A student studies a forest. She lists the plants she finds at three heights: tall trees, bushes of…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A student studies a forest. She lists the plants she finds at three heights: tall trees, bushes of about two metres and small herbs that grow on the ground.
- What is this arrangement called? Name the three layers from the top.
- A big tree falls, and a patch of the forest roof opens. What will happen to the light on the ground below it? Which layer is likely to grow thicker there?
- The list of plant and animal species she makes for the whole forest has a name too. What is it?
- Is the fallen tree an abiotic or a biotic component? What will happen to it?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
An ecosystem has an abiotic part (water, light, temperature, soil, nutrients) and a biotic part (producers, consumers, decomposers). The species sit in layers, which is called stratification. In a forest the layers are the trees, the shrubs, and the herbs and grasses.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. (a) The arrangement is stratification. The layers are the trees, the shrubs, and the herbs and grasses.
Step 2. (b) More light reaches the ground. The herb layer (and the young shrubs) will grow thicker in the gap.
Step 3. (c) The list of species with their counts is the species composition.
Step 4. (d) The living tree was a biotic component, a producer. Now that it is dead, it is detritus, and it will be broken down by decomposers.
Answer: (a) stratification: trees, shrubs, herbs; (b) more light, the herb layer grows; (c) species composition; (d) it becomes detritus for the decomposers.
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