Great Sand Dunes National Park Ecosystem
Although there are many ecosystems in Great Sand Dunes National Park, the one that it is most famous for is it's desert ecosystem. So, since there are too many ecosystems to describe, I will describe only the ecosystem of the sand dunes.
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Without both biotic factors and abiotic factors working together, there would be no ecosystem. Here is a list of some important biotic and abiotic factors in this desert ecosystem:
Biotic Factors
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Abiotic Factors
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Maintaining Balance
To keep the balance of an ecosystem, there must be enough food and water for organisms to thrive, as well as having a moderate temperature. However, there must also be limiting factors so that the population doesn't grow to be too huge. Since the sand dunes are a desert ecosystem, their biggest limiting factor is the lack of water. All of the plants and animals who want to live in the sand dunes have to have some way to get enough water, or to live on very little water. Another limiting factor is the sand. Since sand is made of very large and loose grains, it is hard for plants to thrive without blowing away. As a result of these limiting factors, all organisms living on the dunefield are fairly tough. They can go a long time without consuming water, and the plants have adaptations to help them anchor to the sandy ground. Also as a result of these limiting factors, the desert environment rarely brings new organisms in.
Threats of the Environment:
There are no really drastic things happening to the dunefield that could be a potential threat to it's ecosystem. One thing that may be concerning, however, is the wind. Because the top layer of the sand dunes are very loose, wind causes some dunes to rearrange very slightly. If this happens in large quantities, the ecosystem could be threatened. But there is no real threat of this right now because of all of the plants and shrubs that have adapted to live in the dunes. The plants act as anchors and anchor the sand to the dunes. Also, most of the sand dunes are actually made of fairly moist sand. It's only the top few inches that are dry and prone to moving around. Because of this, there are no drastic efforts to conserve the dunes right now. But will there be more threats to this ecosystem? Only time will tell.