Download A woodland ecosystem - Forest of Avon Trust

A woodland ecosystem
The diagram shows an oak tree ecosystem. Note that different living things inhabit
different zones or layers from the bottom to the top:
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First there is the zone of roots, soil and leaf-litter beneath the tree. Here
decomposers such as bacteria, woodlice, and earthworms feed off last year's
leaves and acorns, and fungi grow on its roots.
Next is the trunk layer, which provides shelter or food to insects, caterpillars
and larvae.
Finally comes the branches, leaves and canopy. In this zone bees gather pollen
and nectar, fungi grow on the leaves, gall wasps and moths lay their eggs, and
squirrels gather acorns. Small birds such as bluetits hunt the moth larvae; and
sparrowhawks hunt the small birds.
An oak tree ecosystem. Each zone of the tree is home to a distinctive community of
organisms
Each of the organisms in this ecosystem has a particular way of fitting into the oak
tree environment - they each occupy a niche within the ecosystem. For example the
blue tits and the squirrels, though they both inhabit the same tree, do not directly
compete for food: the squirrels feed on acorns, while the tits feed on moth larvae. The
two species occupy different niches within the oak ecosystem.