Ecosystems and Biomes
An ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with their environment, and biomes are large ecosystems defined by climate.
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An ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with their environment, and biomes are large ecosystems defined by climate.
- Forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra
- Energy flows through food chains
- Nutrients cycle
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Ecosystems and Biomes?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Ecosystems and Biomes. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Ecosystems and Biomes in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Ecosystems and Biomes helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Ecosystems and Biomes in detail
An ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with each other and their non-living environment, such as a pond or forest. It includes producers, consumers and decomposers, and cycles of energy and matter. Biotic factors are living and abiotic factors are non-living, such as light, temperature and water.
A biome is a large region with a characteristic climate and community of plants and animals, such as tropical rainforest, savanna, desert, temperate forest, grassland, taiga and tundra. Climate, especially temperature and rainfall, is the main factor. Ecosystems provide services such as clean air and water, food and climate regulation, and they can be damaged by human activity.
How the interactive helps you understand Ecosystems and Biomes
Watch the population model in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the population model responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Ecosystems and Biomes.
Real-life uses and examples
- Use a diagram of Ecosystems and Biomes to describe the steps of a process in order.
- Discuss how human activity changes Ecosystems and Biomes, using a named example.
- Explain how Ecosystems and Biomes affects the landscape or climate near you.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Ecosystems and Biomes
What is Ecosystems and Biomes?
An ecosystem is a community of living things interacting with their environment, and biomes are large ecosystems defined by climate.
What are the most important points about Ecosystems and Biomes?
The main points are: Forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra; Energy flows through food chains; Nutrients cycle.
Why is Ecosystems and Biomes useful?
Understanding Ecosystems and Biomes helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Ecosystems and Biomes?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Ecosystems and Biomes?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Threats to Biodiversity, Forests and Deforestation, Wetlands and Coasts.