2.3 - The Balance of the Matter and Energy Exchange Flashcards
What is Productivity?
- The rate at which an ecosystem’s producer capture and store energy within organic compounds over a certain length of time.
- The rate at which organisms produce new biomass.
What is the way it is commonly measured?
it is commonly measured in terms of energy per area per year (J / m2 / a)
What is the way it can be expressed?
It can also be expressed in terms of biomass of vegetation added to an ecosystem per area, per year (g/ m2 / a)
How is productivity in the ocean determined?
Productivity in the ocean is determined by the available nutrients and sunlight.
What are 2 factors which limit productivity?
- Solar radiation
- Deserts
What is Homeostatsis?
Keeping or maintaining a state of balance, or equilibrium.
How can Homeostatsis be mantained?
It can be maintained by the cells of a grizzly bears body which must convert ingested food into usable energy and rid the body of wastes.
What is Stromalites?
Fossilized sedimentary structure formed from ancient bacteria.
What are 2 factors which limit ecosystem productivity?
- Clear Cutting
- Uniform Crops
What can cause algal blooms?
Excess nutrients of nitrates, nitrites and phosphates can cause algal blooms.
What happens when a body of water is crowded with algae?
It blocks the sunlight and the algae can not photosynthesize.
What causes the dead zone in lakes and oceans?
Decomposing algae
How can algal blooms be prevented?
- It can be prevented by adding plants which use the nutrients or animals that consume the algae to restore the balance.
- Fish feeding on algae.
How can algal blooms occur?
They can occur seasonally in response to the turnover of nutrient-rich waters in warmer temperatures.
What are the various types which contribute to algal blooms?
- Nutrients in the soil exposed by deforestation can be washed into rivers by rain.
- Sewage (particularly if inadequately treated) that is discharged into bodies of water carries significant amounts of phosphate and nitrate, which promote the growth of algae.
- Surface run-off and snow melt carrying manure from lives took operations can add phosphate and nitrate to streams and rivers.
