Chap. 2 Summary by The Mama's and The Papa's

Ecosystem defined: an interacting unit in nature made up of living and nonliving components.

 Living Components

Organisms are divided into three categories: producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Producers= green plants that use photosynthesis to make food.

Consumers= animals. They can be herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores.

Decomposers= bacteria, fungi, or other microbes.

Exceptions to the categories are:

• 1. microbes that use chemosynthesis where food is made without chlorophyll.
• 2. scavengers

Autotrophic: self nourishing organisms that produce their own food.

Heterotrophic: organisms that do not produce their own food.

Non Living Components

Matter that is cycled and the energy that powers it.

Matter is recycled continually. It is cycled in nutrients ie: carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Pgs. 26-33

Energy is represented by heat and light from the sun. Energy powers all life.

Light, heat, air, water, and soil are all non living components that need to be present for the

ecosystem to be efficient. If one of these is deficient then the "Law of the minimum" is stated. Pg. 20.

Flow of Energy

Energy powers all life and ecosystems depend on it to function. Energy flows through ecosystems in

one direction. Energy is transferred to green plants and through photosynthesis carbohydrates are

made. The carbohydrate formed is glucose and through cellular respiration the glucose is utilized

to gain the energy to move, grow, and think.

Thermodynamics: heat power. Heat is a form of energy.

Food Pyramid: energy is transferred along a food chain. Sunlight>>green

plant>>herbivore>>carnivore. These pyramids are based on who eats whom and the nourishment

levels are called trophic.

Food Webs: diagrams who eats whom. It illustrates the interweaving of many different food chains.

The greater the diversity of species, the more likely a species is to survive a crisis.

 Productivity

 Productivity refers to the production of food.

 Primary Production: the amt. of food produced by green plants during photosynthesis.

Gross Primary Production: the total amt.

Net primary Production: the amt. of energy available.

The most productive ecosystem is the intertidal kelp community.

The lowest productivity is found in deserts, mountains, lakes, and open ocean.

Climate and Weather

 Meteorology: the study of climate and weather.

Climate: overall combination of temperature, precipitation, winds, that any region experiences.

Weather: daily variations in the climate.

Air masses are compared in terms of density. Dense air pushes downward with greater pressure. Air

masses tend to follow the ocean current.

The earth's rotation causes the swirling of the ocean currents. This is known as the "Coriolis effect".
Clockwise or right swirl in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise or left in the southern hemisphere.

East coast of any continent has warmer water compared to the west coast. This is due to the warm

water current flowing from the equator. Pg. 35

Maritime climate: one that is dominated by the influence of the ocean.

On the West coast this influence forms fog and rain confined to the ocean and somewhat

inland.

On the East coast it rains frequently on the land and seldom fog forms.

Doldrums: an area of little winds that occurs at the equator.

Trade Winds: found south of the 30th parallel where the air masses/winds flow southwesterly.

Prevailing Winds: found north of the 30th parallel where the air masses/winds flow from west to east.

Mediterranean Climate: winter precipitation with long, hot, dry summers.

 Monsoon Climate: heavy rains in the summer, but the winter is dry.

Topography and Climate

Mountain ranges have a profound influence on climate.

Moisture-laden air flows inland from the ocean, and as it passes eastward towards the mountains, it

rises upward and becomes chilled as it reaches the higher elevations. This chilling causes the

precipitation to fall on the side of the mountain toward the coast. Topography on the other or

inland side of the mountain is said to be in the "rain-shadow" of the mountains. Pg. 41.

 The chilling effect can also cause precipitation to become snow in higher elevations.

Valleys affect climate.

 Cold air drainage: when dense air flows downward like water.

Dense fog: cold air collects in low spots and is unable to move out. It can fill the valley to the brim

and even winds are unable to disturb it. The fog can collect for days at a time…called tule fog.

 This trapped fog becomes warm on top and forms a temperature inversion layer. The inversion

layer does not allow pollutants to escape and smog results.

 Seasons

 The seasons are present in California, but the patterns are not as distinct as in the eastern states.

One needs to travel to different areas of CA to see the different season's change.

Classifications

 Different types of vegetation are assoc. w/different types of climate.

 Three systems have been used to classify the flora of CA.

 Life Zone system

Biome concept

Holdridge scheme

 More recently a newer classification system has been used that is based on the dominant plant

species that occupies each area. This is known as the Munz and Keck system.

An ecosystem is composed of 2 components - living and non-living.

Healthy ecosystems recycle matter over and over and have a complex variety of species.

Deficiency in an ecosystem causes the entire system to become limited and either adapt or perish.

Ecosystems are influenced significantly by climate and weather.

Ecosystems can be classified several ways but the most common are biotic communities.

LIVING &endash; Organisms are divided into 3 categories: producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Producers are usually green plants because they convert light into food by means of photosynthesis. They can also be algae, seaweed, and micro-organisms.

Consumers are divided into 3 categories:

Primary consumers &endash; herbivores

Secondary consumers &endash; primary carnivores

Tertiary consumers &endash; secondary carnivores

Decomposers are things like bacteria, fungi, or other micro-organisms that break down the remains of other organisms.

Producers and decomposers are autotrophic meaning they are self-nourishing.

Consumers are heterotrophic meaning that they do not produce their own food.

An example of a simple ecosystem is a sewer outflow, which may contain only algae (autotrophic) and bacteria (heterotrophic). One makes food and the other one eats it.

NON-LIVING &endash; Includes matter (pure elements) and energy (heat and light).

