FLOWS OF ENERGY AND MATTER

 A large percentage of light energy absorption is

in the stratosphere where the formation of ozone
 requires the absorption of ultraviolet radiation.
BASIC CONCEPTS
 Biomass: The mass of living organisms in a
given area expressed as dry weight of mass per
unit of area or g m–2.
 Productivity: the conversion of energy into
biomass in a given time expressed as J m -2 yr-1.
The rate of growth of plants and animals in the
ecosystem.  
BASIC CONCEPTS
 Gross: It refers to the total amount of products
made. (Total amount of matter made before
losses)
 Net: This is a more meaningful figure as it is
what is left over after losses. (The amount of
matter left after losses). Ecosystem losses include
respiration and fecal loss
PRODUCTIVITY MIND MAP
 Use the following to construct a mind map
 Productivity
 Primary
 Secondary
 Net
 Gross
PRODUCTIVITY
PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY
 Net Primary Productivity (NPP). NPP takes
into account respiratory losses (R) and is shown
as the following equation:
 NPP = GPP – R
SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY

 GSP represents the total amount of energy or

biomass assimilated by consumers
 It can be calculated easily by knowing how much
food is eaten and how much feces are passed. 
 GSP = food eaten – fecal loss
SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY
 Net secondary productivity or NSP, what is left at
the end of all the processes for animal growth e.g.
to make new muscle.
 NSP = GSP – R
SECONDARY PRODUCTIVITY OF A
GRASSHOPPER
USE THE TABLE TO SHOW NSP AND GSP
USING FIGURE 2 BELOW, CALCULATE: 1.THE CONSUMPTION BY HERBIVORES?

2.THE RESPIRATORY LOSSES ?

 SUSTAINABLE YIELD

 Sustainable yield (SY) is the amount of biomass

that can be extracted without reducing natural
capital (original stock) of the ecosystem.
 If you are extracting biomass without reducing the
natural capital (original stock) then you have to be
taking the net primary or net secondary productivity
of the system.
 Sustainable yield applies to an ecosystem. So
in Figure 2 the sustainable yield of the plants would
be equivalent to 40,000 K J m-2 yr -1 and for the
herbivores it would be 400 K J m-2 yr -1.
PRODUCTIVITY VARIES OVER TIME; ECOSYSTEMS ARE LESS PRODUCTIVE:

 At certain times of the year - cold seasons are less

productive than warm ones.
 At certain life cycle stages - young organisms
have higher growth rates than older ones.
 If they have been hit by disease or pests. 
 If fire has damaged some of the standing crop.
 ENERGY AND MATTER

 Energy flows but matter cycles.

 THREE MAJOR CYCLES
 The hydrological cycle.
 The carbon cycle 
 The nitrogen cycle 
 In all these cycles matter flows between stores (also
called sinks), the flows are either transformations or
transfers. In diagrams the stores are shown as boxes
and the flows as arrows pointing from where the
matter starts in the direction of where it goes. In
some diagrams the boxes and arrows are drawn in
proportion to the magnitude of the flows and stores.
 CARBON CYCLE

 Video on Kognity
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON CYCLE
STORAGES IN CARBON CYCLE

 Organic storages-
organisms including forests
Inorganic storages-
 Atmosphere

 Soil
 Fossil fuels

 ocean
FLOWS- TRANSFERS & TRANSFORMATIONS

Transfers
 Herbivores feeding on producers

 Carnivores feeding on herbivores

 Decomposers feeding on dead organic matter
 Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolving
in rain water, oceans
FLOWS- TRANSFERS & TRANSFORMATIONS

Transformations
 Photosynthesis –converts inorganic materials into

organic (CO2+H2O---- glucose)

 Respiration- converts organic materials to

inorganic (Glucose-----CO2+H2O)
 Combustion- transforms biomass into CO2 + H2O

 Fossilization- transforms organic matter in dead

organisms into fossil fuels through incomplete

decay and pressure.
MAJOR GLOBAL CARBON STORES
CARBON CYCLE AND HUMAN INTERACTION

In which ways do humans take carbon from the

store
 harvest food,

 fuel wood and

 fibre from the land

 This amounts to approximately 25% of all plant

biomass.
CARBON CYCLE AND HUMAN INTERACTION

In which ways do humans add to the carbon store?

 Most of this increase is blamed on the industrial
revolution and our subsequent reliance on fossil
fuels 
PRACTICE QUESTION
 In a mid latitude, mixed woodland ecosystem the
atmospheric store of carbon is 755 GtC yr-1. The
plants store 560 GtC yr-1, they absorb 120 GtC yr-
1
 through photosynthesis but returns 60 GtC yr-
1
 in plant respiration. The soil carbon stores is the
largest stores with 2,330 GtC yr-1 but 60 GtC yr-
1
 moves from the soil into the atmosphere through
decomposition. 
 GtC yr-1 = gigatons of carbon per year
 Draw an accurate diagram from this
SOLUTION TO PRACTICE QUESTION
EXPERIMENT TO CALCULATE GPP & NPP
EXPERIMENT TO CALCULATE GSP & NSP
NITROGEN CYCLE

 Nitrogen cycle
C.6.U1 NITROGEN-FIXING BACTERIA CONVERT ATMOSPHERIC NITROGEN TO AMMONIA.

