B. Quadrat Sampling

For quadrat sampling, 50cm piece of string was attached to a stick so that the string will form a circle with 50cm radius. 

Various life forms in the forest (back of Korea International School) was sampled.

#1 Quadrat Sampling

1-tree

1-group of moss

17-thin branches

2-thick branches

1-bug

2-plant stem

60+-pine needles

100+-dead leaves

#2 Quadrat Sampling

27-dried vines

2-thick branches

12-thin branches

1-group of new growing plants

1-tree

100+-dead leaves

100+-pine needles

#3 Quadrat Sampling

9-flowers

23-green leaves

8-thin branches

38-dried vines

100+-pine needles

100+-dead leaves

#4 Quadrat Sampling

21-green plants

32-dead leaves

1-thick branch

8-thin branch

100+-pine needles

#5 Quadrat Sampling

8-New growing plants

37-dead leaves

4-pine corns

1-bee

7-sticks of branches

100+-pine needles

A. Levels of Organization

• Organism
-An organism is an individual living thing.
-A tree is an organism since it is an individual living thing with it's own species.

• Population-A populations is a group of the same species that lives in one area
  -Trees, group of same species that lives in one region, are example of population.

• Community-A community is a group of different species that live together in one area.-This picture shows that different species including: different types of trees, different types of flowers, dead leaves, branches, even small bugs are living in one area which is a community.

• Ecosystem-An ecosystem includes all of the organisms. Even including nonliving things in a given area.
  -This picture contains soil, grass, dried grass, rocks and even nonliving things that are man-made which forms an ecosystem.

• Biome
  -A biome is a major regional or global community of organisms.
  -This picture portrays a large naturally occurring community of a major habitat at back of Korea International School (forest). 

D

• Producer/autotroph-definition and example from study site (with labelled picture)
-Producers are organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources, meaning they make their own food. Producers can also be called as autotroph.
-Grass is an example of producers because grass gets its energy from sunlight, water and soil which are abiotic/nonliving factors.

• Consumer/Heterotroph:-Consumers are organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources. Consumers are also called heterotrophs.
  -Salamander is an example of consumer because it gets energy from other living things.

• Food chain:-Food chain is a sequence that links species by their feeding relationships. This model chain only follows the connection between one producer and a single chain of consumers within an ecosystem.
  -This picture shows food chain because it has a producer and consumers that cycles around. 

• Herbivore:-Herbivores are organisms that only eat plants.
  -A deer only eats plants which describes that deers are herbivores. 

• Carnivore:-Carnivores are organisms that only eat animals.
  -Spider is a carnivore because it only eats animal or dead animals. 

• Omnivores:-Omnivores are organisms that eat both plants and animals.
  -Bears are omnivores because they eat both animals and plants.

• Detritivores:-Detritivores are organisms that eat detritus/ or dead organic matter.
  -Worms are detritivores because it eats dead organic matters.

• Decomposers:-Decomposers are detritivores that break down organic matter into simpler compounds. These are important to the stability of an ecosystem because they return vital nutrients back into the environment.-Fungi is decomposer because it returns nutrients to the environment. 

• Specialist:-Specialist is a consumers that primarily eats one specific organisms or feed on a very small number of organisms.
  -Pandas are specialists because they usually ONLY eat bamboo which shows that they only consume one specific organism.

• Trophic levels (primary, secondary and tertiary):-Trophic levels are the levels or nourishment in a food chain. (Producer-herbivore-carnivore chain has three trophic levels)
  -Primary:Herbivores (such as grass that is supplied by abiotic factors)
  -Secondary: Carnivores that eat the herbivores (such as zebra that only eats herbivores, grass)
  -Tertiary: Carnivores that eat the secondary consumers (such as lion which eats zebra, secondary consumer)

• Food web:-A food web is a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem.

• Biomass:-Biomass is a measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area. (When a consumer incorporates the biomass of a producer into its own biomass, a great deal of energy is lost in the process as heat and waste)
  -Grass/dried grass are total biomass of the area of study, Korea International School

• Energy pyramid:-An energy pyramid is a diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers, and other trophic levels. It also describes how available energy is distributed among trophic levels in an ecosystem.
  

C. Biotic and Abiotic Factors/ keystone species

• Biotic and Abiotic Factors

-Biotic factors are living things and each organism plays a particular role in the ecosystem.

For example: plants, worms, tree and moss/bacteria on trees are
biotic factors.

-Abiotic factors are nonliving things which balance of determines which living things can survive in a particular environment

For example: moisture, temperature, wind, sunlight and soil are abiotic factor

• Biodiversity-variety of life within an area
-This picture is an example of biodiversity because it shows variety of different lives living in a certain area. There are flowers, moss, tree, branches and vines. 

• keystone species and how a beaver is an example
  -A keystone species is a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem.
  -By felling trees to construct dams, beavers change free-flowing stream habitats into ponds, wetlands, and meadows.
  -This modification leads to a cascade of changes within their ecosystem.

The Area of Study!