UNIT 2.

ECOSYSTEMS
AND
ECOLOGY
 The word ecology was coined by the German
zoologist Ernst Haeckel, who applied the
term oekologie to the “relation of the animal both to
its organic as well as its inorganic environment.”
The word comes from the Greek oikos, meaning
“household,” “home,” or “place to live.” Thus, ecology
deals with the organism and its environment.
The concept of environment includes both other
organisms and physical surroundings. It involves
relationships between individuals within a
population and between individuals of different
populations.
The interactions between individuals, between
populations, and between organisms and their
environment form ecological systems, or ecosystems.
Ecology has been defined variously as “the study of
the interrelationships of organisms with their
environment and each other,” as “the economy of
nature,”again the same root.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/science/ecology
Some tips to remember
1. Use named examples
2. Full name of the animal and plant should be given (preferably using
binomial nomenclature)
i.e. Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar (not fish)
Common oak tree, Quercus humilis (not tree)
3. Give as much detail as possible of ecosystems or habitats
i.e. Rocky shore, North facing, Robin Hood’s bay, Yorkshire, UK.
 2.1 Species and populations
2.2 Communities and ecosystems
2.3 Flows of energy and matter
2.4 Biomes, zonation and succession
2.5 Investigating ecosystems
2.1 Species and populations
What is a species?
A species is a group of
organisms that share
common characteristics and
that interbreed to produce
fertile offspring

Link to speciation (ch3)

What is a population?
A population is a group of organisms of the same species living in the
same area at the same time, and which are capable of interbreeding.
• Population density: average
number of individuals in a
stated area// It could also be
volume.
i.e. Bacteria/ cm3
zooplankton /m3
gazelles/ Km2 Montseny Newt
Scientific name: Carlotriton arnoldi
• Factors affecting population size: IUCN status: Critically Endangered
• Mortality: death rate
• Natality: birth rate
• Migration (immigration: moving into the study area, emigration:
moving away from the study area)
• Limiting factors prevent a population from growing larger
à link to carrying capacity (Verhulst model, ch1)
What is a habitat?
A habitat is the environment in which a species normally lives.
What is a niche?
A niche describes the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and
resources to which an organism or population responds. We can find
the fundamental niche and the realized niche.
 The niche includes:
Fundamental niche • Habitat
Describes the full range of conditions • Availability of
and resources in which a species light, water...
could survive and reproduce. • Area needed
• Response to:
• Resources
Realized niche • Predators
Describes the actual conditions and • Competitors
resources in which a species exists • Relationships with
due to biotic interactions. other other
organisms
 Abiotic factors
The non-living, physical factors that influence the
organisms and ecosystem: temperature, sunlight, pH,
salinity, pollutants, etc.

Biotic factors
The living components of an ecosystem (organisms,
their interactions or their waste) that directly or
indirectly affect another organism.
 No two species can occupy the same niche in the
same place at the same time

common oak fir

Quercus humilis Abies alba
Golden snub-nosed monkey
Scientific name: Rhinopithecus roxellana
IUCN status: Endangered
Kamchatka brown bear
Scientific name: Ursus arctos
IUCN status: least concern
Kamchatka peninsula (Russia)
Walrus (ENG)/Morsa(SPAN)
Scientific name: Odobenus rosmarus
IUCN status: Vulnerable
 Sumatran rhino
Scientific name: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
Sumatran Orangutan
Scientific name: Pongo abelii
IUCN status: Critically endangered
 Fan-throated lizard
Scientific name: Sitana laticeps
IUCN status: not evaluated
 Whale shark
Scientific name: Rhincodon typus
IUCN status: Endangered
IUCN Red List Categories
 Population interactions
Ecosystems contain numerous populations with
complex interactions between them. Those interactions are
considered biotic factors.
Interactions between organisms result in one species having
an effect on the population dynamics of others and on the
carrying capacity of the other’s environment.
The nature of the interactions varies and can be broadly
divided into five specific types: competition, predation,
herbivory, parasitism and mutualism.
 Competition

