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Introduction
An
ecosystem is a living community of plant and animals sharing
an environment with non-living elements such as climate and
soil.
Ecosystems
exist on a variety of scales. An example of a small scale
ecosystem (micro) is a pond. A medium scale ecosystem (messo)
could be a forest. The tropical rainforest is an example of
a very large ecosystem (biome).
Sunlight
is the main source of energy. This allows plants to convert energy by photosynthesis. This provides
food for some animals, birds and fish. These are called Herbivores.
The other animals eat the animals that have eaten the plants.
These are Carnivores. This process is called the FOOD CHAIN.
The
World has many different ecosystems. Each one has its own
climate, soil, plants and animals. Very few ecosystems are
natural today because of human activities. More ecosystems
are under threat than ever before and need protecting.
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Image: A
buttress root supporting a large tree in the Amazon Rainforest