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BLEND — The Five Components of an Ecosystem
- B — Biotic (living: plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, decomposers)
- L — Links (food webs, energy flow, feeding relationships)
- E — Energy (flows in one direction; 10% passes between trophic levels)
- N — Nutrient cycling (three stores: Biomass, Litter, Soil)
- D — Distribution (biomes: controlled by latitude, precipitation, ocean currents, altitude)
The 10% Rule — Visualised
Picture a leaky bucket. You pour in 10,000 kJ of sunlight. The bucket has a hole — 90% leaks out at each pour. After the first pour into the grasshopper, only 1,000 kJ remains. Pour again into the frog: 100 kJ. Pour into the snake: 10 kJ. Pour into the hawk: 1 kJ. After four links, you have only one ten-thousandth of the original energy. That is why food chains end — not because predators run out of space, but because they run out of energy.
BLS — The Nutrient Cycle Stores
Remember the three stores as BLS: Biomass → Litter → Soil. Nutrients flow: living things die (B→L), decomposers break them down (L→S), plants absorb nutrients through roots (S→B). The cycle restarts. In a TRF: giant B, tiny L, tiny S. In a desert: tiny B, tiny L, medium S.
LAODA — Why Biomes Are Where They Are
- Latitude (distance from equator → controls temperature)
- Atmospheric pressure belts (rising air at equator = rain; descending air at 25–30° = desert)
- Ocean currents (Gulf Stream warms NW Europe; cold currents create fog deserts)
- Distance from sea / continentality (coasts = moderate; interiors = extreme)
- Altitude (temperature falls 6.5°C per 1,000 m)
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