Ecosystems

• Ecosystem


  A community of plants and animals, and the environment in which they live.
• Biome

  Large ecosystem characteristic of a specific part of the world
• Sustainable development


  Economic, social and environmental development to meet people's needs now without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs
• Producers

  Plants that use the sun's energy during photosynthesis to create their own food
• Nutrient cycle

  The stores and flows of nutrients in an ecosystem
• Biomass

  The mass, or weight, of living material
• Litter

  Rotting leaves on the ground below growing vegetation
• Soil


  A mixture of weathered rock and organic matter (decomposed plants)
• Consumers

  Animals that eat plants and each other
• Flora

  Plant life
• Fauna


  Animal life
• Tropical rainforest


  Large expanses of lush forest growing in the tropics in high temperatures and very high rainfall
• Indigenous people

  The people who originated in a particular place
• Agroforestry


  Growing trees and crops together
• Selective Logging


  Trees are chopped down only when they reach a certain height to ensure the height of the canopy is maintained
• Afforestation

  Trees are planted to replace the original primary forest that has been lost