BIOLOGY 1M03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 54: Soil Organic Matter, Biogeochemical Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle
17 Sep 2013
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Document Summary
Ecosystem the organisms that live in an area together with their physical, or abiotic, environment. Ecosystems have four components that are linked by a flow of energy: the abiotic environment. Includes soil, climate, the atmosphere, the sun and the particulate matter and solutes in water: primary producers. Autotroph organism can synthesize own food (sugar) from inorganic sources (eg/ solar energy through photosynthesis, chemical energy contained in inorganic compounds such as h2, ch4, h2s) Use chemical energy (sugar) in two ways. Makes growth and reproduction possible: net primary product (npp) energy invested in new tissue; represents the amount of energy that is available to consumers and decomposers, consumers. Carnivores eat animals: decomposers (detritivores) Obtain energy by feeding on the dead remains of other organisms or waste products. Npp on land declines from the equator toward the poles (desert are exceptions not productive) Marine productivity is highest along coastlines can be high near the poles.
