Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems: A Detailed Analysis

Posted on Dec 21, 2024 in Geology

Natural Item 13: Ecosystem Diversity

On the planet, there are two very different environmental media:

The terrestrial environment.
The aquatic environment.

There are several differences between the terrestrial and the aquatic environment:

In the aquatic environment, water is the only life support; it is where the nutrients and carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis and oxygen necessary for respiration are found.
In the aquatic environment, very sudden temperature changes do not occur. In the terrestrial environment, the climate is very varied and very sudden changes in temperature occur.
In the aquatic environment, organisms apparently weigh less than on land, making movement easier. Energy expenditure spent on this function is lower.
In the aquatic environment, sunlight deepens just over 100m. In the terrestrial environment, sunlight is distributed more easily and reaches almost equally to all areas.
In the aquatic environment, the pressure increases rapidly with depth. In the terrestrial environment, the pressure varies little.

A terrestrial ecosystem is a structure that has a beginning and an evolution, varying the characteristics of the vegetation and other living things that inhabit it.

Geological succession: a set of biological communities that successively occupy a biotope that is developed in an ecosystem.
Each biological community is characteristic of a particular stage of the ecosystem.

A geological succession has the following stages:

Preparation of support: it is an extension of land area where no life exists.
Implementation of pioneer species: pioneer species are very simple organisms that can live in very hostile environments. These include lichens, bacteria, and various unicellular organisms. These species are the first to colonize the land.
Soil Formation: the pioneer species break down and chemically alter the substrate, also producing the first organic material. The result is a primitive soil formation of a young ground, on which more evolved beings can settle.
Settlement of simple plants: basically, these are mosses and ferns, whose spores are brought to the site by wind. Also, the first insects appear. The wreckage and bodies of these living organisms enrich the soil with organic matter.
Settlement of the first herbaceous plants: the soil is made richer in organic matter.
Settlement of the first shrubs and trees.

Not all ecosystems cover all stages of succession. Depending on soil and other ecosystem factors, some climax with the introduction of trees, while others reach it with a little set on poor soil, and various ecosystems with populations of herbaceous plants.
The different levels of vegetation, from grasses to trees, are called strata. When all are present, the ecosystem is said to be stratified.
With the development of the vegetation of the ecosystem, different species of animals are introduced, as they have enough food.

A full sequence can last many years.
Once it reaches the climax community, an ecosystem continues to evolve: the number of people and trees and shrubs grow.
In each species, the number of individuals who die is offset by the number of individuals born, so that the number of producers is controlled by the primary consumers and these, in turn, are controlled by secondary consumers. Thus, establishing the ecological balance.
This development is even slower: in this way, the Mediterranean forests are typical of Spanish territory, having developed over three million years, and they are newer than other forests that can be found on the planet.

Biome: A set of ecosystems that have reached equilibrium and that share a certain type of vegetation and fauna, typical for having a similar climate and soil.
A biome is *not* a particular place.
There are 9 major terrestrial biomes; their distribution depends mainly on the climate, which in turn depends on latitude and altitude.
The latitude affects atmospheric temperature conditions, so that the higher the latitude, the lower the temperature. (The temperature decreases 0.5°C per degree latitude increases).
The altitude, or height above sea level, also influences the temperature, so that the higher the altitude, the lower the temperature. (The temperature decreases 1°C per 180 meters of ascent).
Every 100 meters of elevation above sea level is equivalent to an increase in latitude of 1°. For these reasons, there are areas characteristic of arctic ecosystems in the mountain peaks in areas of low latitude.

The Taiga

It is a forest that develops in very cold areas on the planet with long winters and heavy snowfalls, under warm, humid summers. It occupies 15% of the land surface and extends north of 45 degrees on almost all the northern hemisphere. The dominant trees belong to the conifers.
The hardness of the leaves and low temperatures hinder the action of decomposers, so that the transformation of organic matter into mineral matter is slow. For this reason, the soil is rich in humus and poor in mineral matter. Just bushes grow; however, lichens and mosses are abundant in the taiga.
In Spain, these forests are scarce, found in high mountain areas, mainly in the north.

