or tourism businesses
Mangrove forests provide a safe environment for fish to spawn and
juvenile fish to mature, so helping to maintain fish stocks
Peat bogs/moors act as huge stores of carbon dioxide, so helping to
regulate the greenhouse effect
Sand dunes act as natural coastal defences against storm surges, strong
winds and coastal floods

How ecosystems can be destroyed:

Structure of the Rainforest:
continuous canopy prevents soil erosion and flooding as raindrops hit the
ground with less force.