CHAPTER 4 – THE ENERGY AND ECOSYSTEMS
(PART 3)
The Energy Budget of the Earth
A system's energy budget details not just the
rates of energy intake and output, but also any
internal transformations that occur between
the system's different states, including changes
in the amounts that are stored. The primary
components of the Earth's physical energy
budget are shown in figure 4.2 below.
When measured near the edge of the
atmosphere, the rate at which solar energy is
absorbed by Earth is around 8.36 joules per
square centimeter per minute, which is
equivalent to 2.00 calories per square
centimeter per minute. Roughly half of this
energy comes in the form of visible radiation,
while the other half comes in the form of near-
infrared radiation. In the form of longer-
wavelength infrared, the energy that is emitted
by Earth at a rate of around 8.36 J/cm2 /min. As
a result of the fact that the rates of energy
intake and output are equal, there is no net
storage of energy, and the planet's average
surface temperature continues to be
unaffected. As a consequence of this, and as
was said before, the energy budget of Earth
may be understood to be a flow-through system
with a zero-sum outcome.
However, the aforementioned is not entirely
accurate. A negligible quantity of solar energy
has been stored as a result of an accumulation
of uncomposted biomass that, over enormously
extended periods of geological time, has finally
been turned into fossil fuels. This process has
happened over incredibly long scales of
geological time. In addition, very slight long-
term changes in the temperature of the Earth's
surface do occur, and these fluctuations form a
significant component of climate change.
Although there are exceptions to the notion
that the Earth is a flow-through, zero-sum
system for solar energy, they are numerically
insignificant in their significance.
Important Components of the Earth's Physical
Energy Budget are Depicted in Figure 4.2
Clouds, particles, and the surface of the globe
together are responsible for reflecting around
30 percent of the solar energy that strikes the
planet. The remaining 70 percent is absorbed,
and it is subsequently released in a variety of
different ways. The majority of the absorbed
energy is subsequently re-radiated as long-wave
infrared radiation, even though most of it is
used to heat the atmosphere and the surfaces
of the earth. This process of re-radiation is
hindered by the presence of water vapor and
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which
results in the surface remaining much warmer
than it otherwise would be (see also Chapter
17). The proportion of radiation from the sun
that has been received is represented by these
values. Please refer to the text for a more in-
depth explanation of the aspects that are
significant to this energy budget. Source:
Adapted from the work of Schneider (1989).
Even though the amount of energy released by
Earth will ultimately match the amount of solar
radiation that is received, numerous
modifications that are ecologically significant
take place between the original absorption and
the final re-radiation of that energy. These are
the components of the planet's physical energy
budget that are intrinsic to the planet (see
Figure 4.2). The following is a description of the
most significant components:
The atmosphere and surface of the Earth are
responsible for reflecting around 30 percent of
the solar energy that strikes them back into
space. The reflectivity (albedo) of the Earth is
affected by a variety of factors, including the
angle of the incoming solar radiation (which
shifts throughout the day and throughout the
year), the amounts of reflective cloud cover and
atmospheric particulates (both of which are
highly variable), and the nature of the surface,
particularly the types of water (including snow
and ice) and darker vegetation that cover it.
Absorption by the Atmosphere
Gases, vapours, and particles in the
atmosphere, including clouds, are responsible
for absorbing around twenty-five percent of the
incoming solar energy. The rate of absorption
varies depending on the wavelength of the
radiation being absorbed, with sections of the
infrared spectrum being intensely absorbed by
so-called "greenhouse" gases (especially water
vapour and carbon dioxide; see Chapter 17).
The absorbed energy is transformed into heat,
which is then re-radiated as infrared radiation
with a wavelength that is far longer than that
which was first absorbed.