Individuals compete for resources as

food and space. Populations may
compete with members of their own
species (intraspecific competition)
or with members of other species
that use the same resources
(interspecific competition)

Intraspecific competition
Varanus komodoensis
IUCN status: vulnerable
Competition takes place if a resource is limited (in its supply) and two or
more organisms use it. It results in a decrease of the carrying capacity.

presssure for number

↑ of eggs
good nesting
sites hatching ↓

birth
↑ population
rate ↓

birth
↑ rate population ↓

number of
eggs
↑ competiton
hatching for good ↓
successfully nesting sites
Interspecific competition
spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
and lions ( Panthera leo)

Interspecific competition may result in sharing or

competitive exclusion
 Predation

Predation occurs when one

animal (or, occasionally, a
plant) hunts and eats another
organism.

Example: snowy owl (predator) and lemming (prey)

 Predation
In the strict sense we would be looking at the Lotka- Volterra model,

but in a wider sense it would also include herbivory and parasitism

(traditionally, however, we would classify parasitism as symbiosis)
 Herbivory

Herbivory is an interaction
where an animal feeds on a
plant. The animal that eats
the plant is called a
herbivore.

Example: giraffes (herbivore) and

tree leaves
 Parasitism

Parasitism is the relationship

between two species in
which one species (the
parasite) benefits at the
expense of another (the
host).It is a form of symbiosis.

Example: fleas (parasite)

and dogs (host)
 Mutualism

Mutualism is the relation

between two or more
species in which all benefit
and none suffer. It is also a
form of symbiosis.

Example:
clownfish and sea anemone
G a lá p a
g o s Is la
nds
 Populations interactions ( SUMMARY)

0/- +/- +/0 +/+

amensalism Parasitism & comensalism mutualism

predation
competition Phoresy Metabiosis
(transport) (tanatocresia)
herbivorism carnivorism
Inquilinism
interespecific intraespecific (housing)
 mutualism Mutualism?
Mini Quizz
Can you identify the
https://www.youtube.com/w
following interactions? atch?v=emSZnbqLjaM

metabiosis inquilinism

phoresis

mutualism
How do populations
change?
 Over time, the numbers within a population change. Two types of
population growth patterns may occur depending on specific
environmental conditions (limiting factors):

• A logistic growth pattern (S curve) occurs when limiting factors

eventually slow down the rate of growth

• An exponential growth pattern (J curve) show a “boom and crash”

pattern. The population grows exponentially at first and suddenly
collapses.
 S-population curve

An S-shaped population curve shows

an initial rapid growth (exponential
growth) and then slows down as the
carrying capacity is reached.

Finally, population growth stabilizes

(the graph ‘ flattens’) and then
population fluctuates around a level
that represents the carrying
capacity.

Examples: most large mammals

Carrying capacity is the maximum number
of a species that can be sustainably
supported by a given area.
 Environmental
resistance K carrying
capacity

Stationary phase
Negative acceleration (population stabilizes)
(slow growth)

Exponential phase
(rapid growth)

Lag phase
(slow growth)
 The
environmental
resistance is
the sum of
environmental
factors
restricting the
biotic potential
of a kind of
organism.

(they impose a
limit on the
numerical
increase) https://study.com/academy/lesson/environmental-resistance-definition-
factors-examples.html
 J-population curve
A J-curve shows only exponential growth.
Growth is initially slow and becomes
increasingly rapid; it does not slow down.
The sudden decrease in the population is
called a population crash.

