An ecosystem is a biological system that consists of a combination of living organisms, their environment, as well as a system of bonds that exchange energy between them. Currently, this term is the main concept of ecology.
Structure
Ecosystem properties are being studied relatively recently. Scientists distinguish two main components in it - biotic and abiotic. The first is divided into heterotrophic (includes organisms that receive energy through the oxidation of organic matter - consumers and reducers) 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 who 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 at the expense of consumers. Closed by reducers capable of transferring inanimate organic matter into an abiotic component.
The properties of the ecosystem, which you can briefly read about in this article, imply the possibility of natural development and renewal.
The main components of the ecosystem
The structure and properties of an ecosystem are the ego's main concepts that ecology deals with. It is customary to highlight the following indicators:
- climatic regime, ambient temperature, as well as humidity and lighting mode;
- 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 that can destroy dead organic matter, mineralize it and return 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 - eat dead organic matter.
- Biophages - eat other living organisms.
Ecosystem sustainability and biodiversity
The properties of an ecosystem are associated with the diversity of the species that inhabit it. The greater the biodiversity and the more complex the food chains, the higher the sustainability of the ecosystem.
Biodiversity is very important, since it makes it possible to 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 integrated existence of the biosphere.
Are the following judgments about ecosystem properties true? 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 tissue in animals and plants.) Biomass becomes a necromass only when the whole organism dies.
The primary production of the community is the formation of biomass by producers, without exception, of energy that can be spent on breathing per unit area per unit time.
Gross and clean primary products are distinguished. The difference between them is the cost of breathing.
The net productivity of a community is the rate of accumulation of organics that heterotrophs do not consume, and as a result, reducers. It is customary to calculate for a year or growing season.
Secondary community productivity is the energy storage rate of consumers. The more consumers in the ecosystem, the more energy is recycled.
Self-regulation
The properties of the ecosystem include self-regulation, the effectiveness of which is governed by the diversity of the inhabitants and the 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, 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 normalizing relations in the biogenocenosis.
Unreasonable human intervention in the ecosystem can have negative consequences. Imported to Australia, twelve pairs of rabbits for 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 the vegetation on the mainland.
Biosphere
The biosphere is an ecosystem of the highest rank, uniting all ecosystems into a single whole and providing the possibility of life on planet Earth.
Ecology studies the properties of the biosphere as a global ecosystem. It is important to know how the processes that affect the life of all organisms in general 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 the life of any organism.
- Atmosphere - the lightest air shell of the Earth, bordering outer space. Thanks to it, energy is exchanged with outer space;
- The lithosphere is a solid shell of the Earth, consisting of igneous and sedimentary rocks.
- The pedosphere is 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, since it is almost completely 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 the ecosystem created by man differ little from the present. It also has producers, consumers and reducers. But there are differences in the redistribution of the flows of matter and energy.
Artificial ecosystems differ from natural ones in such parameters:
- A much smaller number of species and the apparent predominance of one or more of them.
- Relatively small stability and strong dependence on all types of energy (including human).
- Short food chains due to the small variety of species.
- The open cycle of substances due to the withdrawal of community products or crops by humans. 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 the properties of a natural one. If you do not maintain energy flows, then after a certain time natural processes will be restored.
Forest ecosystem
The composition and properties of the forest ecosystem are different from other ecosystems. In this environment, much more precipitation occurs than over the field, but most of them still do not reach the surface of the earth and evaporate 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 are fighting for sunlight. The lower the tier, the more shade-tolerant species settled there.
Primary consumers are hares, rodents and birds and large herbivores. All nutrients that are contained in the leaves of plants in the summer go into branches and roots in the fall.
Primary consumers also 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 following level of food chains.
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 food source 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 simple and filtering mollusks.