Environmental-ecosystems

• What is an ecosystem?

  An ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their interactions with each other and their physical environment.
• Biotic Factors - Living things within an ecosystem (plants, animals, fungi)
• The abiotic factors are the nonliving components that make up the environment, such as water, air, soil, sunlight, temperature, and nutrients
• What is photosynthesis?


  It is a process by which plants make their own food. Carbon dioxide is changed into sugars through solar energy.
• What are herbivores?


  Animals that only eat plants.
• What are carnivores?

  Animals that primarily eat meat.
• What are omnivores?

  Animals that eat both plants and animals.
• What are producers?

  These are at the beginning of the food chain and include plants, trees and anything that makes their own food.
• What are decomposers?

  These break down nutrients in dead organisms and return them to the soil.
• What is a food chain?

  It is the path of food starting from a producer until it is eaten by a final consumer.
• What is a food web?

  A food web is a diagram that shows the interconnected feeding relationships between different organisms in an ecosystem.
• What is a Karst landscape?

  The type of landscape is formed due to the lower-coralline limestone which is eroded by rainwater, creating holes which are filled with soil and plants.
• What is a river valley ?


  It is a valley where water usually flows and creates a passageway from the rocks.
• What is a rift valley?


  It is a valley which is formed due to earth movements which causes the sinking of land between two faults.
• What does a food chain represent?

  A food chain represents the feeding levels and the flow of energy from one organism to another.
• What are the ecosystems in Malta?

  Steppe, Garrigue, Maquis, Woodland
• What is the steppe ecosystem?

  Steppe mainly consists of grasses which include the Fennel and the wild carrot. This habitat does not contain trees and mainly had annual plants. During the dry season the plants will be seeds and during wet season they will be plants. This ecosystem is a result from the degradation of the maquis and garrigue.