epping forest ecosystem

• it is located east of london and is all that remains of a larger forest that colonised england at the end of the last ice age
• bogs and ponds in the forest have their own unique species including 20 kinds of dragonfly
• biodiversity in the forest has remained naturally high, thanks to careful management, so there is a complex food web composed of thousands of species
• epping forest is home to a large number of native tree species including oak, elm, ash and beech (producers)
• epping forest is home to a lower shrub layer of holly and hazel at five metres, overlying a field layer of grasses, brambles, bracken, fern and flowering plants (producers)
• epping forest is home to many insect (primary consumers), mammal and bird consumer species are supported including 9 amphibian and reptile species and 38 bird species (secondary consumers)
• epping forest is home to 700 species of fungi, which are important decomposers
• epping forest is home to owls and sparrowhawks (top carnivores)
• the forests producers, consumers and decomposers are all interdependent
• nutrient cycling clearly demonstrates the interdependence of plants, animals and soil, people and ecosystem components are interdependent too eg, today visitors pick berries and flowers which in turn helps spread the seeds, which stick to their clothing