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What’s an ecosystem?
Living things
We can find life in all types of climates and landscapes, from the bottom
of the ocean to the top of a snowy mountain and in the middle of
a tropical rainforest. All of these places and the organisms
that live in them form a variety of
ecosystems
.
1
Classify the things that you see in all the pictures.
Make three lists: animals, plants and non-living things.
G
E T T I N G S T A R T E D
Living things and
non-living things in
an ecosystem have an
important relationship.
For example, otters make
dens on the river banks as
homes for their young.
S
C
I
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F
A
C
T
The
biotope
, or physical environment,
includes all of the non-living things in
an ecosystem, such as geographical
relief, soil, light and temperature.
The
biocoenosis
includes
all the living things in an
ecosystem, such as plants,
animals and other organisms.
Ecosystems
There are many different relationships between the living
and non-living things in an ecosystem.
An ecosystem is made up
of two parts, the biotope
and the biocoenosis.