Ecosystems (1)

Ecosystem

A unit composed of all living things in a single place at a given time, along with important nonliving components.

Producers

Organisms that bring energy into an ecosystem, including green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria.

Biomass

The weight of living matter, usually measured in dry weight per unit area.

Primary Productivity

The amount of biomass produced through photosynthesis per unit area and time by producers.

Trophic Interaction

Interactions that move energy from one organism to another, such as predation, herbivory, and decomposition.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down organic compounds into nonliving, inorganic precursors, crucial for nutrient cycling.

Nitrogen Fixation

The process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, making it accessible to living organisms.

Denitrification

The conversion of nitrites and nitrates in the soil back to nitrogen gas, returning it to the atmosphere.

Carbon Fixation

The process in which CO2 is captured and converted into organic compounds by plants during photosynthesis.

Greenhouse Effect

The trapping of heat in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases like CO2, leading to an increase in Earth's temperature.

Ecosystem Productivity

Varying levels of primary productivity based on environmental factors like temperature, water availability, and soil nutrients.

Nutrient Cycling

The movement of biologically important elements between living organisms and the nonliving environment.

Anthropogenic Climate Change

Climate change resulting from human activities that increase greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

Food Web

A schematic diagram that describes the trophic interactions in a community and documents patterns of energy flow.

Apex Predators

Organisms at the top of several or all food chains in an ecosystem, with no natural predators.

Biogeochemical Cycle

The path of an element from one organism to another and back to the nonliving part of the biosphere.

Absorption

The uptake of essential nutrients and components from the environment by living organisms.

Assimilation Efficiency

The percentage of consumed energy or biomass that is converted into the consumer's own biomass.

Aquatic Productivity

In aquatic ecosystems, productivity is often limited by nutrient availability rather than light.

Carbon Reservoirs

Non-living forms of carbon in the environment, including the atmosphere, fossil deposits, and oceans.

Montreal Protocols

An international agreement to reduce the release of harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.

Food Chain

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Niche

The role and position a species has in its environment, including all its interactions with biotic and abiotic factors.

Habitat

The natural environment where an organism lives, which provides food, shelter, and mates for reproduction.

Ecological Succession

The gradual process of change and replacement in the species composition of a given area.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance, crucial for ecosystem stability.

Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from human activities, primarily from burning fossil fuels, industrial processes, and land use changes.

Fossil Fuels - Carbon Cycle

Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas release CO2 when burned, contributing to atmospheric carbon levels and altering the natural carbon cycle by increasing greenhouse gases.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Natural processes that recycle nutrients in various chemical forms from the environment to organisms and back, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles.

Ozone Layer - Biosphere Conservation

The ozone layer protects living organisms by filtering harmful ultraviolet radiation, which is crucial for the health of the biosphere and ecosystem stability.

Wolf Reintroduction

The reintroduction of wolves into ecosystems that have lost them, which can restore ecological balance and promote biodiversity by controlling prey populations.