Rhizobium & Azotobacter

Nitrogen gas Ammonia (NH3)
nitrogen fixation

The roles of Nitrosomonas*

bacteria in
nitrogen fixation Nitrification is the process of
converting ammonia into nitrates

Nitrobacter*
nitrates (NO )3
- Nitrites (NO2-)

Plants cannot directly

absorb and assimilate
nitrogen. It must be first
converted to compounds
such as nitrates and
ammonia.
*Bacteria can be chemoautotrophs deriving
energy (for carbon fixation) from the bonds in
the compounds they convert.
http://on.be.net/1arnCUH
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azotobacter_cells.jpg
C.6.U3 IN THE ABSENCE OF OXYGEN DENITRIFYING BACTERIA REDUCE NITRATE IN THE
SOIL.

Denitrification reduces the availability of nitrogen compounds to plants.

A chemical reduction process

carried out by bacteria
Nitrate (NO3-) Nitrogen (N2)
e.g. Pseudomonas sp.

• Electron transport is a key process

in cellular respiration
• Oxygen or nitrate can be used as
an electron acceptor in electron
transport.
• Though oxygen is preferred in
oxygen poor conditions nitrate is
used and the process releases
nitrogen gas a product.

http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/File:P._Cloroaphis.jpg
C.6.A2 INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS AS AN ADAPTATION FOR LOW NITROGEN AVAILABILITY IN
WATERLOGGED SOILS.

Dionaea muscipula - The Venus Flytrap

“Carnivorous plants have the most bizarre adaptations to low-

nutrient environments. These plants obtain some nutrients by
trapping and digesting various invertebrates, and occasionally
even small frogs and mammals. Because insects are one of Drosera sp. - the Sundews
the most common prey items for most carnivorous plants,
they are sometimes called insectivorous plants. It is not
surprising that the most common habitat for these plants is in Find out more
bogs and fens, where nutrient concentrations are low but
water and sunshine seasonally abundant.”

http://botany.org/Carnivorous_Plants/
GROUP DISCUSSION
 In your small groups list the :
 Storages
 Transfers and
 Transformations in the nitrogen cycle below.
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
STORAGES IN THE NITROGEN CYCLE

Organic-
 organisms

Inorganic –
 Soil
 Fossil fuels
 Atmosphere

 Water bodies
FLOWS – TRANSFERS & TRANSFORMATION

Transfers
 Herbivores feeding on producers

 Carnivores feeding on herbivores

 Decomposers feeding on dead organic matter
 Plants absorbing nitrates through their roots
FLOWS – TRANSFERS & TRANSFORMATION

Transformation
 Lightening transforms nitrogen in the atmosphere
into N03- nitrogen fixation
 Nitrogen fixing bacteria transform nitrogen gas in
the atmosphere into ammonium ions
 Nitrifying bacteria transform ammonium ions
into nitrite and then nitrates
FLOWS – TRANSFERS & TRANSFORMATION

Transformation

 Denitrifying bacteria transform nitrates into

nitrogen
 Decomposers break down organic nitrogen
(protein) into ammonia (deamination)
 Nitrogen from nitrates is used by plants to make
amino acids and protein (assimilation)
3 WAYS NITROGEN CAN LEAVE THE ECOSYSTEM

 Denitrification
 Leaching
 Combustion
NITROGEN CYCLE AND HUMAN ACTIVITY

 Fossil fuel combustion and forest fires increases

nitrogen oxides, an urban air pollutant, that also
contribute to acid rain and photochemical smog.
 With the increase in human population we are
draining wetlands to allow for expansion of urban
areas, agricultural expansion.
 Since denitrification takes place in wetland areas
denitrification is reduced and less nitrogen enters
the atmosphere.
NITROGEN CYCLE AND HUMAN ACTIVITY

 The application of the inorganic fertilizers

increases denitrification and leaching. Increased
leaching can lead to eutrophication in water
bodies.
 The production of fertilizers ammonia (raw
material of inorganic fertilizers) is produced using
the Haber-Bosch process. This takes nitrogen
from the atmosphere thus supplementing the
natural fixation rates.
NITROGEN CYCLE AND HUMAN ACTIVITY

 Pastoral (livestock ranching) agricultural

practices impact the nitrogen cycle by increasing
the amount of ammonia that enters the
soil. Livestock releases large amounts of
ammonia in their waste and that enters the
soil and potentially nearby aquatic ecosystems.
HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE
QUESTION M 14 P1, 4A
QUESTION M 14 P1, 4B
SOLUTION