Chapter 6 exploring ecosystems pt. 1

ecosystem

living organisms and the environment that they inhabit and depend on for resources

system

a unit built of smaller components that work together.

Input, Output, Throughput

three types of matter that you find in systems are

Input

Matter that enters a system

Output

Matter that exits a system

Throughput

Matter that flows through a system

system

interacts with matter originating outside of itself is called an open system

open system

includes input, output, and throughput.

automobile

example of an open system

closed system

doesn't allow any matter to come into or leave the system

all the matter within the closed system is

snow globe

An example of a closed system

Earth

blank is a closed system, through which energy flows (from the sun) but in which matter stays and is recycled.

isolated system

A system in which no matter or energy enters or exits and is very rare in the natural world

matter

Energy flows through both open and closed systems, but blank enters and/or exits only open systems.

system dynamics

system interactions

steady state, or homeostasis (steady-state systems)

the amount of input and the amount of output are equal

steady state, or homeostasis (steady-state systems)

any matter entering the system is equivalent to the matter exiting the system

feedbacks

adjustments that a system makes as inputs enter or outputs exit

Negative and positive feedback

two types of feedbacks

Negative feedbacks

These feedbacks slow down or suppress changes, sometimes helping the system return to a steady state.

Positive feedbacks

These feedbacks lead to increased change, sending the system farther away from a steady state.

feedback loop

a chain of changes in the system.

runaway effects

positive feedback loops can lead to blank — sending a system far from its steady state

climate change and the oceans

example of a positive feedback and runaway effects can be seen with?

positive feedback

reinforcing feedback — which sends the system farther from stability.

negative feedback

a stabilizing feedback, which helps the system return to a steadier state.

closed system

Earth is basically a blank in that all of Earth's matter stays put and no new matter can be added (except for the occasional meteorite!).

hydrologic cycle

Involves water moving from the surface (most importantly the oceans) to the atmosphere, across the land, and everywhere in between.

hydrologic cycle

includes various processes that change water from solid to liquid to gas form and transport it to every corner of Earth's surface (and below)

water

In terms of blank, the Earth is a closed system

water

isn't added or removed from Earth; it's simply transformed, transported, and recycled.

evaporation

Water in the oceans moves to the atmosphere through blank, a process that changes the liquid water to vapor, or gas

atmospheric circulation

After the water vapor is in the atmosphere, processes of blank transport it around the globe

precipitation (rain or snow).

As the water vapor is carried over land, the atmosphere often releases it in the form of?

precipitation

may stay on land in the form of snow (for a year or so) or ice (for many years), or it may move across the land as rivers and streams, and some of it will evaporate back into the atmosphere

Groundwater

water that flows underground toward the nearest ocean.

groundwater

The water on the surface of the Earth may end up in lakes for many years, be absorbed into the soil and rocks and become blank, or continue to flow as runoff until it reaches the ocean again.

transpiration

Plants release water into the atmosphere through a process called blank. While plants lose water to the atmosphere pretty much all the time (sort of like sweating).

transpiration

It is higher during photosynthesis, when plants release water into the atmosphere in exchange for taking in carbon dioxide.

transpiration

This exchange of water between the atmosphere and plants is a part of the hydrologic cycle that's often overlooked

true

The hydrologic cycle doesn't occur in a straight line.

Water

most important and visible material that moves through Earth's environmental system, but it isn't the only one you need to know about when studying the environment.

nutrients

Other matter that cycles through Earth's environment includes important elements or blank (carbon and nitrogen)

sources

where the element enters the environmental system on Earth's surface

sinks

where the element is stored away (usually below Earth's surface in rocks).

carbon

element that forms the basis for all living matter on Earth

CO2

green plants use the this during photosynthesis to create sugars that provide energy for living organisms.

carbon sinks.

carbon from decomposing organisms that is stored below Earth's surface for many years. These storage places are called?

Carbon

also stored in seafloor sediments.

carbon cycle

The organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again

carbon cycle

involves more than just burning fossil fuels. You find it just about everywhere on Earth that living matter currently or used to exist

Human Action

has created a problem in the carbon cycle. It has sped up carbon's release into the atmosphere beyond natural rates.

Nitrogen

an important nutrient for building organic molecules, such as nucleic acids and amino acids

plants

need nitrogen that has been through a process called nitrogen fixation

true

most living things can't use nitrogen in CHAPTER 6 Exploring Ecosystems 81 that form

nitrogen fixation

living things (specifically plants) need nitrogen that has been through a process of?

Nitrogen fixation

A chemical process through which special nitrogen-fixing bacteria transform molecules of nitrogen gas (N2) into molecules of ammonia (NH3)