Epping Forest - a small scale UK ecosystem

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3 reviews
Last updated: 15/11/2023
Epping Forest - a small scale UK ecosystem
Main Subject
Key stage
Category
Geography
Inside
Includes answers
Resource type
Assessment
Complete lesson
Student activity

Use this resource for studying an example of a small scale UK ecosystem. The activities included will help students to create a mind map summarising key information about Epping Forest as a case study for GCSE geography.

Students will learn about habitats, biodiversity and the interdependence of this small scale ecosystem with a range of tasks to build their notes and their case study knowledge. There is also a final fact file task to recap their learning and an exam-style question to complete.

Learning objectives:

  • Students understand that ecosystems exist at a range of scales and involve the interaction between biotic and abiotic components.
  • Students gain an overview of the distribution and characteristics of temperate deciduous forest – a large scale global ecosystem.
  • Students learn about Epping Forest as an example of a temperate deciduous forest and a small scale UK ecosystem.

The resource includes a lesson PowerPoint and students worksheets plus teaching notes to offer guidance and provide answers.

Epping Forest ecosystem fact file

Epping Forest is an area of temperate...................... woodland with broad leaf trees such as oak, .................... and elm, in south-east England.  Most of the forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and many of the insects and .......................  are protected by law. Epping Forest is a small-scale ecosystem and a natural place where the life-cycles of plants, animals and other .....................................  are linked to each other and to the non-living parts of the environment to form a .....................................  system. It depends on energy flows and nutrient cycling. All ecosystems can be divided into the living or ...................... components which comprises all organisms: plants, animals, bacteria and fungi; and the physical, non-living or ................................  components, which include temperature, .........................  , light, wind  and nutrients in the soil. The soil beneath the forest is a fertile .....................  earth. The nutrient cycle plays an important role in the forest. In the autumn, the leaves fall from the ..................... and decompose, giving the soil its nutrients. ...................  in the soil help to mix the nutrients, and blend the layers within the soil. The tree ................................  are deep so help to break up the rock below. This helps to give the soil more minerals. The trees take up the ......................  in the soil as they grow in the summer. However, more nutrients are put back in the soil when the .....................................  comes.

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