Forest+Ecosystem

Hi, I'm Z7, and I go to the [|Amigos School] in [|Cambridge, Massachusetts]. Amigos is a bilingual school, so we speak both English and Spanish. I am in the 6th grade here, and I'm doing this wiki to show the world the processes through which energy and elements are transferred from one organism in the ecosystem to another. This wiki is about the amazing forest ecosystem at [|Arnold Arboretum], a place our class goes every year for a field trip. We all enjoyed observing a working ecosystem in its true form until a certain organism forcefully reminded us that we were just visitors and we shouldn't stay too much longer. In other words, the admiring calm was shattered by a hive of furious yellowjackets. The day was fairly cool, a common day for fall, and it was humid. It was a beautiful place.

To study a forest ecosystem, we went to Arnold Arboretum. To get there, we took the school bus. There are two categories of ecosystem components, called Biotic (living) and Abiotic (non-living). These two categories can be split up even further. First, let's take a look at Natural Abiotic. They are things such as the sun, rocks, soil, gravel, water, or clouds that come from nature, but are not alive. Another category of abiotic components that are not as welcome are Artificial Abiotic. These are things such as cellophane or styrofoam that people litter when they are in the ecosystem.

There were many biotic factors in the forest ecosystem. These fall under three categories, producers, consumers, and decomposers. Producers are organisms that can convert energy from sunlight, using carbon dioxide and water, to a storable form, glucose, or chemical energy ([|photosynthesis]), such as pine trees, yew bushes, or nightshade. Consumers are organisms that can't produce their own energy and therefore must consume other organisms, like ladybugs, aphids, or squirrels. Decomposers are organisms that break down dead organisms. such as fungi, bacteria, or lichen. In this ecosystem, as well as in others, there is less energy available at the upper feeding levels, including spiders, than there is at the lower feeding levels, where aphids are. Our trip to the Forest Ecosystem at Arnold Arboretum has expanded our knowledge of energy flow through ecosystems. Below are a few memorable moments from our trip. o We got to see how yellow jackets protect themselves and their colonies in their natural habitat. o We saw many consumers in the act of consuming, like squirrels, daddy long-legs and such. o We got to see one organism migrating as it generally does, the Canada goose. In conclusion, it was a very fun trip to a different world, the Forest Ecosystem.

Take a look at my awesome food webs and energy pyramid! Si quieres ver mi pagina de wiki en español, click aqui