Terrestrial ecosystem
Summary
TLDRTerrestrial ecosystems, which cover 28.26% of Earth's surface, are diverse and include tundra, taiga, temperate forests, tropical rainforests, grasslands, and deserts. They are characterized by water scarcity, temperature fluctuations, and greater light and gas availability compared to aquatic ecosystems. These ecosystems host a variety of organisms, such as plants from Magnoliophyta and Pinophyta, and animals like insects, birds, and mammals, all adapted to terrestrial conditions. Food webs in these systems are divided into grazing and detritus segments, with the former more prevalent in grasslands and the latter in forests. Human activities have also created extensive agroecosystems, influencing Earth's natural landscape.
Takeaways
- 🌱 There are six primary terrestrial ecosystems: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert.
- 💧 Terrestrial ecosystems differ from aquatic ones due to lower water availability and greater temperature fluctuations.
- 🌤️ Light availability is higher in terrestrial ecosystems, and gases like carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen are more accessible.
- 🌳 Terrestrial environments are divided into subterranean and atmospheric portions, with photosynthesis occurring in the latter.
- 🌍 Terrestrial ecosystems cover 28.26% of Earth's surface, a smaller area compared to marine ecosystems.
- 🌿 Major plant taxa in these ecosystems belong to Magnoliophyta (about 275,000 species), Pinophyta (about 500 species), and Bryophyta (about 24,000 species).
- 🐛 Major animal taxa include Insecta (about 900,000 species), Aves (8,500 species), and Mammalia (approximately 4,100 species).
- 🌱 Organisms have adaptations for water acquisition, transport, and retention, as well as body support and temperature regulation.
- 🔗 Terrestrial organisms are integrated into functional units through energy and chemical flow relationships, depicted in trophic webs.
- 🌿 Grazing and detritus food webs are two segments of terrestrial food webs, with the former being more important in grasslands and the latter in forests.
- 🌿 Human activities have created one extensive type of terrestrial ecosystem, while eight natural types reflect Earth's climatic variations.
Q & A
What are the six primary terrestrial ecosystems?
-The six primary terrestrial ecosystems are tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert.
How do terrestrial ecosystems differ from aquatic ecosystems in terms of water availability?
-Terrestrial ecosystems have a lower availability of water compared to aquatic ecosystems, making water a critical limiting factor for life on land.
What is a key difference between the temperature fluctuations in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems?
-Terrestrial ecosystems experience greater temperature fluctuations both diurnally and seasonally than aquatic ecosystems with similar climates.
Why is the availability of light greater in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic ecosystems?
-The atmosphere is more transparent on land than in water, allowing for greater light availability in terrestrial ecosystems.
Which gases are more available in terrestrial ecosystems and why are they important?
-Carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen are more available in terrestrial ecosystems. They are essential for processes like photosynthesis, aerobic respiration, and nitrogen fixation.
How do terrestrial environments obtain water and ions?
-Terrestrial environments obtain water and ions from a subterranean portion, while gases are obtained from the atmospheric portion.
What percentage of Earth's surface is covered by terrestrial ecosystems?
-Terrestrial ecosystems occupy 28.26% of Earth's surface, which is approximately 55,660,000 square miles.
What are the major plant taxa found in terrestrial ecosystems?
-The major plant taxa in terrestrial ecosystems are from the division Magnoliophyta with about 275,000 species and the division Pinophyta with about 500 species.
How do organisms in terrestrial ecosystems adapt to the lack of water?
-Organisms have adaptations for obtaining water, transporting it within their bodies, and preventing evaporation from body surfaces.
What are the two segments that terrestrial food webs can be divided into based on plant material consumption?
-Terrestrial food webs can be divided into grazing food webs, associated with the consumption of living plant material by herbivores, and detritus food webs, associated with the consumption of dead plant material by detritivores.
Which type of terrestrial ecosystem is considered the most productive and why?
-Tropical forests are the most productive terrestrial ecosystems, contributing 45% of the total estimated net primary productivity on land due to their large areal extent and high average productivity.
Outlines
🌿 Overview of Terrestrial Ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystems are land-based communities of organisms interacting with their environment. They include tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rainforest, grassland, and desert. These ecosystems are characterized by limited water availability, significant temperature fluctuations, and greater light and gas availability compared to aquatic ecosystems. Terrestrial ecosystems occupy 28.26% of Earth's surface and host a diverse range of organisms, including plants from Magnoliophyta and Pinophyta, and animals from Insecta, Aves, and Mammalia. Organisms have adapted to the unique challenges of life on land, such as obtaining and conserving water, supporting their bodies in less buoyant air, and enduring temperature extremes. The functional integration of these organisms is depicted through trophic webs, with green plants at the base, and two types of food webs: grazing, based on living plant material, and detritus, based on dead plant material. The relative importance of these food webs varies by ecosystem type.
🌱 Productivity of Tropical Forests
Tropical forests are the most productive of all terrestrial ecosystems, contributing 45% of the total estimated net primary productivity on land. They are also the most extensive, covering a large portion of Earth's land surface. This high productivity is attributed to their location in regions with abundant rainfall and warm temperatures, which support a diverse array of plant and animal life. Tropical forests play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle and are vital for biodiversity conservation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Terrestrial ecosystem
💡Water as a limiting factor
💡Temperature fluctuations
💡Light availability
💡Gas availability
💡Adaptive radiation
💡Trophic webs
💡Grazing food webs
💡Detritus food webs
💡Productivity
💡Agroecosystems
Highlights
Terrestrial ecosystems are found on landforms and include six primary types: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and desert.
Terrestrial ecosystems are characterized by lower water availability, greater temperature fluctuations, and higher light availability compared to aquatic ecosystems.
