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TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS

Aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems are systems composed of living organisms and non-living elements interacting in a watery environment. In simple terms, an aquatic ecosystem is a community of plants and animals that primarily depend on water. There are two major types of aquatic ecosystems:

  • Marine Ecosystems (species found in these include; seals, whales, most fish. Organisms such as corals)

  • Freshwater Ecosystems (examples include; streams, rivers, lakes ponds, pools and wetlands) (Malburg, 2010)

 

In open freshwater, such as lakes or ponds; the water is too deep for plants to take root. The most common succession is a Hydrosere. This is a succession that begins in water and it is the process by which a freshwater ecosystem will turn into a woodland over time (Succession, 2016). Please see image below to show process of Hydrosere, where freshwater turns into wooldlands.

 

 

Terrestrial communities are land based terrestrials which are in forms of grasslands. The word “terrestrial” refers to anything that is occurring on land. They are the interaction between living organisms and non-living objects with occur on land masses of islands and continents, they are different from aquatic ecosystems because of the lower importance to water which is the main feature that makes up the aquatic ecosystems (Malburg, 2010).

 

Forests that display the characteristics of primary succession are still very dense and undisturbed. This type of forest includes; tropical evergreen forest, tropical rainforest and some dense mixed deciduous forest.

Forests that have experience the secondary succession are rather clear structurally. It includes some types of mixed deciduous forest, dry dipterocarp forest and forest area which is abandoned due to deforestation. Normally, it has a lower density of trees and the size of trees is considerably smaller than usual (Miller and Spoolman 2010).

Terrestrial ecosystems

 Hydrosere (Succession, 2016).

Hydrosere, like the primary succession in terrestrial ecosystems, is linked to the soil build-up in ecosystems in order to sustain life (Ghosh, 2010).

The seven stages of Hydrosere succession are;

  1. Phytoplankton stage (bacteria

  2. Rooted-Submerged stage

  3. Rooted-floating

  4. Read swap

  5. Sedge meadow

  6. Woodland

  7. Forest

 

The distribution of aquatic ecosystems will vary dependant on the influencing factors such as temperature or sunlight on organisms.

 

The overall changes that take place during the development of Hydrosere communities are building up of sub stream, shallowing of water, addition of humus and minerals and soil building. As each water body fills with sediment, the open areas begin to decrease which means that the vegetation move inwards as the water becomes shallower (Ghosh, 2011).

Succesion (terrestrial) (GoogleImages,2016).

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