AS.270.103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Ecosystem Respiration, Geochemistry, Atmospheric Sciences
23 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Ecosystem (tansley) all of the components of an ecological system, biotic and abiotic, that influence the flow of energy and elements. Integration of ecology with other disciplines such as geochemistry, hydrology, and atmospheric science. Interested in the rate of energy flow from one pool/reservoir to another. Common elements in an ecosystem are pools or reservoirs of energy (i. e. carbon) Sometimes the energy can dissipate and be lost as heat (flux) There are feedback mechanisms of energy flow between pools. Retention time is important in terms of elemental movement. Inflow equals outflow means that the system is in a steady state (the pool size is not changing) and therefore retention time is stable. How much energy is stored in different compartments of ecosystem what the different pathways through which energy is used are. Energy is not created or destroyed; it is transformed, and each of these conversions result in heat loss (no transformation is 100% efficient)
