ECOSISTEMAS TERRESTRES: Características y TIPOS 🏔️🏜️

What Are Terrestrial Ecosystems?

Definition and Characteristics

• Terrestrial ecosystems include a variety of habitats across the globe where organisms, both flora and fauna, develop on or below the soil.

• The characteristics of flora and fauna vary significantly as they adapt to specific habitat conditions such as water availability, solar radiation, and nutrient access.

Factors Influencing Ecosystems

• Two main types of factors differentiate terrestrial ecosystems: abiotic (physical and chemical) factors and biotic (living organisms).

• Key abiotic factors include climate, soil composition, humidity, altitude, latitude, and nutrient availability which shape life forms in each ecosystem.

• Biotic factors encompass a wide range of living organisms from unicellular entities to large mammals; all require oxygen for survival.

Adaptations in Terrestrial Animals

Morphological Adaptations

• Animal morphology is adapted for movement within their specific environments—through crawling, running, or flying.

• Animals are categorized based on diet into herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

Types of Terrestrial Ecosystems

Classification Based on Abiotic Factors

• Terrestrial ecosystems are classified according to dominant abiotic factors which influence vegetation types present.

• Biodiversity is highest in forests and decreases towards deserts; forests are characterized by dense trees and shrubs.

Specific Ecosystem Types

• Various forest types exist including tropical rainforests, Mediterranean forests, and subtropical forests.

• Shrubland ecosystems consist mainly of low-growing vegetation like bushes; grasslands primarily feature grasses under semi-arid conditions.

• Tundra ecosystems lack trees due to frozen subsoil but support mosses and lichens alongside small shrubs.

Deserts: Unique Challenges

Characteristics of Desert Ecosystems

• Deserts have limited flora and fauna due to harsh conditions; they can be classified into warm deserts typical of subtropical regions or polar deserts.

Summary Question