What is a terrestrial ecosystem and its characteristics

Terrestrial ecosystems include a wide variety of habitats distributed throughout the globe. Terrestrial ecosystems are those environments whose organisms develop on the ground or in the subsoilincluding organisms that also live in the air. There are those who include in these organisms that inhabit the airand who considers them separately, as a mixed or transition ecosystem, although it would not be independent of the land environment.

These ecosystems gather The greatest biological wealth due to the wide variety of factors that condition them. The characteristics of the flora and fauna that live in each of these terrestrial ecosystems are different from being adapted to their respective habitats with specific conditions, such as Water availability, solar radiation or food availability. It is when abrupt changes occur in them when these species begin to present difficulties in surviving in these habitats, having to migrate, dying and even extinguishing.

As we have commented in the previous section, the specific characteristics of these biological systems depend on the different types of terrestrial ecosystem, which differ from each other depending on two types of factors that influence them: the abiotic factors, which are the physical and chemical factors that determine the ecosystem, and the biotic factors, which are the living beings that inhabit it.

The main characteristics of terrestrial ecosystems are:

1. Variable climate

Terrestrial ecosystems are influenced by climatic factors, such as temperature, precipitation, luminosity and wind, which vary according to the region and altitude. According to these climate factors, some conditions that will be favorable for some living beings. In this post you can know the different types of climate in the world.

2. Type of soil

The ground plays a key role, as it provides nutrients and water To plants. This varies in composition, fertility and drainage or filtration capacity according to the ecosystem.

In this other article you can learn about the types of soils and their characteristics.

3. Distribution of resources

He Access to water, sunlight and nutrients is unequal In terrestrial ecosystems, influencing the distribution of different species and productivity of each ecosystem. For example, there are with more water presence (jungles) and much less water (arid deserts). Thus, organisms that depend more on water will live places with more quantity and those that have adaptations to environments with less water can live better in arid places. In ecosystems with more natural resources more biodiversity abounds than in those that have less quantity and availability of these resources.

In this link you can know information about what natural resources and their types are.

4. More abiotic factors of terrestrial ecosystems

• Moisture and water availability. In this link you can know what the importance of atmospheric humidity is.
• The relief, altitude and latitude. Here you can inform yourself better about the types of relief and their characteristics.
• Biogeochemical and nutrient cycles. In this post you can know the biogeochemical cycles: what are, types and importance.

5. Biodiversity, flora and fauna

This is part of the Biotic factors of ecosystems. The Flora and terrestrial fauna They are very varied and abundant, with Specific adaptations to its surroundings, as drought -resistant plants in deserts or animals with dense furs in the tundra. High biodiversity helps maintain healthy ecosystems. We advise you to read more about what biodiversity is.

Regarding fauna, the morphology of animals in terrestrial ecosystems is adapted to be able to move in the specific environment in which they are found (crawling, running, flying …). Within animals, we can find both vertebrate animals, as well as mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles; as invertebrate animals such as, for example, insects, arachnids and molluskswith important ecosystem functions. In turn, these animals, depending on their diet, can be herbivores, carnivores or omnivorous.

The same happens with other groups of living beings that inhabit terrestrial ecosystems, that is, other organisms such as plants, fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms They have been able to adapt properly to the different terrestrial environment. Succulent and cactus plants have developed the ability to retain water to survive in desert terrestrial ecosystems. Mushrooms, on the other hand, develop well in terrestrial ecosystems with a lot of environmental humidity, such as forests.

6. Biological interactions

Living organisms such as plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms interact with each other and with the physical environmentforming trophic chains and trophic networks and generating energy cycles. There are interactions or interspecific relationships, that is, between different species, such as the transmission of energy through food and survival interactions, such as symbiosis. There are also interactions or intra -specific relationships, such as reproductive, which occur between individuals of the same species.

There is a great Variety of terrestrial ecosystemswhich are classified according to how the abiotic factors are dominated on them and, therefore, how is the type of predominant vegetation, which is essential for ecosystems since it constitutes the basis of trophic relationships, it serves as shelter for numerous species and contributes to climate regulation, among other functions.

