How do Ecosystems work?

1. How do Ecosystems work? • Definition of ecosystem • Living and non-living interactions • Energy flow • What about nutrients? • On an index card define nutrients?

2. Nutrients • Substance that an organism must obtain from its surroundings for growth and the sustainment of life • These nutrients are necessary for growth therefore must contain the elements necessary for building blocks

3. Questions • What are the four main elements of life? • 1. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen • 2. Carbon, potassium, nitrogen, oxygen • 3. Carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen • 4. Carbon, water, nitrogen, oxygen.

4. Energy Flow, NutrientCycling, & Feeding Relationships • Nutrients (purple) neither enter nor leave cycle • Energy (yellow) is not recycled • Captured by producers • Transferred through consumers (red) • Each transfer loses energy (orange)

5. CARBON • What are the forms of Carbon on our planet? • Carbon dioxide • Sugars • How are these forms cycled? • Photosynthesis • Cellular respiration

6. Carbon facts • Life on Earth is carbon-based. • Carbon is a lively element that readily combines with other elements to make organic compounds. • A lot of your body, and every body, is made of carbon. • Some carbon parts of your body, right now, were parts of living plants only a few months ago. • Plants, through photosynthesis, make carbohydrates that animals eat for food.. • You eat the plants, salad or bread or pasta, or another animal (cow), ate the plants then you ate the animal (meatballs), and pretty soon the carbon that was part of grass became part of you.

7. Carbon facts con’t • Part of the carbon cycle is very fast; the rock-forming part and coal-petroleum--natural gas part takes millions of years. • Enormous amounts of carbon are stored as coal etc • Human impact • In the ocean, sediments are the largest reservoirs of carbon--this carbon is not accessible to life • On land, forests are the largest reservoirs of carbon--up to 80% of the aboveground carbon. Most of it is in the tissues of trees. Russia and the Amazon basin together hold about 45% of the world's forest carbon. • Living organisms are crucial to the carbon cycle.

8. The Carbon Cycle CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 dissolvedin ocean(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) CO2 inatmosphere(reservoir) Reservoirs Processes/Locations Burning offossil fuels Fire Respiration TrophicLevels/Organisms Producers Consumers Consumers Wastes,Dead bodies Wastes,Dead bodies Wastes,Dead bodies Soil bacteria &detritus feeders Soil bacteria &detritus feeders Soil bacteria &detritus feeders

9. Nutrient Cycling • Same pool of nutrients supports all life—past, present, and future • Cycle moves nutrients: • From nonliving to living • From environmental to organisms

10. Atmospheric Cycles (C & N) • Majority of nutrients found in the atmosphere • Atmospheric nutrients get incorporated into living organisms • Carbon—photosynthesis • Nitrogen—nitrogen fixation • Nutrients are returned to the environment • C—respiration (all organisms, detritus feeders, decomposers) • N—decomposers and denitrifying bacteria

11. Nitrogen facts • Nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements on Earth. • 79% of Earth's atmosphere is nitrogen in gas form. • No living cell can exist without nitrogen. • But organisms cannot use nitrogen in gas form. • Multicellular life (plants, animals and fungi) depend almost entirely on bacteria to obtain (or "fix") nitrogen from the air and transform it into a chemical form that plants can use.

12. Importance of Bacteria in Nitrogen cycle • Some of these talented bacteria interlive with legumes such as beans: these take nitrogen out of the air in soils. • Other bacteria live freely in the soil, processing manures and urine, and also helping to decompose dead plants and animals. • A third kind of bacteria lives in the soil and changes "fixed" nitrogen into nitrates,which plants can use. Without these nitrifying bacteria, agricultural fertilizers do not work.

13. Nitrogen Cycle • The Nitrogen cycle has two major beginnings and two major paths. • Nitrogen from soil air (to) nitrogen-fixing bacteria (to) nitrifying bacteria (to) plants (to) animals (to) decomposers • Nitrogen from dead organisms (to) decomposers (to) nitrifying bacteria (to) plants

14. The Nitrogen Cycle Reservoirs Nitrogen inAtmosphereReservoir Nitrogen inAtmosphereReservoir Electrical stormsproduce nitrate Nitrogen inAtmosphereReservoir Processes/Locations TrophicLevels/Organisms Consumers Producers Wastes,Dead bodies Denitrifyingbacteria Uptakebyplants Nitrogen-fixingbacteria inlegume rootsand soil Soil bacteria anddetritus feeders Ammonia& nitrate Ammonia& nitrate Ammonia& nitrate

15. Questions Which of the following statements best describes the movements of energy and nutrients in ecosystems? • 1. Energy and nutrients flow through • 2. Energy cycles and nutrients recycle • 3. Energy increases and nutrients cycle • 4. Energy flows through and nutrients cycle

16. Energy • Two forms • Sunlight • Stored in chemical bonds • Demos

17. Acid Rain • Sulfuric and nitric acids in rain • Result from overloading N and S cycles • Acid rain examples • Adirondack Mountains—dead lakes • Mount Mitchell, N.C.—fog pH = 2.9 • Black Triangle in Europe • Soil pH = 2.2 • Thermal inversions • Infant mortality

18. Greenhouse Effect • Gases which interfere with cooling of Earth • CO2 • Use of fossil fuels • Global deforestation by slash & burn • CFCs (A/C & refrigeration gases) • Methane • NO • Global warming • What might be the consequences of global warming?

19. Greenhouse GasesContribute to Global Warming

20. Global Warming ParallelsCO2 Increases

21. Ozone • O3 layers protect Earth from damage • If received the full strength of sun energy destructive • 19 miles up • Highest point on Earth Mt. Everest • Approx 5 miles • O3 layers can also cause damage when take up all the oxygen molecules • SMOG • Ground level

22. Satellite Image of Antarctic Ozone Hole South America Antarctica The “hole”

23. Questions • A major ecological concern, the Greenhouse Effect, is caused by: • 1. The release of heat energy from burning fossil fuels • 2. The release of carbon dioxide from the burning of wood, coal, and oil • 3. The destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere • 4. Overuse of fertilizers in farming • 5. Global warming

24. Questions What are the results of global warming? 1. Increase in greenhouse effect 2. Increase in greenhouse gases. 3. Increase in earth’s temperature. 4. All of the above

25. Questions • Acid precipitation is the result of interference with which biogeochemical cycles? • 1. sulfur and nitrogen • 2. sulfur and hydrologic • 3. hydrologic and nitrogen • 4. hydrologic and phosphorus