Gases such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, and nitrogen are more available in terrestrial ecosystems, which is crucial for processes like photosynthesis and respiration.
Terrestrial environments are segmented into subterranean and atmospheric portions, affecting how organisms obtain water, ions, and gases.
Terrestrial ecosystems cover 28.26% of Earth's surface, despite being a recent development in the history of life.
Terrestrial ecosystems have been a significant site of adaptive radiation for both plants and animals.
Major plant taxa in terrestrial ecosystems belong to the divisions Magnoliophyta and Pinophyta, with significant species counts.
Major animal taxa include Insecta, Aves, and Mammalia, with a vast number of species contributing to the ecosystem's biodiversity.
Organisms in terrestrial ecosystems have evolved adaptations for water acquisition, transport, and evaporation prevention.
Terrestrial organisms have developed traits for body support in less buoyant atmospheric conditions.
Adaptations to withstand temperature extremes, wind, and humidity are common among terrestrial organisms.
Terrestrial organisms have evolved methods for gamete transport in environments with less effective fluid flow.
Functional integration in terrestrial ecosystems is facilitated by dynamic relationships and energy and chemical flow processes.
Trophic webs in terrestrial ecosystems are based on feeding relationships, with green plants at the base as primary producers.
Grazing and detritus food webs are two segments of terrestrial food webs, with varying importance across different ecosystems.
Human activities have led to the creation of extensive terrestrial ecosystems, in addition to the eight natural types.
Natural terrestrial ecosystems reflect variations in precipitation and temperature across Earth's surface.
Tropical forests are the most productive terrestrial ecosystems, contributing significantly to global net primary productivity.
Transcripts
A terrestrial ecosystem is an ecosystem found only on landforms. Six primary
terrestrial ecosystems exist: tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest,
tropical rain forest, grassland and desert.
A community of organisms and their environment that occurs on the land
masses of continents and islands. Terrestrial ecosystems are distinguished
from aquatic ecosystems by the lower availability of water and the consequent
importance of water as a limiting factor. Terrestrial ecosystems are
characterized by greater temperature fluctuations on both a diurnal and
seasonal basis than occur in aquatic ecosystems in similar climates. The
availability of light is greater in terrestrial ecosystems tan in aquatic
ecosystems because the atmosphere is more transparent in land than in water.
Gases are more available in terrestrial ecosystems than in aquatic ecosystems.
Those gases include carbon dioxide that serves as a substrate for
photosynthesis, oxygen that serves as a substrate in aerobic respiration, and
nitrogen that serves as a substrate for nitrogen fixation. Terrestrial
environments are segmented into a subterranean portion from which most
water and ions are obtained, and an atmospheric portion from which gases are
obtained and where the physical energy of light is transformed into the organic
energy of carbon-carbon bonds through the process of photosynthesis.
Terrestrial ecosystems occupy 55,660,000 mi², or 28.26% of Earth's surface.
Although they are comparatively recent in the history of life and occupy a much
smaller portion of Earth's surface than marine GUCCI FLIP FLOPSecosystems,
terrestrial ecosystems have been a major site of adaptive radiation of both
plants and animals. Major plant taxa in terrestrial ecosystems are members of
the division Magnoliophyta, of which there are about 275,000 species, and the
division Pinophyta, of which there are about 500 species. Members of the
division Bryophyta, of which there are about 24,000 species, are also important
in some terrestrial ecosystems. Major animal taxa in terrestrial ecosystems
include the classes Insecta with about 900,000 species, Aves with 8,500
species, and Mammalia with approximately 4,100 species.
Organisms in terrestrial ecosystems have adaptations that allow them to obtain
water when the entire body is no longer bathed in that fluid, means of
transporting the water from limited sites of acquisition to the rest of the
body, and means of preventing the evaporation of water from body surfaces.
They also have traits that provide body support in the atmosphere, a much less
buoyant medium than water, and other traits that render them capable of
withstanding the extremes of temperature, wind, and humidity that
characterize terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the organisms in terrestrial
ecosystems have evolved many methods of transporting gametes in environments
where fluid flow is much less effective as a transport medium.
The organisms in terrestrial ecosystems are integrated into a functional unit by
specific, dynamic relationships due to the coupled processes of energy and
chemical flow. Those relationships can be summarized by schematic diagrams of
trophic webs, which place organisms according to their feeding
relationships. The base of the food web is occupied by green plants, which are
the only organisms capable of utilizing the energy of the Sun and inorganic
nutrients obtained from the soil to produce organic molecules. Terrestrial
food webs can be broken into two segments based on the status of the
plant material that enters them. Grazing food webs are associated with the
consumption of living plant material by herbivores. Detritus food webs are
associated with the consumption of dead plant material by detritivores. The
relative importance of those two types of food webs varies considerably in
different types of terrestrial ecosystems. Grazing food webs are more
important in grasslands, where over half of net primary productivity may be
consumed by herbivores. Detritus food webs are more important in forests,
where less than 5% of net primary productivity may be consumed by
herbivores. There is one type of extensive
terrestrial ecosystem due solely to human activities and eight types that
are natural ecosystems. Those natural ecosystems reflect the variation of
precipitation and temperature over Earth's surface. The smallest land areas
are occupied by tundra and temperate grassland ecosystems, and the largest
land area is occupied by tropical forest. The most productive ecosystems
are temperate and tropical forests, and the least productive are deserts and
tundras. Cultivated lands, which together with grasslands and savannas
utilized for grazing are referred to as agroecosystems, are of intermediate
extent and productivity. Because of both their areal extent and their high
average productivity, tropical forests are the most productive of all
terrestrial ecosystems, contributing 45% of total estimated net primary
productivity on land. See also
Aquatic-terrestrial subsidies References
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