Organisms showing J-shaped curves tend to

produce many offspring rapidly and have
little parental care (e.g. insects such as
locusts).
 Limitation factor
Limiting factors are environmental conditions
that control the rate at which a process (e.g.
population growth) can occur
Population growth can be determined by
density-dependent or density-independent
factors

Density dependent environmental factors are

influenced by the relative size of a population
• These factors include predator numbers,
availability of food and other resources and
the spread of pathogenic diseases

Density independent environmental factors

are not influenced by the relative size of a
population
• These factors include weather and climate
conditions, as well as the occurrence of natural
disasters (e.g. earthquakes)
Source: https://ib.bioninja.com.au/options/option-c-ecology-and-conser/c5-population-ecology/population-growth.html
 Comparison between population curves
Dieback or collapse happens because of overshooting,
that is exceeding the carrying capacity on a long term
basis Overshoot

dieback

Exponential curve Logistic curve

2.2 Communities and ecosystems
2.2 Communities and ecosystems
What is a community?
A community is a group of populations living and interacting with each
other in a common habitat
Chinstrap penguin
Pygoscelis antarcticus
Location: Zavodovski Island
 i Is la nd
do v s k
Zavo
A community contains all the biotic
components of a habitat.
 What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a community and the physical environment it interacts with.
Ecosystems can be divided into three types: marine,
freshwater and terrestrial.

üMarine ecosystems include the sea, estuaries, salt

marshes, and mangroves. Marine ecosystems all have a
high concentration of salt in the water.

üFreshwater ecosystems include rivers, lakes, and wetlands.

üTerrestrial ecosystems include all land-based ecosystems.

Sea iguana
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
 Fernand
in a Is la n
( G a lá p a d
gos Islan
ds)
Scientific name: Indri indri (lemur)
IUCN status: critically endangered
 Every ecosystem contains communities of living
organisms which are interlinked with their sources of
food and the organisms that feed on them. Food chains
and food webs are the basis of these interactions.
As all parts of the Earth have been affected by
human activities, all the ecosystems my be
considered examples of “human affected
ecosystems”.

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Sampling-location-
map-of-Mariana-Trench-seawater-in-red-triangles-and-
sediments-in_fig1_329214937
RESPIRATION
 Respiration can also be considered as a series of inputs, energy
transformations and outputs. It also involves a complex series of
chemical reactions summarized in one equation:
The process of respiration can be thought of a
process with inputs and outputs
INPUTS
Organic matter: carbohydrates, lipids and proteins are broken down to obtain energy
Oxygen

OUTPUTS
Energy is used to perform the living processes:
Respiration itself
Movement
sensitivity
Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
and nutrition
Respiration takes place within all living cells. All organisms must respire
to get energy to stay alive. The inputs are glucose and oxygen. The
outputs are water, carbon dioxide and energy, which is released to be
used and eventually lost as heat.

The equation in the previous slide shows the process known as aerobic
respiration. This occurs when oxygen is present. Some organism, such
as yeast, can respire anaerobically (without oxygen), but it releases less
amount of energy.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
 Food chains begin with the capture of
light energy from the Sun in the process
of photosynthesis.
The process of photosynthesis can be thought of as a series of
inputs, energy transformations and outputs. It involves a
complex series of chemical reactions that can be summarized
in this equation:
üWater and carbon dioxide, together with
sunlight (which is the energy source) are the
INPUTS

üThe OUTPUTS are glucose and oxygen.

Glucose contains chemical energy which is
used by the plant and also by any organism
that feeds on the plant. Oxygen is a waste
product of photosynthesis and is released
into the atmosphere, where it supports the
respiration of other organisms
Glucose is then used as the starting
point to make every other molecule
the organism needs by using chemical
complex pathways:
• Adding N and S to make proteins
• Rearranging C, H, O (and P) to make
lipoproteins and fats
Compensation point

photosynthesis
= Respiration

COMPENSATION POINT: is the point where there is not net release of

Oxygen or carbon dioxide in a plant. The plant is just maintaining itself.
In short, photosynthesis is the
process that leads to the
accumulation of plant biomass
The relationship between photosynthesis and
biomass
Biomass: the quantity of dry organic matter in an organism.
Photosynthesis produces the raw potential for producing biomass.
Animals are totally dependent on the chemicals produced by plants.
Food chains and trophic levels
 The feeding relationships of species
in a system can be modelled using
food chains, food webs and
ecological pyramids.
They portray the flow of energy and matter in an ecosystem from one organism to the next.
A food chain shows the feeding relationships between species in an ecosystem.
Sources of energy
>99% solar energy (photosynthesis)
<1% geothermal energy (chemosynthesis)
 What is a food chain?
A food chain is the flow of energy from one organism to the next

We define trophic level as the position that an organism occupies in a food chain.
A group of organisms in a community occupy the same position in a food chain.
 Organisms are grouped into trophic levels, based on the position
that the organism occupies in the food chain. That hierarchy of
feeding includes the producers and the consumers:

• Producers (autotrophs) make their own food from CO2 and water
using energy from the Sun.

