Ecology and Environment

By Geonyzl L. Alviola

Line up of topics

- Earth - Ecosystem- The Abiotic and Biotic Factors- Types of Ecosystem- Biological Cycles in the

Ecosystem

EARTH

4 Spheres of Earth

(Derived from the Greek word)1.Atmosphere (air “atmo”)2. Hydrosphere (water “hydro”)3. Lithosphere (stone “litho”)4. Biosphere (life “bio”)

Atmosphere

-The atmosphere is the body of air which surrounds our planet.

Layers of the Atmosphere

This is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface,

- extending up to about 10-15 km above the Earth's surface.

- It contains 75% of the atmosphere's mass.-Temperature and pressure drops as you go

higher up the troposphere.

TROPOSPHERE

Stratosphere

-It extends from about 15 to 50 km above the Earth's surface.

The Ozone Layer: The stratosphere contains a thin layer of ozone which absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

MESOSPHERE

- Directly above the stratosphere- extending from 50 to 80 km above the

Earth's surface, - the mesosphere is a cold layer - thick enough to slow down meteors

hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving fiery trails

in the night sky.

THERMOSPHERE

The thermosphere extends from 80 km above the Earth's surface to outer space.

The temperature is hot

Hydrosphere

- composed of all of the water on the earth.

- oceans, rivers, lakes, and even the moisture in the air.

- 97% of the earth's water is in the oceans and 3% is fresh water

(¾ of the fresh water is solid and exists in ice sheets)

Lithosphere

The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering entire planet.

This crust is inorganic and is composed of minerals.

Biosphere

Physical geographers use the term biosphere to describe our living world.

Why? ..........

Big, Small, and the Smallest Factors

- There are large factors such as the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

Seasons and seasonal climate changes are direct results of the tilt of the Earth towards or away from the Sun.

Tiny organisms such as bacteria and single-celled organisms are constantly working to break down materials (organic and inorganic) and change the world.

Small factors like weather, climate and erosion

- may affect the living organisms and could change the land

Smallest factors: for example

- Chemical erosion is a great example of a landscape changing one molecule at a time.

Oxidation and reduction reactions happen all the time, changing the composition of rocks and organic materials.

EcosystemWhat is an ecosystem?

-dynamic interactions between plants, animals, and microorganisms and their environment working together as a functional unit.  .

-result of an active interaction between living and non-living components

Components of Ecosystem

Abiotic

These include the non -living, physcio-chemical

factors such as air, water, soil and the basic elements and compounds of the environment.

Biotic

It comprises the living part of the environment, which includes the association of a number of interrelated populations belonging to different species in a common environment.

Biotic: Three Kinds

• Autotrophs (auto - self, trophos feeder)

- are also called producers, convertors or transducers.

• Heterotrophs (heteros - other; trophs –feeder) are called consumers, which are generally animals feeding on other organisms.

• Saprotrophs (Gr: sapros - rotten;trophos - feeder)

- are also called decomposers or reducers..

Abiotic: Three Categories

Climatic factors - which include the climatic regime and physical factors of the environment like light, humidity, atmospheric temperature, wind, etc.

Abiotic types……

• Edaphic factors - which are related to the structure and composition of soil including its physical and chemical properties, like soil and its types, soil profile, minerals, organic matter, soil water, soil organisms.

Abiotic type…..

Chemical substances - like water, carbon, sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus and so on. Organic substances like proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, humid substances

Food Chain

A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food.

For example, a simple food chain links the trees & shrubs, the giraffes (that eat trees & shrubs), and the lions (that eat the giraffes).

Each link in this chain is food for the next link. A food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal.

Food web

Most food chains have no more than four or five links.

There cannot be too many links in a single food chain because the animals at the end of the chain would not get enough food (and hence energy) to stay alive.

Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web.

The further along the food chain you go, the less food (and hence energy) remains available.

Biological Interactions: “Symbiosis”

Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species.  .

TYPES OF SYMBIOSIS

Mutualism  --   both species benefitCommensalism  --   one species benefits, the other is unaffectedParasitism  --   one species benefits, the other is harmedCompetition  --   neither species benefitsNeutralism  --   both species are unaffected

Function of Ecosystem

1. Regulate change and stability2. Disturbance regulation3. Provide Life Support Functions4. Capability return to its current

equilibrium state following a disturbance

The following table illustrates the correct use of these terms in interactions between Species "A" and Species "B".

"+" denotes benefit to the species "0" denotes no positive or negative effect "-" denotes an undesirable effect of the interaction.

What is "ecological succession"?

– "Ecological succession" is the observed process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time.

– Within any community some species may become less abundant over some time interval, or they may even vanish from the ecosystem altogether.

Biomes

A biome is a large area with similar flora, fauna, and microorganisms. 

Each of these large communities contain species that are adapted to its varying conditions of water, heat, and soil. 

An ecosystem is much smaller than a biome.  Conversely, a biome can be thought of many similar ecosystems throughout the world grouped together.

MOUNTAINS

- They make up one-fifth of the world's landscape- Good source of timbers- one major characteristic in common--rapid changes

in altitude, climate, soil, and vegetation over very short distances

- Rainfall varies greatly across the world's montane - temperatures can drop from extremely hot

temperatures to temperatures that are below freezing.

Tundra: The Frozen Prairie

- temperatures often reach about -50°F in the winter

- The freezing temperatures leave deeper layers of soil frozen throughout most of the year- this condition is called permafrost.

- The combination of a harsh climate, the lack of nutrients in the soil, and soil being so sparse make it very hard for any type of plant life to grow.

The Caribou, artic hare, mink, weasel, lemming, wolf, wolverine, brown bear, vole and reindeer, roam this land.

wolverine

Temperate (Deciduous) Forests

-found in the middle latitudes around the globe and this biome is very seasonal.

- have warm summers and cold winters.

Marine/Island

Desert

- desert lie between 20 degrees to 30 degrees north and south latitude.

- It is here that equatorial air falls down toward the Earth's surface

- rainfall is rare because rain usually occurs when air begins to rise, not fall.

Tropical Dry Forest

(forests here are known as Monsoon Forests)

tropical dry forests have high temperatures throughout the entire year.

Cold Climate Forests: The Taiga

-cold climate that supports coniferous trees (which means that they carry cones) is found at very high latitudes

- The days in the Taiga are very short in the winter, as short as six hours.

- In the summer the days lengthen and plants grow rapidly in the 70°F weather.

Grassland

In North America they are known as "prairie",

in Asia "steppe",

in South America the "pampas" and

in South Africa a "veldt".

SAVANNA

- Savannahs are tropical grasslands for they are located at tropical latitudes,

- much drier than many tropical forests.

- Rainfall is about 20 to 60 inches a year, with long periods of drought to follow.

- dominant plant life are grasses and small plants.

- Trees are sparse

- this type of forest can be defined as a forest in the tropics receiving 4-8 meters of rain each year.

- All tropical rainforests are found along the equator where the temperatures and the humidity is always high, with the days being equal to the nights.

Within a four mile square area of a tropical rainforest, you would find:

Over 750 species of trees

1500 different kinds of flowering plants

125 species of mammals

400 species of birds

100 reptiles

60 amphibians

countless insects

150 species of butterflies

Biogeochemical Cycle

A pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth.

• The cycle of element

Thank you