Absorption by the Surface
On average, around 45% of incoming solar
radiation is blocked by the atmosphere before it
can reach the surface of the Earth, where it is
absorbed by both living and non-living elements
at the surface, resulting in a rise in temperature
for those materials. However, this number of
45% is very changeable, depending in part on
the meteorological circumstances, particularly
the amount of cloud cover, and also on whether
or not the incident light has traveled through a
plant canopy. Although over the longer term
(years) and even over the medium term (days),
the global net storage of heat is essentially zero,
there may be significant changes in the net
storage of thermal energy within the year in
certain locations. This is because the Earth's
temperature fluctuates throughout the year.
This happens over the whole of Canada as a
result of the seasonality of its climate, which
means that habitats are much hotter during the
summer than they are during the winter.
However, virtually all of the absorbed energy is
ultimately lost due to re-radiation from the
surface as long-wave infrared. This occurs at
some point in time.
Evapotranspiration
Evaporation of Water The process of
evaporation of water, also known as
evapotranspiration, is caused by the transfer of
some of the heat energy from living surfaces to
non-living surfaces. This process has two
components: the evaporation of water from
lakes, rivers, streams, moist rocks, soil, and
other non-living substrates, and the
transpiration of water from any living surface,
particularly from plant foliage, but also from
moist body surfaces and the lungs of animals.
Evaporation of water from lakes, rivers,
streams, moist rocks, soil, and other non-living
substrates. Transpiration of water from any
living surface, particularly from plant foliage.
The melting of Snow and Ice Absorption of
thermal energy may cause snow and ice to
melt, which represents a transition of energy
connected with a change in the state of water
from a solid to a liquid.
Wind and Water Currents
There is a highly uneven distribution of the
content of thermal energy at and near the
surface of the Earth, with some regions being
quite cold (such as the Arctic) and others being
much warmer warm. The Arctic is one such
region. Wind and Water Currents – There is a
highly uneven distribution of the content of
thermal energy at and near the surface of (the
tropics). Because of these inconsistencies in the
distribution of heat, the earth's surface has
developed mechanisms to reduce the severity
of energy gradients by redistributing mass in
different directions throughout the planet.
These mechanisms include winds and ocean
currents.
Biological Fixation
A relatively little but ecologically significant
percentage of the incoming solar energy (less
than 0.02% on average over the globe) is
absorbed by chlorophyll in plants and algae and
utilized to fuel photosynthesis. This process is
known as biological fixation. This biological
fixation makes it possible to temporarily store
part of the solar energy as potential energy in
biochemicals, which serves as the energetic
foundation for ecological production and life on
Earth.
The Source of Energy in Ecosystems
The absorption of energy by photosynthetic
organisms and the subsequent transmission of
that fixed energy through the trophic levels of
ecosystems are the primary foci of an ecological
energy budget. The term "trophic" refers to the
mechanism through which creatures get their
organic sustenance. Ecologists categorize
creatures according to the kind of energy
sources that they draw upon for survival.
Autotrophs are organisms that are capable of
producing their own complex biochemicals by
the use of simple inorganic materials and an
external source of energy to power the process.
The vast majority are photoautotrophs,
meaning that they get their energy from the sun
rather than any other external source.
Chlorophyll is the photosynthetic pigment that
plays the most significant role in the process of
solar radiation absorption by photoautotrophs.
The most common kind of photoautotrophs are
green plants; however, algae and some types of
bacteria are also able to produce their own food
via photosynthesis.
To power a process known as chemosynthesis, a
significantly lower percentage of autotrophs are
classified as chemoautotrophs. These organisms
are able to extract part of the energy contained
in certain inorganic compounds. For example,
the bacterium Thiobacillus thiooxidans converts
sulfide minerals to sulfate and then utilizes part
of the energy that is freed as a byproduct of this
process to chemosynthesize organic molecules.
Primary producers are autotrophic organisms
that serve as the biological basis for ecological
production. Ecologists refer to these organisms
as "primary producers." Gross primary
production is the term used to describe the
total amount of solar energy that is fixed by all
of the primary producers found within an
ecosystem (GPP). Primary producers put a
portion of their own output to use for their own
respiration (R), which refers to the physiological
processes necessary for them to be healthy and
continue to develop. The oxidation of
biochemicals during the metabolic process is
referred to as respiration. This process calls for
the presence of oxygen and results in the waste
products carbon dioxide and water. After
primary producers have consumed part of GPP
for their own respiration, the amount of GPP
that is referred to as "net primary production"
(NPP) is the percentage that is left over. To put
it another way, NPP equals GPP minus R.
