Ecosystem Sustainability

Energy and the Greenhouse Effect

Of the solar energy that reaches the outer

atmosphere:
About one-quarter is reflected by clouds and the
atmosphere.
Another quarter is absorbed by carbon dioxide water
vapor, ozone and a few other gases.
About half reaches the earths surface.

Energy and the Greenhouse Effect

Surfaces that reflect energy have a high albedo
(Reflectivity).
Fresh clean snow 90%
Dark soil 3%
Net average of earth 30%

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 Energy and the Greenhouse Effect
Most solar energy reaching the earth is visible
light.
Energy reemitted by the earth is mainly infrared
radiation (heat energy).
Longer wavelengths are absorbed in the lower
atmosphere, trapping heat close to the earths surface.
Greenhouse Effect
Increasing atmospheric CO2 due to human activities appears
to be causing global warming.

Energy and the Greenhouse Effect

Energy and the Greenhouse Effect

A greenhouse is a building
where plants are cultivated
built of glass or plastic;
Greenhouses thus work by
trapping electromagnetic
radiation and preventing
convection.
The glass used works as a
selective transmission
medium for different
spectral frequencies
to trap energy within the
greenhouse, which heats both
the plants and the ground
This warms the air near the
ground, and this air is
prevented from rising

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 Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse
effect is a natural
process in which
heattrapping
gases (CO2, H2O,
etc.) trap heat in
the troposphere.
Without the
greenhouse effect,
Earth would be
cold and lifeless.

Abiotic Factors
The abiotic factors determine the type of organisms that can
successfully live in a particular area. Some of the major
nonliving factors of an ecosystem include:
sunlight -- necessary for photosynthesis
water -- all living things require some water, but some can live with lesser
amounts
temperature -- all living things have a range of temperatures in which they
can survive; beyond those limits they will have difficult time
oxygen -- many living things require oxygen; it is necessary for cellular
respiration, a process used to obtain energy from food; others are actually
killed by the presence of oxygen (certain bacteria)
soil -- the type of soil, pH, amount of water it holds, available nutrients,
etc determine what type of organism can successfully live in or on the soil;
for example, cacti live in sand, cattails in soil saturated with water

Biotic Factors
Biotic factors include the plants, animals, fungi, bacteria
and any other living things that live in an area.
Categories include:
Producers or autotrophs make their own food. Producers, such
as plants, make food through a process called photosynthesis.
In photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide and water to
make sugar. This food is used by the plant for its own energy
or may be eaten by consumers.
Consumers or heterotrophs need to eat food that autotrophs
have produced. There are different types of consumers.
Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat animals. Omnivores eat
both plants and animals.
Decomposers are heterotrophs that break down dead tissue and
waste products. They play a very important role in the
ecosystem because they recycle nutrients. Bacteria and fungi
are decomposers.

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 Energy for Life

A considerable amount of energy is lost between

one organism and the next in any food chain, so
the length of each chain is limited

Food Chain

PRODUCERS

HERBIVORES

CARNIVORES
DECOMPOSERS

Food Chains -
The phrase 'food chain' is a way of indicating how energy
moves through an ecosystem.
Components of a Food Chain:
Plants - 'base' of the food chain
Herbivores - feed on plants; many are adapted to live on a diet high in
cellulose
Omnivores - feed on both plants and animals
Carnivores - feed on herbivores, omnivores, & other carnivores
lst level carnivore - feeds on herbivores
2nd level carnivore - feeds on 1st level carnivores
Decomposers
the 'final' consumer group
use energy available in dead plants and animals
transform organic material into inorganic material
Food chains are more often called food webs because no
organism lives solely on another:

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 Stages of Food Chain
Grazing food chain
Begins with the photosynthetic fixation of light, carbon dioxide,
and water by plants (primary producers) who produce sugars
and other organic molecules. Once produced, these compounds
can be used to create the various types of plant tissues.
Primary consumers or herbivores form the second link in the
grazing food chain. They gain their energy by consuming
primary producers. Secondary consumers or primary carnivores,
the third link in the chain, gain their energy by consuming
herbivores.
Tertiary consumers or secondary carnivores are animals that
receive their organic energy by consuming primary carnivores.

