Clare Robke-Blog Post #4
Like all living things, our Brassica oleracea (broccoli) plant depends on and is affected by many things. These things can be living or not. Some abiotic factors our plant depends on for survival are sunlight, water, soil, carbon dioxide, nitrogen in the form of nitrates, space to grow, and the right temperature. Some biotic factors that affect our plant are other plants in the area, animals, fungi, and bacteria.
I know our plant is engaged in competition because there are many other plants near it that are in the same niche, like other broccoli plants and grass. Our plant is competing with these other producers for the resources of sunlight, water, and space.
In the struggle for these resources, the "winners" are the plants that continue to grow and thrive. The "losers" are the plants that wither and die from not getting what they need to survive. It's not always clear who are the winners versus the losers because the growth or lack thereof isn't immediate. It can take a while to see that one plant is in better position and is getting more sunlight or water than another. But, once certain plants start to "win" it is easier to see the effects of the competition. For example, if one plant is in a better position to receive sunlight, it will grow bigger and block the sun from the smaller plants, so it will just take more sunlight and the difference between the two plants will become greater.
As I mentioned before, our broccoli plant is involved in competition, but it also has many other interactions with the living things in its environment every day. One example of this is our plant's interaction with bacteria in the soil. The bacteria breaks down nitrogen into nitrates that the plants can take in through their roots and use in to make proteins to survive. In return, our broccoli provides the bacteria with rotting plant material to feed on and break down. This mutualism is just one interaction besides competition that our plant engages in.
There is evidence that succession is happening in the garden ecosystem our plant is in because there are now many different plant and animal species all growing and living in what was previously an empty plot of just soil. The type of succession is clearly secondary because there was already soil there. We didn't have to start from scratch with lichens, erosion, etc. The soil was already there, and the succession began when we planted our seeds. Then, animals were attracted and bacteria came, and now there is a small community of plants and animals of varying species where there once was next to nothing.
I know our plant is engaged in competition because there are many other plants near it that are in the same niche, like other broccoli plants and grass. Our plant is competing with these other producers for the resources of sunlight, water, and space.
In the struggle for these resources, the "winners" are the plants that continue to grow and thrive. The "losers" are the plants that wither and die from not getting what they need to survive. It's not always clear who are the winners versus the losers because the growth or lack thereof isn't immediate. It can take a while to see that one plant is in better position and is getting more sunlight or water than another. But, once certain plants start to "win" it is easier to see the effects of the competition. For example, if one plant is in a better position to receive sunlight, it will grow bigger and block the sun from the smaller plants, so it will just take more sunlight and the difference between the two plants will become greater.
As I mentioned before, our broccoli plant is involved in competition, but it also has many other interactions with the living things in its environment every day. One example of this is our plant's interaction with bacteria in the soil. The bacteria breaks down nitrogen into nitrates that the plants can take in through their roots and use in to make proteins to survive. In return, our broccoli provides the bacteria with rotting plant material to feed on and break down. This mutualism is just one interaction besides competition that our plant engages in.
There is evidence that succession is happening in the garden ecosystem our plant is in because there are now many different plant and animal species all growing and living in what was previously an empty plot of just soil. The type of succession is clearly secondary because there was already soil there. We didn't have to start from scratch with lichens, erosion, etc. The soil was already there, and the succession began when we planted our seeds. Then, animals were attracted and bacteria came, and now there is a small community of plants and animals of varying species where there once was next to nothing.
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