Heterotrophs
All other creatures, which are collectively
referred to as heterotrophs, get their
productivity from the energy that is fixed by
primary producers. Heterotrophs must obtain
the energy they need from other organisms,
whether those organisms are alive or dead.
Herbivores, sometimes known as main
consumers, are a kind of heterotrophic animal
that consumes plants for food; well-known
examples of herbivores include grasshoppers,
geese, and deer. Carnivores, sometimes known
as secondary consumers, are a kind of
heterotroph that feeds on the flesh of other
creatures. Some examples of carnivores are the
timber wolf, the peregrine falcon, sharks, and
spiders. Omnivores are animals that consume
both plant and animal biomass in their diet. The
grizzly bear is an excellent example of an
omnivore, as is our own species. Vultures,
earthworms, and the vast majority of fungus
and bacteria are examples of heterotrophs that
are classified as decomposers or detritivores
since they predominantly consume dead
organic materials as their food source.
Solar energy, which is fixed by chlorophyll in the
plant, is used to combine carbon dioxide, water,
and other simple inorganic compounds into the
complex molecular structures of organic matter
(image 4.3). Plant productivity is maintained by
solar energy, which is used to combine carbon
dioxide, water, and other simple inorganic
compounds. On Sable Island in Nova Scotia,
these ecologists are doing research on the
productive capacity of a plant community. B.
Freedman is cited as the source.
The expression of production as a rate function,
that is, per unit of time and space, is what we
mean when we talk about productivity. In
terrestrial ecosystems, productivity is often
stated in measures such as kilograms of dry
biomass per hectare per year (or its energy
equivalent) (kg/ha-y or kJ/ha-y), but in aquatic
ecosystems, productivity is frequently provided
as grams per cubic metre per year (g/m3-y).
The productivity of ecosystems at their different
trophic levels has been the subject of a
significant number of studies. For instance,
research conducted on a natural oak–pine
forest indicated that the total amount of solar
energy that was fixed by the plants (the yearly
gross primary output) was equal to 4.81 104
kJ/m2-y (48 100 kJ/m2-y). This is a measure of
energy in joules per square meter per year
(Odum, 1993). This particular fixation rate was
less than 0.1 percent of the total yearly intake
of solar radiation. Due to the fact that the
plants' respiration required 2.72 104 kJ/m2-y of
energy, the net primary productivity was
calculated to be 2.09 104 kJ/m2-y. This value
was mostly reflected by the rising biomass of
the trees. In order to maintain their respiration,
the diverse heterotrophic species that lived in
the forest needed 1.26 104 kJ/m2-y of energy.
In the end, the net accumulation of biomass
that was caused by all of the creatures in the
ecosystem (also known as the net ecosystem
productivity) was equal to 0.83 104 kJ/m2-y,
which is equivalent to 8.3 103 kJ/m2-y.
Provides a summary of the key productivities
that may be found in the several major kinds of
ecosystems around the globe. It is important to
take into account the fact that the rate of
production is highest in tropical forests, coral
reefs, wetland areas, and estuaries. The
production of each different kind of ecosystem
may be determined by multiplying the
ecosystem's productivity by the area it covers.
On the other hand, the open ocean and tropical
forests account for the lion's share of the total
output. Take note that the productivity of the
open ocean is very low, but that the ocean as a
whole produces a lot of food since it covers
such a big area.

Primary production throughout the world's

most important ecosystems is outlined in table
4.1. The rank of the ecosystems is determined
by the amount of net primary production.
Productivity is the rate of production that is
normalized to an area and a certain period of
time, whereas production is the total quantity
of biomass (in dry tonnes) generated by an
ecosystem throughout its whole global area.