Exploring Ecosystems

What is an ecosystem?

These region are called biomes. Some of these areas

would be prairies, tropical rainforests, and deserts.

Abiotic or non-living factors are important to biotic

or living species. Some abiotic factors are

elevation, nutrients, rainfall, rocks, slope, aspect

to the sun, soil, temperature, and wind.

Abiotic Factors

Some abiotic influences might be altitude, clouds, rocks,

and soil.

This area might be high above timberline in the

mountains of Colorado.

Biotic factors

Living things- plants,,

animals, microbes etc.

Garden of the Gods is a city park near the base of

Pikes Peak. From here we can see four of the five

life zones (ecosystems) of Colorado’s Front

Range ecology; foothills, montane, sub-alpine,

and alpine.

The plains are the fifth life zone found on the front

range in Colorado.

Plains

FoothillsMontane

Subalpine

Alpine

High elevationsColder

The temperature decreases 3 degrees

per 1000-foot rise)

Shorter frost-free season (6 weeks)

Snow possible any month

Average 40 inches in the Colorado alpine.

More rain/snow

Low elevationWarmer

Less Rain/snow

Longer frost-free season

Colorado Springs - 21 weeks

(average in Colorado Springs

is 15.4 inches)

Ecological changes due to increasing elevation are

similar to those caused by increasing latitude. A trip

up Pikes Peak is like a trip to the Arctic tundra, except

the Arctic has extreme seasonal differences in daylight,

and the a lpine receives more intense sunlight.

As elevation changes, life

zones and climates change.