Ecosystems
- Created by: florencepearl88
- Created on: 27-03-14 18:14
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- Ecosystems
- Closed loop system
- All natural ecosystems are closed loop systems
- In a perfect closed loop system no materials enter or leave the system.
- Output of one becomes input of another
- No ecosystem can be a perfect one as some input is lost
- linear system
- the waste products do not get feeded back as food products
- you have to add new products to keep it going
- waste products
- oxygen is a waste product in photosynthesis used in respiration
- Carbon dioxide is a waste product from respiration. It is used in photosynthesis.
- Dead organic matter is used directly as food or processed into useful nutrients by microorganisms.
- nitrogen cycle
- carbon cycle
- damage to ecosystems by humans
- agricultural waste
- harvesting plants and animals can damage an ecosystem
- harvesting timber can lead to soil erosion and loss of habitat
- over fishing can damage ecosystems and cause the to become extinct
- loss of hedges means less habitat for the birds
- fertilisers get washed into rivers and kill animals
- industrial waste
- green house gases
- household waste
- bio-fuels destroy habitat and decrease biodiversity
- lack of shade and the lack of moisture in the soil can cause desertification (when fertile land turns into relatively lifeless desert).
- agricultural waste
- reproductive strategies
- fish and amphibians produce large numbers of eggs because fertilisation takes place outside the body.
- When organisms produce large numbers of reproductive cells or reproductive structures, these ensure that reproduction is likely to be successful.
- The unsuccessful cells are recycled into the ecosystem. They are usually used as nutrients for animals or microorganisms.
- vegetation
- it is important because it is used in photosynthesis
- roots help stabilise soil
- Trees provide shade from the sun and help to insulate the forest floor at night
- Transpiration from trees helps to promote cloud formation.
- sustainability
- examples
- Fish populations can be preserved if quotas are observed, which means that each country has an entitlement to catch only a certain number of each type of fish.
- using biofuels - A biofuel is a fuel produced from renewable resources - such as plant biomass
- Forests can be preserved if the trees are replanted
- examples
- bioaccumulation
- Is when toxins build up in a food chain.
- The animals at the top of the food chain are affected most severely.
- Eutrophication
- When fertilisers are added to farmland in large quantities, plants and animals in nearby rivers and lakes can sometimes be killed, but not by poisoning.
- Closed loop system
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