Forest Ecosystem
It is an example of terrestrial ecosystem. Unlike a pond, the ecosystem here is complex with many ecosystems operating, one within the other. Being large, there are different strata of layers of plant covers with different species of herbivores and predators, whose population is regulated by space, food, water, parasites and natural disasters. The same ecological principles operate here also.
There are aoutotrophs, herbivores, carnivores and decomposers but with different species composition from the ones we have discussed in pond ecosystem. In most forest environments, the rate of which litter (dead organic matter to the soil in the form of leaves, barks, stems etc.) is added equals the rate at which it is removed by decomposition. When dead materials decay they form humus, which is functionally of great importance.
The humus acts as a reservoir holding minerals and water until they are absorbed by plants, or in other words “recycled”. Hence, the humus helps build a balanced ecosystem.