Stages of Food Chain

Detrital food chain
The detritus food chain differs from the grazing food chain in
several ways:
the organisms making it up are generally smaller (like algae,
bacteria, fungi, insects, & centipedes)
the functional roles of the different organisms do not fall as
neatly into categories like the grazing food chain's trophic
levels.
detritivores live in environments (like the soil) rich in
scattered food particles. As a result, decomposers are less
motile than herbivores or carnivores.
Decomposers process large amounts of organic matter,
converting it back into its inorganic nutrient form.

Habitat
All living things have a habitat or the physical area where they live
The habitat of an organism varies depending on their basic needs
Think of the various places you might find a mouse; in a field, a garden and in
the walls of your house.
Migratory animals have different habitats during different seasons.
Some birds that live in Kentucky during summer spend the winter in Mexico
and Central America.
If events occur to change a habitat a series of changes may result in
the ecosystem.
cutting the trees in a forest destroys
the homes of some animals
increases the amount of light
that reaches the forest floor
reduces the food for organisms
that depend on those trees
reduces CO2 taken from the air and O2
As a result of this habitat destruction,
some organisms may become threatened, endangered and eventually extinct.

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 Important processes in ecosystems:

Photosynthesis
carried out by plants (with chlorophyll)
rate is influenced by light intensity, temperature, and availability of water
Decomposition
reverse of photosynthesis, with organic matter being converted into
inorganic compounds (like carbon dioxide)
accomplished by decomposers:
microorganisms like bacteria & fungi
larger organisms like earthworms
Herbivory - the eating of plants by animals of various types
Carnivory - the eating of animals by other animals

Factors that influence the distribution of

plants and animals?
Temperature - the ability to withstand extremes in temperature varies widely among
plants & animals
Animals respond to variation in temperature both physiologically and behaviorally.
Birds and mammals are endotherms ('hot-blooded') & maintain relatively high body
temperatures using the heat by their own metabolism. Other animals (such as
reptiles, amphibians, fish, & insects) are called ectotherms & their body
temperatures are largely set by the ambient (surrounding) temperature.
Ectotherms - use sources of heat such as solar radiation (direct and indirect) &
conduction to help adjust their body temperature
Endotherms - may maintain body temperature by:
changing the position of fur or feathers (like the Carolina Chickadee below)
sweating & panting
shivering
behavioral means such as seeking shade or water, burrowing, or varying periods of activity
Endotherms - may avoid extended periods of low or high temperatures by
hibernating or estivating
Hibernation - winter dormancy
Estivation - summer dormancy
common among some desert animals (permits conservation of water)

Factors that influence the distribution of

plants and animals?
Temperature - the ability to withstand extremes in temperature varies widely
among plants & animals
Plants - obviously cannot move to escape high or low temperatures
photosynthesis slows down or stops when temperatures get too high
or too low
at high temperatures, leaves can lose some heat by
evapotranspiration (loss of water through small holes in leaves)
plants adapted to withstand low temperatures:
may have hairs on leaves or stems
have more solutes in cytoplasm to reduce freezing point
tend to be short and grow closely together to resist the cold
temperatures and wind
tend to be dark-colored to absorb as much of the suns heat as
possible

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Factors that influence the distribution of
plants and animals?
Water
precipitation determines, along with
mean temperature, the world-wide
distribution of biomes
Primary problem for plants in areas
like deserts is a lack of water.
Plants adapted for arid conditions
include:
Xerophytes, such as cacti (pictured Perennials, survive by
below) and joshua trees, that usually becoming dormant during
have special means of storing and dry periods, then
conserving water. They often have few springing to life when
or no leaves, which reduces water becomes available.
transpiration. Ephemerals, they grow
Phreatophytes - plants that grow quickly, flower and
extremely long roots, allowing them to produce seeds before
acquire moisture at or near the water dying. They remain
table. dormant, resisting
drought and heat, until the
following spring when

