Topic 9: Ecosystems and material cycles – GCSE Edexcel Higher Biology revision notes

What this topic covers

Topic 9: Ecosystems and material cycles has 6 subtopics:

• Adaptations, interdependence and competition
• Organisation of an ecosystem
• Biodiversity and the effect of human interaction on ecosystems
• Trophic levels in an ecosystem (biology only)
• Food production (biology only)
• Additional ecosystem anchors

Topic 9: Ecosystems and material cycles lessons by subtopic

41 lessons, grouped by subtopic.

Adaptations, interdependence and competition

• Understanding Ecosystems and Their Organisation
• Competition and Survival in Communities
• Interdependence and Community Stability
• Physical Abiotic Factors in Ecosystems
• Chemical Abiotic Factors and Specialized Environments
• Analyzing the Impact of Abiotic Changes on Communities
• Living Factors Affecting Communities
• Analyzing Changes in Communities
• Types of Adaptations
• Extremophiles and Extreme Environments

Organisation of an ecosystem

• Working with ecological data
• Producers and feeding relationships
• Studying ecosystems and predator-prey relationships
• Material cycling in ecosystems
• The carbon and water cycles
• Microorganisms in material cycling
• Factors Affecting Decomposition and Rate Calculations
• Practical Applications of Decomposition
• Environmental Factors Affecting Ecosystems
• Evaluating Environmental Change Impact

Biodiversity and the effect of human interaction on ecosystems

• What is Biodiversity and Why Does it Matter?
• Human Impact on Biodiversity
• Types and Sources of Pollution
• Human Impact on Pollution and Biodiversity
• How Human Activities Reduce Land for Wildlife
• Causes of Large-Scale Deforestation
• Understanding Global Warming and Its Biological Impact
• Human Impacts on Biodiversity
• Conservation Programmes and Habitat Protection
• Global and Local Environmental Solutions

Trophic levels in an ecosystem (biology only)

• Understanding Trophic Levels in Ecosystems
• The Role of Decomposers in Ecosystems
• Understanding Pyramids of Biomass
• Pyramids of Biomass and Energy Transfer
• Why Biomass is Lost Between Trophic Levels
• Calculating Biomass Transfer Efficiency

Food production (biology only)

• What is Food Security and Its Challenges
• Biological and Environmental Threats to Food Security
• Improving Food Production Efficiency in Farming
• Declining Fish Stocks and Their Conservation

Additional ecosystem anchors

• Potable water, the nitrogen cycle and indicator species

More in this course

Go back to the full GCSE Edexcel Higher Biology topic list, or practise this topic with past-paper questions.