• Consumers (heterotrophs) cannot make their own food so they

feed on other organisms to obtain energy and matter
 !
chemosynthetic organisms are
producers that do not require sunlight to
make their own food.
Trophic level 1 Producer Grass

Trophic level 2 Primary consumer Grasshopper

Trophic level 3 Secondary consumer Mouse

Trophic level 4 Tertiary consumer Owl

Wait… What do we do with the leftovers?
 Organisms are grouped into trophic levels, based on the position
that the organism occupies in the food chain. That hierarchy of
feeding includes the producers and the consumers:

• Producers (autotrophs) make their own food from CO2 and water
using energy from the Sun.

• Consumers (heterotrophs) cannot make their own food so they

feed on other organisms to obtain energy and matter

• Decomposers obtain their energy from dead organisms or feces

or parts of an organism
Planet Earth

Decomposers
Decomposers provide a crucial
service for the ecosystem:

ü They break down dead organisms

ü They release nutrients back into
the cycle
ü They control the spread of disease
Planet Earth earthworms
Key terms
Producers:
üPhytoplankton
ügreen plants

Consumers:
üZooplankton
üHerbivores
üCarnivores
üOmnivores
üDecomposers
SUMMARY: Classification of organisms
(according to the energy source)

AUTOTROPHS Photosynthetic HETEROTROPHS Herbivores (L2)

organisms

Chemosynthetic
carnivores (L3/4)
organisms

Omnivores (L2/3/4)

decomposers:
detritivores
(vultures, smails....)
and Saprotrophs
 What is a food web?
Food chains only illustrate a direct feeding relationship
between one organism and another. The reality is very
different since the diet of almost all consumers is not
limited to a single food species.

This complex network of interrelated food chains is

called FOOD WEB
 What is an ecological pyramid?
An ecological pyramid is a model of the quantitative differences
(differences in numbers) between amounts of living material stored at
each trophic level of a food chain.
Pyramids are usually measured for a given area and time. There are three
types of pyramids:

• Pyramids of numbers
• Pyramids of biomass
• Pyramids of productivity
A pyramid of numbers shows
the number of individuals at
each trophic level in a food
chain at one time. The units
are numbers per unit area.

Quantitative data for each

trophic level are drawn to
scale as horizontal bars
arranged symmetrically
around a central axis.
 Pyramids of numbers (n. of organisms m-2)

However...
A pyramid of biomass
quantifies the amount of
biomass present at each
trophic level at a certain point
in time.

They use units of mass per unit

area (kg/m2 , g/m2)
Pyramids of biomass (n. of organisms* biomass organism m-2)

However...
A pyramid of productivity
shows the flow of energy in an
ecosystem over a period of
time, usually a year. It is
measured in mass or energy
per square metre per year
(kg/m2y or kJ/m2y)

It shows the energy or biomass

being generated and available
as food to the next trophic
level during a fixed period of
time.
Type of pyramid Advantages
Numbers • Gives us a quick overview
• Useful for comparing population
numbers in different seasons
Biomass • Takes account of the size of
organisms, so overcomes some of
the problems of pyramids of
numbers
Productivity • Shows energy transferred over a
period of time, so allows for
different rates of production
• Ecosystems can be compared easily
• Pyramids are never inverted
Disadvantages
• No account is taken of the size of organisms, so
pyramids that involve large producers such as
trees are inverted
• Numbers can be too great to represent accurately
• Only uses samples from populations, so difficult to
measure biomass exactly
• Organisms must be killed to measure dry mass
• Seasonal variation leads to inverted pyramids
• Some animals have a lot of bone or shell, which
can distort the results
• Data is difficult to collect, as rate of biomass
production over time must be measured
• Many species feed at more than one trophic level
which can affect the results (this is true for all
pyramids)
Page 74
BIOACCUMULATION
AND
BIOMAGNIFICATION
Certain substances (pollutants) may accumulate in food chains as animals
feed or are eaten because they are not biodegradable (they don’t break
down easily in the environment or in organisms’ bodies).