Flora: trees characteristic of this biome are pine and fir trees, with evergreen needle-shaped leaves to avoid losing water through transpiration. The roots are shallow, to harness surface water. There are also some deciduous trees: birch and poplar.
Fauna: is composed of moose, deer, hares, foxes, wolves, bears, birds, martens, marmots, etc.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

It is characteristic of regions with rainy and mild climates, long summers and humid, and winters not too hard with very high rainfall and no dry season.
Deciduous trees predominate, providing a large amount of soil organic matter, mineral matter is transformed by the decomposers, so the soil is highly developed. In Spain, it is located in the north.
Animals and plants of this forest are adapted to changing conditions that determine the seasons.
The fertility of soils in these environments and their ability to retain water makes them excellent farmland, which has led to the felling of forests in many parts of the world.

Flora: there are three layers of vegetation: grasses, shrubs, and trees. Ferns are also abundant. Lichens and mosses are scarce. Most characteristic shrubs: heather, gorse, bilberry, and Genista. Trees predominate: beech, oak, and maple.
Fauna: include bobcats, raptors, martens, wild boar, dormice, deer, mice, moles, voles, and various species of birds and insects.

Tropical Rainforest

It stretches over the rainy regions of the planet from the zone to the tropics of Ecuador.
In addition to the abundant rains, these areas are characterized by having high temperatures throughout the year.
Due to prevailing climatic conditions, the rock that caused the ground it sits on the ecosystem undergoes an extensive process of disintegration and chemical alteration that generates an altered mantle rock quarry.
The humus layer is very thin because, in this warm and moist environment, organic remains decompose rapidly and become mineral materials, rapidly absorbed by vegetation.
An estimated half of existing plant and animal species live on our planet.
The trees are deciduous, but like you’ve cold season, do not lose it all at once, for this reason, these forests always stay green.
It grows to great heights and compete for light. So abundant vines and those living on tree branches. The vegetation that grows in soil is relatively low given that barely light.
Trees often have deep roots, because, due to washing and drag the rains, the nutrients are found near the surface. To sustain the trees used by other systems, such as aerial roots, which serve as support.
There are several types of trees and shrubs. Of different sizes, range from the tallest tree of 60m to 5m shrub.
The wildlife is so diverse and plentiful that most species are still unqualified.

Mediterranean Forests

It is distributed around the Mediterranean to altitudes of 800-1000 m, also found on the coasts of California and Chile, southern Australia, and South Africa. Forest is a typical Mediterranean climate, dry summers and mild winters with periods of rain in autumn and spring. The average temperature is 13-18°C and average rainfall of 300-1000 mm.
The typical vegetation of these forests is composed of plants adapted to arid climates, the leaves of trees and shrubs are covered with a hard cuticle, the trunks are thick bark and the roots run deep in search of water.
This vegetation is very resistant to decay, therefore this forest soil is poor in humus and mineral matter.

Flora: the characteristic trees are the oak and the cork oak. The stone pine is also common in current oak forests, planted by man to replace oaks. Among shrubs, stands out: the arbutus, mastic, laurustinus, and jara.
Fauna: predominate: boars, deer, rabbits, hares, foxes, bobcats, weasels, and badgers. Reptiles dominated the snakes and lizards.

Mediterranean Forests in the Iberian Peninsula

2000 years ago, 40 million hectares of the peninsula was covered by Mediterranean forests.
Could be distinguished and cork oaks. Also, tall shrubs such as Viburnum and mastic, and low shrubs such as asparagus and maidenhair also abundant roses honeysuckle and brambles. The appearance of the forest was a tangled jungle, difficult to pass.
The forest has been disappearing for various reasons, and now have approximately 3 million hectares. In addition to bordering the Mediterranean are noteworthy:

The forest of oaks and pines of the Sierra de Cazorla. (Jaén)
National Park Cabañeros. (Ciudad Real)
The National Park Monfragüe. (Cáceres)
The Sierra Madrona. (Ciudad Real)
Los Montes del Pardo. (Madrid)

The Rangelands

They are typically Spanish ecosystems, which extend across the central, eastern, and southwestern Iberia.
The areas currently occupied by the meadow were occupied by Mediterranean forests. They were created by human manipulation in the past.
The pasture areas are created in low and flat areas and consist of grassland with scattered trees and shrubs. The forest, in contrast, is preserved at higher elevations.
Under the canopy of the meadow, the remnants remain as strongholds typical of the Mediterranean forest, ready to spread. The maintenance of the pasture is based on preventing forest regeneration by grazing, not abusive.

