An Ecological Analysis of the Garden and Our Plants

    Some abiotic factors that my plants depend on for survival are sunlight, water, soil and the minerals in the soil, and air and the carbon dioxide in it. My plant needs those factors to be able to go through photosynthesis and make food. Some biotic factors that affect my plants are butterflies, various insects such as ants, people, small animals like birds or squirrels, and other plants. The butterflies and insects have been eating my plants, creating tiny little holes in the leaves that will eventually destroy them. People and small animals could physically harm them by stepping on them or ripping them. The other plants are competition for the plants’ growth.

    I know my plants are engaged in competition because I can see the tiny weeds that are growing near them. When I go out to check on my plants, I have to do a little weeding to ensure that the plants are the better competitors. The plants are competing for water, sunlight, and space in general. Each plant is fighting to soak up a little more sun and a little more water - to spread out its roots and get bigger. The tiny little plants and the big ones all have the same goal - growing - and they’re all fighting. There competition is mostly the plants around them.

    I don’t think there is ever a real clear cut winner. The main way to determine the stronger plant is to see which grew or produced the most. You can tell if a plant is healthy by looking at it, and sometimes it is clear which plant is better off. What makes determining the winner so complicated is that you don’t know what each plant”s “potential” is. How big is it supposed to grow, and how much water does it need. Each plant is different, and each is fighting.

    One of the most obvious ways our plants are interacting is with the butterflies and caterpillars. There is definitely predation going on. You can see the tiny holes in the leaves where the insects have eaten, and if you look close enough you’ll even notice some butterfly waste on some of the leaves. The butterflies are preying on the weakest of our plants, and gaining nourishment while our plants, unfortunately, weaken.

    There is succession going on in the garden. It is secondary, because plants have already grown here in this old soil. Evidence of succession is in the soil and mulch/fertilizer itself. You can see bits of decomposing plants in the soil. And you can see that plants are growing all around, despite the larger plants. There are bugs in the soil, and insects that have lived in that planter box for a while now.