This leads to the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification.

 Bioaccumulation
is the build-up of persistent pollutants within
an organism or trophic level because it is not
biodegradable

Biomagnification
is the increase in concentration of persistent
pollutants along a food chain
Page 75
Case study 1:
The story of DDT
1. What is DDT?
2. Why was DDT used in the early 1900s?
3. How does DDT enter a food web?
4. Where is DDT currently produced?
5. What is the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants? How is the
convention related to DDT?
6. What is the relationship between the trophic level of an organism and the
concentration of DDT in its body?
7. What effects does DDT have on wildlife?
8. What happens to DDT in the environment?
9. How many countries still use DDT?
10. Does DDT accumulate in humans? Explain why these characteristics are undesirable
in a pesticide. What characteristics would you want in a pesticide to make it less
harmful to non-pest organisms?
11. Why is DDT still used in some parts of the world today, even though its risks are well
known?
12. How is DDT used to control malaria?
2.3 Flows of energy and matter
a) FLOWS OF ENERGY
 Movements (flows) of energy and
matter link ecosystems together.

The primary source of energy for life on

Earth is the Sun, and this energy
drives these flows.
 Please note
that for us
BIOMASS = ENERGY
 31%
Earth’s energy budget Scattered to
space

6% 17% 3%

Total absorption:
69%
Absorption
Total reflection: 3% clouds
17% dust &

31% molecules in the atm

Absorption
49% soil and water
0.05-0.06% plants
Fun fact: only 0.05% of light energy
falling on the Earth is captured by
plants and converted to glucose
thanks to photosynthesis.
0.05% of the energy received by the Earth is
captured by plants, if we consider that 100%...
passes
throuh 5%
the leaf

reflected
5%

lost (heat dissipation)

50 %

absorbed Not useful 31 %

40 % Useful Gross Productivity of the plant 6-5 %
9% Net Productivity of the plant
2-3 %
Key term: PRODUCTIVITY

The conversion of energy into biomass for a

given period of time is measured as
PRODUCTIVITY.
It occurs at each level of a food chain, and
depending on where productivity occurs, it is
referred as primary or secondary productivity.
 Key term: PRODUCTIVITY
Primary productivity:
The production of chemical energy or biomass by
autotrophs (producers). It is measured as biomass
or energy per unit area per unit time.

Secondary productivity:
The biomass gained by heterotrophs through
feeding and absorption. It is also measured in units
of mass or energy per unit area per unit time.
PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (producers)

GROSS PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (GPP) NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY (NPP)

GPP is the total energy converted by photosynthesis NPP= GPP- Respiratory loss

(Remember, plants are the first organisms in the This is the increase in biomass of the plant: how much
production chain, they fix light energy and convert it it grows and the amount of biomass that is potentially
into sugars) available to consumers that eat the plant
Primary
productivity
SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY (consumers)

GROSS SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY (GPP) NET SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY (NPP)

GSP is the total energy/biomass assimilated by

consumers and it is calculated by subtracting the mass
of fecal loss from the mass of food eaten: NSP= GSP- Respiratory loss

GSP: food eaten-fecal loss

 Net Secondary productivity

Respiration

40%
Assimilated Removed as N waste
food Energy (excretion)

NPP Stored in the dry mass

consumed by
the herbivore
60% egestion
(faeces)

Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons)

 Primary consumers vs. Secondary consumers
Energy Herbivore carnivore
(L2) (L3)

Assimilated 40% 80%

Egested 60% 20%

• There is a high efficiency in the assimilation by

canivores but there are parts of the prey which are
not used (horns, bones, skin)
• Hunting for the herbivore (which graze static plants
consumes a lot of Energy

Manis javanica
(Sundan pangolin)
Energy flow diagrams (Giant panda) Ailuropoda melanoleuca

allow easy comparison of various ecosystems

(page 93, 94)
Assimilation and productivity efficiency:
You need:
1. The proportion of the NPP from one trophic
level to the next
2. How much of the assimilated NPP is turned
into tissue and how much is respired.

