Ecosystem

3. The ecological recovery process in an area where a disturbance has destroyed the community, but left the soil intact
9. The total dry mass of all living organisms present within a specific trophic level or area.
10. The process by which water vapor in the air cools and changes back into liquid water droplets, forming clouds.
14. The non-living chemical and physical components of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, temperature, and water.
16. Organisms that form the base of the food web and ecological pyramids by creating their own energy.
18. Organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that break down dead or decaying organic material.
19. The process of ecological growth that occurs in an entirely new habitat completely devoid of soil
20. The hierarchical feeding steps or positions in a food chain or energy pyramid.

1. Any liquid or frozen water (like rain, snow, or hail) that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth.
2. Organisms that must eat other organisms to obtain energy and nutrients.
4. Organisms that are capable of making their own food using light or chemical energy (also known as self-feeders).
5. Organisms that cannot synthesize their own food and must rely on consuming other organisms for energy.
6. The process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere.
7. An animal that gets its energy by eating only plants.
8. The very first hardy organisms, such as lichens, to colonize a barren environment during ecological succession.
11. An organism that eats a diet consisting of both plants and animals.
12. A graphical representation showing the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next, with the largest amount at the base.
13. The stage of the water cycle where liquid water turns into a gas or vapor due to heat.
15. The living components of an ecosystem, including all plants, animals, and bacteria.
17. An animal that gets its energy by eating only meat.