The Savanna

The savanna is set in tropical areas, especially in Africa. Its climate is characterized by a long, dry, hot summer alternating with a brief warm rainy season.

Flora: The grasses dominate the family of grasses which grow scarce among trees and shrubs such as acacia and baobab.
Fauna: is composed of large carnivores (lion, hyena, panther, and leopard) and herbivores (antelope, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros).

The Steppe

Located in continental climates with cold winters and hot, dry summers. In Spain, the steppe is very important, because the ecosystem is more abundant in dry Spain (In The Monearos and Belchite, Aragon, and in much of the two plateaus).

Flora: consists mainly of grasses, among which oats. Few bushes growing stature, such as pita, some cacti, and aloe.
Fauna: it is abundant and varied, so much diversity of insects, small rodents, partridges, quail, geese, and raptors.

The Prairie

It develops in areas of continental climate, but more rainy than the steppe areas with longer summers. It extends across expansive terrain of North America, Europe, or Asia; in South America is the Pampa.

Flora: plants are the most abundant grasses.
Fauna: at most, the animals are large herbivores such as bison and antelope. Among carnivores include coyote and prairie dog.

Grasslands can be caused by human activity through the removal of forest and scrub.

The Tundra

It belongs to the polar areas, as well as high mountain areas in temperate regions and even the tropics. Its climate is subsolar, with long, cold winters and short summers. In winter the ground is covered with ice, in summer, only to melt reaches the surface, beneath which is a thick layer of ice, permafrost, that never thaws. The melt water puddles on the ground and form swamps.

Flora: the roots of plants is very difficult, so just come to grow mosses and lichens, and some shrubs in more temperate zones.
Fauna: The most characteristic animals are reindeer, wolf, arctic fox, and arctic hare.

Deserts

About 40% of the land surface is covered by deserts, the most important in Australia, Asia, and North Africa, also spanning temperate and tropical zones. It is characterized by poor or no vegetation at the lack of rainfall.

Flora: cacti, agaves, and cacti are plants adapted to this climate, have small leaves, often transformed into spines, and coarse outer layers to prevent water loss. Some store water inside the leaves and stems.
Fauna: animals adapt to heat. There are reptiles that just lose water, thanks to the scales that cover their skin, the scorpions, which can tolerate a temperature of 50°C, insects, which have a waxy covering to prevent loss of moisture, rodents, they dig burrows to refuge during the day and camels and dromedaries, which turn into water stored fat in their hump.

The Marine Environment

At sea, the organisms are adapted to live in salt water. So, most marine organisms die if they move to a medium with fresh water.
Almost all organisms found in ocean water surface, because air and sunlight can illuminate only the upper layers. From the 100m deep, the light arriving too weak so that it can perform photosynthesis.
Water pressure increases with depth and the temperature decreases, so, few organisms live beyond 200m depth.
These factors, along with whether or not current and the concentration of salt water, to distinguish between marine bioregions calls.

Sea Regions

The coastal zone: coastal area that reaches the continental shelf.
Neritic zone: shallow water area that occupy the continental shelf.
Pelagic zone: includes the area encompassing the water body from the platform to the great ocean depths.
Abyssal zone: corresponds to the deep-ocean floor.

Marine Organisms

Benthic or benthic organisms: living things that inhabit the seafloor; can be set permanently or for those displaced.
Pelagic organisms: living things that live at sea: they differ in nektonic or nekton organisms that swim freely, and planktonic organisms or plankton, which float in the currents and are comprised mostly of microscopic organisms, but also include invertebrates or other medium sized agencies.

The power base of the organisms that live at sea is plankton, which includes microscopic algae that feed by photosynthesis and provide food for other microscopic sea creatures, which in turn are eaten by larger animals thus, establishing a chain that leads to higher consumer.

The Means of Fresh Water

They are characterized by the presence of fresh water, although it may be too salty.
According to its speed, the waters are classified as:

Standing water: these include lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, where you can differentiate between regions similar to ocean areas with shallow water and near shore surface water that reaches the light, but away from the shore and deep water where no light arrives.
Water currents: are rivers, streams, and springs, are usually cooler than standing water, and generally contain abundant oxygen, if not contaminated. The condition factor of life in these waters is the current speed, so that plants and animals that live there tend to have bodies or fasteners are excellent swimmers.