An ecosystem includes all the living things and non-living things (physical environment) in a specific area and the interaction that occurs between them.

● Living things: plants, animales, fungi and microorganisms. If they belong to the same species are called, population. A population interacts with others and forms a community.

● The non-living components of an ecosystem are: soil (rocks and minerals), air, water, sunlight, temperature and climate.

A) TUNDRA: Is the coldest ecosystem and it is also dry. Located in the North Pole.

Characteristics: absence of trees, lichens, mosses and some grasses, reindeers, polar bears, polar foxes and white wolves.

B) GRASSLANDS: Flat areas dominated by grasses. There are two types: savannahs and temperate grassland. Elephants, zebras, lions…

C) TROPICAL RAINFOREST: Forests in tropical areas are warm and wet all year. Some examples of their flora and fauna are evergreen trees, orchids, ferns, snakes, monkeys, jaguars, insects and many kinds of birds, such as parrots and toucans.

D) FORESTS:

1. CONIFEROUS FORESTS: located in cold areas, evergreen trees such as pines, and brown bears, foxes and weasels.

2. TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FORESTS: are dominated by trees which lose their leaves every winter, such as oak, beech and maple and animals like squirrels, rodents and wild boar.

3. MEDITERRANEAN FORESTS: is found surrounding areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Cork oaks, holm oaks, thyme and rosemary are typical flora. Mediterranean forest fauna includes eagles, foxes, lynx, hawks and rodents.

D) DESERTS: are the driest and hottest places on Earth. Temperatures are very high during the day but very low at night. Plants and animals in deserts have adapted to the dry conditions. Examples include cacti, small bushes, lizards, snakes, camels and scorpions.

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: can be marine or freshwater.

● Marine: coral reef, shoreline and open ocean.

● Freshwater: Flowing waters (Rivers and streams) and Standing waters (lakes and ponds) and Wetlands.

ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEMS

Humans have created artificial ecosystems for their own benefit.

1. TERRESTRIALS: Farmlands were the first man-made ecosystems and allow for an increase in food production. Gardens, parks, greenhouses, orchards, zoos and terrariums are other examples of artificial terrestrial ecosystems.

2. AQUATIC: Aquariums, man-made ponds and fish farms are examples of artificial aquatic ecosystems.

3. URBAN: Urban ecosystems occupy only about 2% of the land surface area of the planet, but they provide a home for half of the world's population.

Let’s make a project about ecosystems. We will create a poster about this unit.

We will need:

• A cardboard.

• Felt-pens, markers, crayons and colored pencils.

• Pictures or drawings.

We have to look for information about ecosystems, you can use the internet, your notebook or our SITE. We’ll be investigators or biologists for a while.

Follow the next instructions to collect the most necessary information:

• Definition of ecosystem.

• Elements of ecosystem.

• The Earth’s terrestrial ecosystem: tundra, grasslands, tropical rainforests, forests (types in the site), and deserts.

• Aquatic ecosystems.

• Artificial ecosystems.

For each type of ecosystem you need to collect different information:

• The place where it is located.

• Temperature.

• Flora.

• Fauna.

• Specific characteristics.

• Some examples of each type.

Do not forget to use different pictures or drawings in your poster. It may help to understand your project.

Finally, explain the project to your classmates.