Ecosystems and Biomes

What is Ecosystems and Biomes?

Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Ecosystems and Biomes. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.

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 patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.

Ecosystems and Biomes in detail

An ecosystem is a community of plants, animals and their environment interacting as a system. A biome is a very large ecosystem defined by its climate and vegetation, such as tropical rainforest, savanna, desert, temperate forest, grassland, tundra and taiga.

Nutrients cycle between the soil, biomass and litter. Climate, soil, relief and human activity decide which ecosystems occur. Producers, consumers and decomposers are linked in food webs. Ecosystems offer services, including food, clean water, carbon storage and recreation, and they are vulnerable to disturbance, with changes in one part affecting the whole.

How the interactive helps you understand Ecosystems and Biomes

Watch the globe in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the globe 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

• Interpret a graph or map that shows Ecosystems and Biomes and say what it suggests.
• Describe a real place where Ecosystems and Biomes can be seen, using a map or photograph.
• Explain how Ecosystems and Biomes affects people, jobs and land use in a region.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Ecosystems and Biomes.
• Writing general statements without a named place or example.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.