Unit 9 - Word Wall

Unit 9 - Biomes/Microhabitats and Succession

Sustainability

Pioneer Species

Ecosystem

Ecological Succession

Biome

Climax Community

Habitat

7.10A - observe and describe how different environments, including microhabitats in schoolyards and biomes, support different varieties of organisms7.10C - observe, record, and describe the role of ecological succession such as in a microhabitat of a garden with weeds

Primary Succession

Microhabitat

Secondary Succession

Biodiversity

A habitat is the natural home or environment of a plant, animal, or other organism. It provides the organisms that live there with food, water, shleter and space to survive Habitats consist of both biotic and abiotic factors.

Sustainability

the ability of something to maintain or "sustain" itself over time

Why is biodiversity related to sustainability?

The higher biodiversity in an ecosystem means that there is a greater variety of genes and species in that ecosystem. A great variety of genes and species means that the ecosystem is better able to carry out natural processes in the face of external stress. Thus, the ecosystem is more sustainable.

Pioneer plants are hardy species who are typically the first plants to colonize bare or devastated ecosystems. The ecosystems may be bare because of disruption (e.g. clearcut logging) or damage (e.g. wildfire) or simply a previously unsettled stretch of barren rock.