REFERENCE: The Blue Planet An Introduction to Earth System Science. Brian J. Skinner and Barbara W. Murck (2011) Third Edition. John Wiley and Sons Inc.

The basic life-supporting system in which living organisms interact with each other and with the abiotic components of their environment.

A futuristic structure in the Arizona desert that attempted to create a closed, life-sustaining system, like that of Earth in the 90’s (1991-1994). It failed because of an unanticipated depletion of oxygen, caused when bacteria digested the cement walls of the structure. It cost $120 million and had eight people (4m & 4w).

The survival of the eight people in Biosphere II depended on two primary processes:

(1)Flow of energy

(2)Continual recycling of chemical elements

http://www.b2science.org/

1. Function of Energy: Involvement in the production of organic matter in ecosystems.

2. Pathways: The way energy flows, the efficiency with which it is used, and the role it plays in the various processes of life.

Energy flow refers to the movement of energy through an ecosystem, from the external environment (the Sun) through a series of organisms and back to the external environment (space). It is a fundamental process common to all ecosystems.

Biological Production: Process to increase

biomass through the transformation of energy into matter by biological processes.

Biomass: The total amount of organic matter on

Earth or in any particular ecosystem. This includes all living things and all products of living things.

Plant biomass is called

Phytomass

Animal biomass is called

Zoomass

Primary Production: It is the carbohydrate

production and the consequent building of body mass by autotrophs.

Secondary Production: It is the production of

body mass by heterotrophs—organisms that derive their food energy by eating other organisms.

Organisms that synthesize their own organic

compounds are called autotrophs, and they

accomplish this most commonly through

photosynthesis.

The conversion of sunlight into food energy by photosynthesis happens according to the following reaction:

CO2 + H2O + energy → CH2O + O2

There are three steps in the production of biomass and its use as a source of energy by autotrophs:

1-Gross Primary Production (GPP): first, the autotrophic organism produces organic matter within its body (by photosynthesis or, less commonly, by chemosynthesis);

2-Respiration (R): then it uses some of this new organic matter as a fuel in metabolism and respiration, releasing energy back to the surrounding environment in the form of heat;

3-Net Primary Production (NPP): finally, it stores some of the newly produced organic matter for future use, in the form of carbon-based compounds.

gross production – respiration = net production

GPP – R = NPP

The energy in this impossible ecosystem is being recycled again and again. In the real world, the energy would become degraded and would eventually be lost, and the system would run down.

In this ecosystem, grasses(autotrophs; primary producers)capture and lock up energy from theSun, as food molecules. These plantsform the base of the trophicpyramid. Deer (heterotrophs; first-order consumers) eat the grass andform the second trophic level.Wolves (heterotrophs; second orderconsumers) eat the deer and formthe third trophic level. Variousbacteria decompose waste productsand dead organisms, recycling theirmaterial components. Energy flowsone-way through the trophic levelsof the ecosystem, whereas chemicalelements are recycled (the wolf willeat the deer, and excrete wasteproducts). Energy is lost, and storedbiomass decreases in moving fromone trophic pyramid to the next.

This diagram shows who feeds on whom in the Mono Lake ecosystem. Compared to most ecosystems, Mono Lake has few species and the food web is relatively simple.

Food web of the harp seal. The arrows show who feeds on whom. The harp seal feeds on more than one trophic level.

This version of the periodic table of the elements shows which elements are required for life and which are toxic to living things.

(A) Box models are a convenient way to represent the transfer of materials from reservoir to reservoir in biogeochemical cycles. (B) These are the basic elements of a biogeochemical cycle, using water as an example. A, B, and C are reservoirs, and the arrows represent transfer processes and fluxes of material between the reservoirs.

Elements essential to the biosphere have cycles affected by Earth processes.

A BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE IS THE COMPLETE PATHWAY THAT A CHEMICAL ELEMENT FOLLOWS THROUGH THE EARTH SYSTEM.

BIO – Involves life.GEO – Includes rocks and soils.CHEMICAL – Chemical elements are considered.

24 Chemical Elements are known to be required for life:

Macronutrients – Elements required in large amounts by all life.

Micronutrients – Elements required either in small amounts by all life or in moderate amounts by some forms of life.

ANNUAL CALCIUM CYCLE IN A FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Circles are the amounts transferred per unit time (the flux rates) (kilograms per hectare per year).

ANNUAL SULFUR CYCLE IN A FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Circles are the amounts transferred per unit time (the flux rates) (kilograms per hectare per year).

BASIC PROCESSES IN THE NITROGEN CYCLE

GLOBAL PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

The geographic distribution of living organisms and the characteristics of their communities and ecosystems are the central focus of biogeography.The most important unit of biogeography is the

BIOME, a large geographic area defined by its environmental attributes—mainly

temperature and precipitation—as well as by the plants, animals, and soils that inhabit and characterize the area. Biomes are Earth’s major ecosystem types

Some important terrestrial biomes:(A) Tundra (Yukon

Territory, Canada) (B) Boreal forest

(Minnesota, USA) (C) Temperate rain

forest (Washington, USA)

(D) Temperate deciduous forest (New England, USA)

(E) Tropical rain forest (Georgia, USA)

(F) Savanna (Kgaligadi, South Africa)

(G) Grassland (Colorado, USA)

(H) Desert (Utah, USA)

EARTH'S PRODUCTIVITY

Phytoplankton are the foundation of the marine food chain and can change the color of the ocean.

CZCS SeaWiFS MODIS

GLOBAL ESTIMATION OF PHYTOPLANKTONCHLOROPHYLL-A USING SEAWIFS DATA

LANDVEGETATION

R IR

R- IRNDVI

VEGETATION INDEX

Ecosistemas de Puerto Rico

BAHIA DE MAYAGUEZ

UN EJEMPLO DE

ECOSISTEMA

Añasco River

Yaguez River

Guanajibo River

Tuna FactoriesOutfall

Sewage Outfall

Deep and ClearWaters

Shallow and ClearWaters withCoral Reefs

Suspended Sediments using MERIS

Created by Josué Aceituno Díaz using ArcGIS Desktop 10.1

Phytoplankton Chl-a using SeaWiFS

Watch the YouTube video called

“Introduction to Biomes”