An ecosystem is a biological system that consists of a combination of living organisms, their habitat, and a system of connections that exchange energy between them. Currently, this term is the main concept of ecology.
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Ecosystem properties are studied relatively recently. Scientists distinguish two main components in it - biotic and abiotic. The first is divided into heterotrophic (includes organisms that receive energy as a result of the oxidation of organic matter - consumers and decomposers) and autotrophic (organisms receive primary energy for photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, i.e. producers).
The only and most important source of energy necessary for the existence of the entire ecosystem are producers that absorb the energy of the sun, heat and chemical bonds. Therefore, autotrophs are representatives of the first trophic level of the entire ecosystem. The second, third and fourth levels are formed by consumers. They close with decomposers capable of converting inanimate organic matter into an abiotic component.
Ecosystem properties, briefly aboutwhich you can read in this article, imply the possibility of natural development and renewal.
Main components of an ecosystem
The structure and properties of an ecosystem are the main concepts that ecology deals with. It is customary to highlight such indicators:
- climate regime, ambient temperature, as well as humidity and lighting conditions;
- organic substances that bind the abiotic and biotic components in the cycle of substances;
- inorganic compounds included in the energy cycle;
- producers are organisms that create primary products;
- phagotrophs - heterotrophs that feed on other organisms or large particles of organic matter;
- saprotrophs - heterotrophs capable of destroying dead organic matter, mineralizing it and returning it to the cycle.
The combination of the last three components forms the biomass of the ecosystem.
The ecosystem, the properties and principles of organization of which are studied in ecology, functions thanks to the blocks of organisms:
- Saprophages - feed on dead organic matter.
- Biophages - eat other living organisms.
Ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity
Ecosystem properties are related to the diversity of species that live in it. The greater the biodiversity and the more complex the food chain, the greater the resilience of the ecosystem.
Biodiversity is very important as it enablesto form a large number of communities that differ in form, structure and functions, and provides a real opportunity for their formation. Therefore, the higher the biodiversity, the more communities can live, and the more biogeochemical reactions can take place, while ensuring the complex existence of the biosphere.
Are the following judgments about the properties of an ecosystem correct? This concept is characterized by integrity, stability, self-regulation and self-reproducibility. Many scientific experiments and observations give an affirmative answer to this question.
Ecosystem productivity
During the study of productivity, concepts such as biomass and standing crops were put forward. The second term defines the mass of all organisms living on a unit area of water or land. But biomass is also the weight of these bodies, but in terms of energy or dry organic matter.
Biomass includes whole bodies (including dead tissues in animals and plants.) Biomass becomes necromass only when the whole organism dies.
The primary production of a community is the formation of biomass by producers, without exception, of energy that can be spent on breathing per unit area per unit of time.
Distinguish between gross and net primary production. The difference between them is the cost of breathing.
The net productivity of a community is the rate of accumulation of organic matter thatdo not consume heterotrophs, and as a result, decomposers. It is customary to calculate for a year or a growing season.
The secondary productivity of a community is the rate of energy accumulation by consumers. The more consumers in the ecosystem, the more energy is processed.
Self-Regulation
Ecosystem properties also include self-regulation, the effectiveness of which is regulated by the diversity of inhabitants and food relations between them. When the number of one of the primary consumers decreases, the predators move on to other species that used to be of secondary importance to them.
Long chains can intersect, thus creating the possibility of a variety of food relationships depending on the number of victims or crop yields. In the most favorable times, the number of species can be restored - thus, relations in the biogenocenosis are normalized.
Unwise human intervention in the ecosystem can have negative consequences. Twelve pairs of rabbits brought to Australia in forty years have multiplied to several hundred million individuals. This happened due to the insufficient number of predators that feed on them. As a result, furry animals destroy all vegetation on the mainland.
Biosphere
The biosphere is an ecosystem of the highest rank, uniting all ecosystems into one whole and providing the possibility of life on planet Earth.
Properties of the biosphere as a global ecosystem studiesscience ecology. It is important to know how the processes that affect the life of all organisms as a whole are arranged.
The biosphere includes the following components:
- The hydrosphere is the water shell of the Earth. It is mobile and penetrates everywhere. Water is a unique compound that is one of the foundations of life for any organism.
- The atmosphere is the lightest air shell of the Earth, bordering on outer space. Thanks to her, there is an exchange of energy with the outer space;
- The lithosphere is the solid shell of the Earth, consisting of igneous and sedimentary rocks.
- Pedosphere - the upper layer of the lithosphere, including the soil and the process of soil formation. It borders on all previous shells, and closes all cycles of energy and matter in the biosphere.
The biosphere is not a closed system, as it is almost entirely provided by solar energy.
Artificial ecosystems
Artificial ecosystems are systems created as a result of human activity. This includes agrocenoses and natural economic systems.
The composition and basic properties of an ecosystem created by man differ little from the real one. It also has producers, consumers and decomposers. But there are differences in the redistribution of matter and energy flows.
Artificial ecosystems differ from natural ones by the following parameters:
- Much fewer species and a clear predominance of one or more of them.
- Relatively little stability and strong dependence on all types of energy (includingperson).
- Short food chains due to low species diversity.
- Unclosed circulation of substances due to the withdrawal of community products or crops by man. At the same time, natural ecosystems, on the contrary, include as much of it as possible in the cycle.
The properties of an ecosystem created in an artificial environment are inferior to those of a natural one. If you do not support energy flows, then after a certain time natural processes will be restored.
Forest ecosystem
The composition and properties of a forest ecosystem differ from other ecosystems. In this environment, much more precipitation falls than over the field, but most of it never reaches the surface of the earth and evaporates directly from the leaves.
The deciduous forest ecosystem is represented by several hundred plant species and several thousand animal species.
Plants growing in the forest are real competitors and fight for sunlight. The lower the tier, the more shade-tolerant species settled there.
Primary consumers are hares, rodents and birds and large herbivores. All the nutrients that are contained in the leaves of plants in the summer pass into the branches and roots in the fall.
Also primary consumers include caterpillars and bark beetles. Each food level is represented by a large number of species. The role of herbivorous insects is very important. They are pollinators and serve as a food source for the next level in the food chain.
Freshwater ecosystem
The most favorable conditions for the life of living organisms are created in the coastal zone of the reservoir. It is here that the water warms up best and contains the most oxygen. And it is here that a large number of plants, insects and small animals live.
The system of food relations in fresh water is very complex. Higher plants consume herbivorous fish, mollusks and insect larvae. The latter, in turn, are a source of food for crustaceans, fish and amphibians. Predatory fish feed on smaller species. Mammals also find food here.
But the remains of organic matter fall to the bottom of the reservoir. They develop bacteria that are consumed by protozoa and filter clams.