Factors that influence the distribution of

plants and animals?
Light
influences daily and seasonal activity patterns of plants and
animals
necessary for photosynthesis which, in turn, is the source of
energy in almost all ecosystems
Energy flow through an ecosystem:
Gross primary production = all the sun's energy that
is assimilated (total photosynthesis)
Respiration = energy needed for maintenance and
reproduction
Net primary production
energy remaining after respiration & stored as
organic matter
energy available to other organisms in a food
chain (or food web)

Factors that influence the distribution of

plants and animals?

Fire:
Historically, humans have
thought that all fires were
detrimental because they
blackened landscapes and
burned trees. In fact, plants
and animals evolved together
with fire, making it a
necessary element in the
survival of many ecosystems.

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 The Role of Fire in Ecosystems.
Fire is an essential component of many ecosystems.
In some ecosystems, plants and animals have adapted to periodic fire, and some
are dependant on burning.
For example, Lodgepole pine cones are held closed with a resin. Fire melts the resin
and allows the cone to open and release seeds. Suppressing fire in fire-dependent
ecosystems short-circuits their ecological processes as surely as removing water
would. Fires in these ecosystems typically burn quickly. The fuel load is low because
periodic fires prevent fuel build up & fires do not burn with great heat.
Established plants and the soil are usually not adversely affected, & species dependant
on fire retain their natural cycles.
In contrast, fire suppression in fire-dependent ecosystems allows dead grass,
brush, wood, leaves and needles to accumulate & may lead to abnormally big, hot
fires that can do more damage.
Fires are caused by lightning and people.
People set fires to clear land for agriculture, to alter plant communities & attract a
diversity of game species, and to improve access.
Today, land managers use fire as an important tool in managing fire-dependent
ecosytems.

A considerable amount of energy is lost between

one organism and the next in any food chain, so
the length of each chain is limited

PRODUCERS
FOOD CHAIN
HERBIVORES DECOMPOSERS

CARNIVORES

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 Food Chains -

The phrase 'food chain' is a way of indicating how energy

moves through an ecosystem.
Components of a Food Chain:
Plants - 'base' of the food chain
Herbivores - feed on plants; many are adapted to live on a diet high in
cellulose
Omnivores - feed on both plants and animals
Carnivores - feed on herbivores, omnivores, & other carnivores
lst level carnivore - feeds on herbivores
2nd level carnivore - feeds on 1st level carnivores
Decomposers
the 'final' consumer group
use energy available in dead plants and animals
transform organic material into inorganic material
Food chains are more often called food webs because no
organism lives solely on another:

Stages of Food Chain

Grazing food chain

Begins with the photosynthetic fixation of light, carbon dioxide,
and water by plants (primary producers) who produce sugars
and other organic molecules. Once produced, these compounds
can be used to create the various types of plant tissues.
Primary consumers or herbivores form the second link in the
grazing food chain. They gain their energy by consuming
primary producers. Secondary consumers or primary carnivores,
the third link in the chain, gain their energy by consuming
herbivores.
Tertiary consumers or secondary carnivores are animals that
receive their organic energy by consuming primary carnivores.

Stages of Food Chain

Detrital food chain

The detritus food chain differs from the grazing food chain in
several ways:
the organisms making it up are generally smaller (like algae,
bacteria, fungi, insects, & centipedes)
the functional roles of the different organisms do not fall as
neatly into categories like the grazing food chain's trophic
levels.
detritivores live in environments (like the soil) rich in
scattered food particles. As a result, decomposers are less
motile than herbivores or carnivores.
Decomposers process large amounts of organic matter,
converting it back into its inorganic nutrient form.