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Ecosystem
All organisms and nonliving entities that occur and interact in a particular area at the same time.
Matter
All material in the universe that has mass and occupies space.
Energy
The capacity to change the position, physical composition, or temperature of matter.
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria convert sunlight into chemical energy by transforming water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen.
Cellular respiration
The process by which cells use oxygen to release the chemical energy of glucose, converting it back into water and carbon dioxide.
Biogeochemical cycle
Natural pathways by which essential elements and compounds move through different reservoirs in the environment.
Nutrient cycling
The movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter.
Eutrophication
The process whereby water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth, leading to oxygen depletion.
Hypoxia
A condition in water where oxygen levels are too low to support most marine life.
Feedback loop
A circular process in which a system's output serves as input to the same system, either stabilizing (negative feedback) or destabilizing (positive feedback).
First law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another.
Second law of thermodynamics
In any energy transfer, energy will become less useful as it moves from a more ordered state to a less ordered state.
Nitrogen cycle
The process by which nitrogen in various chemical forms moves through the atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems.
Phosphorus cycle
The movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, primarily occurring as phosphates.
Hydrologic cycle
The continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
Carbon cycle
The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.
Ecosystem services
The benefits that humans derive from nature, including services such as pollination, water purification, and climate regulation.
Net primary productivity
The rate at which all the autotrophs in an ecosystem produce chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of that energy through respiration.