The flora and fauna of each type of terrestrial ecosystem have different characteristics, since they are adapted to the habitat in which they are found. Broadly speaking, the greatest biodiversity is found in forests, and is decreasing until reaching the level of the deserts.

Forests

Forests are the main ecosystem found in the biosphere and are defined as areas with a large number of trees, shrubs and thickets. There is a wide variety of ecosystems made up of forests, such as the jungle, the Mediterranean forest or the subtropical forest. Both flora and fauna is very varied and according to vegetation density can be classified into open or closed forests. Know more about these types of terrestrial ecosystems in this other post about the types of forests.

Thickets

The shrub ecosystems are those in which low -bearing vegetation predominates such as bushes or small bushes. They are closely linked to herbazles. Here you can learn more about the bushes: what are, types and fauna.

Herbazals

As the name implies, they are predominantly formed by herbs, such as grasses, and are found in areas where the weather provides semi -arid conditions. Within this group of ecosystems we find the meadows or savannas.

Tundra

It is characterized by the absence of trees, finding mushrooms and lichens, in addition to herbs and small shrubs. The subsoil is frozen, so it is in areas of very cold climates. You can learn more about the tundra: characteristics, flora and fauna with this article.

Deserts

In these ecosystems scarce flora and fauna due to their hard conditions. We can differentiate the typical warm deserts of subtropical areas where rainfall is scarce, or polar deserts, also called “inlandsis”, in which the greatest ecosystem development occurs in the limits of these frozen areas. In this link you will know the different types of deserts.

To expand your knowledge about the types of terrestrial ecosystems and examples of these, enter this other ecology article. We also recommend reading this other article about the different types of ecosystems and examples.

Examples of forests

• Amazon Forest or Amazon jungle (South America). You can read more about the Amazon jungle: what is, where is, animals and tribes in this link.
• Congo jungle (Central Africa). Know more about the Congo jungle: characteristics, flora and fauna here.
• Sherwood forest (England).
• Bialow slope forest (Poland and Belarus).
• Black forest or black jungle (Germany). Discover here what animals are in the black jungle.
• Yakushima forest (Japan).
• Redwood forest (USA).
• Fontainebleau forests (France).
• Valdivian forest (Chili).
• Taiga Siberiana (Russia). In this post you will see what Taiga is: definition and characteristics.
• Daintree jungle (Australia).

Examples of herbazals, meadows and steppes

• American meadow (USA).
• Pampa Sudamericana (Argentina and Uruguay). In this article you can meet the Pampas region: characteristics, flora and fauna.
• Limpos field (South of Brazil).
• Velt (South Africa).
• Parklands (Australia).
• PUSZTA (Hungary).
• Russian steppe (Ukraine and Russia).
• EUROASMATIC SESPA (Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China).
• Kazaja Estepa (Kazakhstan).

Examples of tundra

• Arctic tundra (Canada, the United States, Russia and Norway).
• Alpine tundra (Switzerland, France, Nepal and Chile).
• Siberian tundra (Russia).

Examples of deserts

• Antarctic desert (Antarctica). Here you can consult the Flora and Fauna of Antarctica.
• Arctic Desert (Arctic regions, Greenland, Canada and Russia).
• Sahara desert (North Africa). Know here the animals of the Sahara desert.
• Great Victoria Desert (Australia).
• Kalahari desert (Botsuana, Namibia and South Africa).
• Patagonian desert (Argentina).
• Chihuahua desert (Mexico and the United States of America). Discover in this list the impressive deserts in Mexico.
• Gobi desert (China and Mongolia).
• Atacama desert (Chili). In this post learn about the flora and fauna of the Atacama desert.

To learn more examples of desert -type terrestrial ecosystems, you can consult this other article about the largest deserts in the world.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is a terrestrial ecosystem and its characteristicswe recommend that you enter our category of ecosystems.