Carnivore 90%
GP* 100 Insectivore 70-80%
Efficiency of assimilation= _________________ Herbivore 30-60%
Food eaten Zooplanlton 50-90%
Giant panda 20%
NP* 100
Efficiency of biomass = _________________
productivity GP
Trophic efficiency
The trophic efficiency from one level to the next is approximately 10%
[Ranging from 5, or even less (mammals in the Tundra) to 20%
zooplankton feeding from phytoplankton]
Causes for trophic inefficiency:
• Not every part of the prey is eaten
• Digestion is inefficient
• Heat is lost in respiration
• E is also used in other metabolic processes

Energy budget
Quantity of energy entering, staying and leaving and animal or
population.
• Answers: 1.A, 2.A, 3.C
 MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE YIELD
is the largest crop or catch that can be taken from
the stock of a species (a forest, fish, etc.) without
depleting the stock.

The MSY is equivalent to the net primary or

secondary productivity of a system
Harvesting above maximum sustainable yields leads to
a reduction in the natural capital and is unsustainable.
Human impacts on energy flows
For thousands of years, humankind’s only source of
energy was radiation from the Sun. Sunlight energy,
trapped by producers through photosynthesis,
provided energy for food.

This limited population growth as only limited

amounts of food were available (i.e. that which
occurred naturally).
With the arrival of the industrial revolution and the
increased use of fossil fuels, industry could harness
the sunlight energy trapped in coal and oil.

Energy trapped by plants millions of years ago

could be released: the amount of energy available
to humans increased hugely, enabling industry to
be powered and agricultural output, through the
use of machinery, to increase.
Population growth, through increased food output,
increased rapidly.

This change in the Earth’s energy budget has

ultimately led to many of the environmental issues
covered in this course – habitat destruction, climate
change, the reduction of non-renewable resources,
acid deposition, and so on.
 The combustion of fossil fuels has altered the way in which
energy from the Sun interacts with the atmosphere and the
surface of our planet. Increased CO2 levels, and the corresponding
increase in temperatures have led to the reduction in Arctic land
and sea ice, reducing the amount of reflected sunlight energy.

Changes in the atmosphere through pollution have led to

increased interception of radiation from the Sun, through
changes in reflection by scatter from tiny atmospheric particles,
and absorption by molecules and dust in the atmosphere.
Flows of energy and matter
Flow Energy flows through systems
(linear)
How much?
Infinite (the sun is always
shining somewhere)
Matter also flows through ecosystems
(circular)
Finite ( the Earth is a closed
system)

When? once cycles

Outputs All the organisms give out E All the organisms release waste:
àheat loss nutrients, CO2, H2O...
Quality
Degrades, entropy increases Changes form, but does not degrade

Storages
Temporarily as chemical energy Stored short and long term in chemical
forms
b) FLOWS OF MATTER
 Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction. For
example, it may enter as sunlight energy and leave as heat
energy.

On the other hand, nutrients (matter) cycle between the

biotic and abiotic environment. Nutrient cycles can be shown
in simple diagrams which show stores and transfers of
nutrients. They are called biochemical cycles.
Remember:
Transfers and transformations
• Movement vs. Change of form
e.g. Heat vs. Heat becomes light
• Transfers are simpler and, thus, more efficient than
transformations, but both use E.

Cycles and flows

• Nutrients in the biosphere circulate through trophic levels and
finally are released back to the ecosystems via the detritus.
• Whereas energy flows from the sun(1 direction only) until heat is
released by decomposers in respiration.
The major biochemical cycles are those of water, carbon, nitrogen,
Sulphur and phosphorus, all of which follow partially similar routes and
all of which have similar characteristics:
Nutrient cycles
• There are approximately 40 elements that cycle through ecosystems
• All cycles have and organic and an inorganic part.

