CHPT 6

Biome

A portion of the biosphere characterized by a distinct climate and a particular assemblage of plants and animals adapted to it

Why was biome-level planning complicated?

A rainforest would need consistently warm temperatures,but most desert biomes fluctuate wildly between day and night

BBECPI

Biosphere, Biome, ecosystem, community, population, individual

Organization of life from biggest to smallest

Biosphere,Biome,Ecosystem,Community,Population,individual

What human activities increase CO2 and unbalance the carbon cycle?

Burning fossil fuels, deforestation,Fertilizing, animal waste

Nitrogen Cycle

Continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes from the air to the soil, to organisms and then returns back to the air or soil through decomposition or dentrification

Nitrogen fixation

Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a biologically usable form, carried out by bacteria found in soil or via lightning

Matter does what and energy does what?

Cycles, flows

What did biosphere 2 teach scientists?

Earth is far to complex, ecosystem components intertwine in far too many complicated ways for humans to recreate We uncovered knowledge and this discovery helps us decide how to move forward

How was biosphere 2 similar to earth?

It was designed as a materially closed and energetically open system: plants would conduct photosynthesis with sunlight that streamed through the glass, but no biomass would enter or leave

Biosphere 2 characteristics

Largest enclosed ecosystem ever created with multiple biomes,includes a human habitat and agricultural biome

Different types of biomes

Marine, freshwater, terrestrial

Carbon cycle

Movement of carbon through biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem.Carbon cycles via photosynthesis and cellular respiration as well as in and out of other reservoirs such as the oceans and soil. it is also released by human actions such as fossil fuel burning

All ecosystems function through two fundamental processes collectively referred to as ecosystem processed are called what?

Nutrient cycling and Energy flow

Earth is energetically what but materially what?

Open, closed

Phosphorus Cycle

Series of natural processes by which the nutrient phosphorus moves from rock to soil or water, to living organisms, and back to the soil

Biotic

The living(organic) components of an ecosystem, such as the plants and animals and their waste(dead leaves,feces)

Abiotic

The nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as rainfall and mineral composition of the soil

What was the point of Biosphere 2?

The plan was to use that knowledge to figure out how to repair degraded ecosystems in the real world, so that they continue to provide the services so essential to our survival

Cellular Respiration

The process in which all organism break down sugar to release its energy, using oxygen and giving off CO2 as a waste product

Range of tolerance

The range within upper and lower limits of a limiting factor that allows a species to survive and reproduce

Niche

The role a species plays in its community, including how it gets its energy and nutrients, what habitat requirements it has, and what other species and parts of the ecosystem it interacts with

Biosphere

The sum total are on earth where living and non living things are found: the sum total of all its ecosystems

Species

a group of plants or animals that have a high degree of similarity and can generally only interbreed among themselves

Reservoirs

abiotic or biotic component of the environment that serves as a storage place for cycling nutrients

Ecosystem

all of the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in which they interact, climate is not involved

Community

all the populations(plants, animals, and other species) living and interacting in an area. Communities represent the living portion of the eco system.

Consumer

an organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on another organism

Energy

enters as as solar radiation and is passed along from organism to organism, some released as heat, until there is no more energy left

Nutrient cycle process

producers, consumers, decomposers--> atmosphere, hydrosphere,lithosphere

Limiting factors

the critical resource whose supply determines the population size of a given species in a given biome

Nutrient cycle

the movement of life's essential chemicals or nutrients through an ecosystem

Habitat

the physical environment in which individuals of a particular species can be found

Biomass

the plants and other organic material that make up an ecosystem

Producers

An organism that converts solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis

Population

a group of individuals of the same species living and interacting in the same region

Individual

a single member of the population