The organic part is The inorganic part is

• Less abundant • More abundant
• More complex chemical forms • Simpler chemical forms
• Fast flow (organisms) • slow flow (minerals and rocks)
Gersmehl’s nutrient modeling
A Gersmehl (1976) diagram is a model of nutrient storage and flow for terrestrial
ecosystems.
It allows the comparison of different ecosystems. Here below are three diagrams
for taiga, desert and tropical rainforest.

The model presumes three storage compartments: biomass, litter and soil.
Storage compartments, or pools are represented by circles, or ovals. The size of the
compartments is proportional to the quantity of nutrients stores in them.
Arrows represent nutrient flows, or fluxes. The thickness of the arrows represent rates
of flow of nutrients. Each arrow represents more than one process.
 Example of a Gersmehl’s model
Egestion,
precipitation respiration and
excretion
Forest
Biomass vegetation and
animal mass

Fallen leaves,
Dead Litter Photosynthesis and
organisms chemosynthesis

dec Soil
om Humus, decomposing leaves and
Surface run-off pos
in g other dead organisms

Weathering
leaching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lMdMa0bnQw
 THE
CARBON CYCLE
Carbon is the basic building block of life and the fundamental
element found in carbohydrates, fats, proteins and nucleic
acids (DNA and RNA).It is the backbone of life on Earth.

We are made of carbon, we eat carbon, and our civilizations—

our economies, our homes, our means of transport—are built
on carbon.
 Most of Earth’s carbon—about 65,500 billion
metric tons—is stored in rocks. The rest is in the
ocean, atmosphere, organisms, soil, and fossil
fuels.
Carbon flows between each storage (also called sinks) in an exchange
called the carbon cycle. Any change in the cycle that shifts carbon out
of one storage puts more carbon in the other storage.

Inorganic storages Organic storages

Atmosphere plants
Soil, rocks animals
Fossil fuels
Ocean
Carbon flows (processes)
• Photosynthesis
• Respiration
• Death and decomposition
• Fossilization
• Combustion
• Feeding/consumption
• Dissolving
 THE
NITROGEN CYCLE
 Nitrogen is a vital element for all organisms, as it is a component of
proteins and DNA. It is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere but it
is not directly accessible by animals or plants.

Only certain species of bacteria (nitrogen-fixing bacteria) can generate

the energy needed to convert nitrogen gas into ammonia, which is easily
accessible by organisms.
 Nitrogen flows between each storage in an exchange called the
Nitrogen cycle. Any change in the cycle that shifts Nitrogen out of one
storage puts more Nitrogen in the other storage.

Inorganic storages Organic storages

Atmosphere plants
Soil animals
Fossil fuels
Water bodies
 Nitrogen flows (processes)
• nitrogen fixation by bacteria and lightning
• Absorption
• Assimilation
• consumption (feeding)
• Excretion
• death and decomposition
• denitrification by bacteria in water-logged soils.
The sulphur cycle
Human impacts on matter cycles
 In tropical regions, vast rainforests trap CO2 through
photosynthesis and have been important in maintaining the
low level of atmospheric CO2 .

Humans have upset this balance by deforesting large areas for

agriculture and timber production. Deforested areas cannot
capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and create new
biomass, thus the natural carbon cycle is disrupted.
 Timber harvesting (logging) interferes with nutrient cycling,
including the nitrogen cycle. For example, in tropical rainforests,
soils have low fertility because nutrients cycle between leaf
litter and tree biomass.

Once the trees have been removed, the canopy (the uppermost
branches of the trees in a forest) no longer intercepts rainfall,
and the soil and leaf litter is washed away, and with it much of
the available nutrients (i.e nitrogen).
 When crops are harvested and transported to be sold at a
market usually some distance away, the nitrogen they
contain is also transported. Thee changes to the location of
the nitrogen storages alter the nitrogen cycle and can cause
disruption to ecosystems.