The components are lumped into 5 categories: light, heat, air, water, and soil (minerals).

Matter (pure elements like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.) is cycled through the ecosystem over and over.

Energy (heat and light) flows in only one direction and dissipates. Energy is derived from solar radiation emitted from the sun and is transferred to green plants and micro-organisms. Without this transfer of energy there would be virtually no life on earth.

This transfer of energy is not very efficient due to the Laws of Thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics means "heat power" and is measured in calories, i.e. how much energy it will produce. The process of converting heat into energy is not very efficient because disorder tends to occur during energy transformations. This happens because nature tends to move towards randomness, and more energy will be expended creating order than will be regained.

An example &endash; planting crops in rows, weeding, tending, harvesting, processing, and transporting them uses more energy than can hoped to be regained from eating the food.

Food pyramids are simple applications of the laws of thermodynamics, showing how each trophic level supports the next. More complex ecosystems tend to be more stable than simple systems with only a few species on each trophic level. Humans have a tendency to cause simplification of ecosystems and thus produce unstable ecosystems. Examples &endash; agriculture, logging, pesticides, wildlife control, etc. If any factor becomes deficient in an ecosystem, the entire ecosystem will become limited and must adapt to that limit or perish.

CLIMATE AND WEATHER (a.k.a. Meteorology)

Climate is the overall combination of temperature, precipitation, winds, etc.

Weather is the daily variations of these phenomena.

Both climate and weather are affected by

-Movement of air masses

-Ocean currents

-Major storm tracks

-Topography (land forms)

On the west coast, winter storms come from the north Pacific and travel southward, gradually producing less precipitation. During the summer, high pressure over southern California deflects storms northward. Therefore, summer rain is uncommon from about San Francisco southward. Cold water offshore keeps the coastal area foggy particularly to the north. Intense summer sunlight "burns off" the fog by about noon on most days.

BIOTIC COMMUNITIES

Different vegetation is associated with different types of climate. There are several different types of classification systems but the most common is classification into biotic communities.

The book states, "Biomes are large ecosystems in which variations in temperature and precipitation have created a characteristic assemblage of plants and animals."

The seven biomes are

-Grassland

-Desert

-Scrub

-Coniferous forest

-Temperate rainforest

-Tundra

-Temperate

-Deciduous forest

An ecosystem is an interacting unit in nature made up of living and nonliving components. It is traditional to divide organisms into three categories: producers, consumers, and decomposers. Producers are usually green plants, which convert light energy to food energy by means of photosynthesis. The amount of photosynthesis per unit of time is known as primary production. Animals are the consumers in the system. Herbivores are primary consumer because they are the first to consume food. Carnivores are secondary consumers because they eat the animals that eat the plants. Omnivores are able to function as either primary or secondary consumers, an important adaptation if food is scarce. Decomposers include bacteria, fungi, or other microorganisms that break down detritus, the remains of other organisms. These products of decay are, in turn, used by green plants to carry on more photosynthesis. In this way, the matter is recycled.

Some special ecosystems contain microorganisms that produce food without relying on photosynthesis. Instead, they use a process that is sometimes called chemosynthesis. The organisms may live in mud, in caves, in hot-water vents of the deep ocean, or in salt flats. Examples are red bacteria. Although chemosynthesis is not as efficient as photosynthesis, the bacteria that use it are, indeed, producers rather than decomposers.

Other examples of the three simple categories are scavengers or detritus eaters.

The nonliving components of an ecosystem include matter that is cycled and the energy that powers it. Energy in an ecosystem is represented by heat and light, the ultimate source of which is the sun. Fluctuations of these two energy forms have profound influence on the system. The mater in a system may be thought of in terms of pure elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus. These elements may combine to form various materials such as water, carbon dioxide, carbohydrate, nitrate, and phosphate. A simple way to describe the nonliving components of an ecosystem is to combine all of these factors into five categories: light, heat, air, water and soil (minerals).

The Flow of Energy and Nutrients-

Energy powers all life; all ecosystems therefore depend on a constant transfer of energy.

1.) The sun is the source. Nuclear activity causes the sun to emit solar radiation, upon which life on earth depends.

2.) Green plants convert light energy to chemical energy (food). The process of photosynthesis converts solar radiation to the energy locked up on food molecules.

3.) Consumers, through cellular respiration (metabolism), convert the energy in carbohydrate to the energy that makes them move, grow, or think.

Energy is transferred from solar radiation to green plants and then to animals and microorganisms. Without this transfer there would be virtually no life on earth.

Laws of Thermodynamics-

The transfer of energy through organisms in an ecosystem is not very efficient. Autotrophic (photosynthetic) organisms are about 1% efficient. Heterotrophic organisms are about 10% efficient. This means that only 1% of the solar radiation that falls on a green plant is converted to food and only 10% of that energy is incorporated into the animal that eats it. This means that 100 pounds of vegetation will support only 10 pounds of herbivore, which will in turn support a mere 1 pound of carnivore.

This limitation exists because to "laws" of nature dictate energy relationships" the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics means "heat power," and heat, of course, is a form of energy.

Food Pyramids-

A food chain is a sequence by which energy is transferred from sunlight, to green plant, to herbivore, to carnivore. The total amount of energy that flows along a food chain in an ecosystem can be graphically depicted as a food pyramid.

Because these pyramids are based on who eats whom, the steps are called trophic levels.

Food Webs-

A diagram of who eats whom is known as a food web because it illustrates the interweaving of many different food chains.

Stability as a Function of Complexity-

The lack of diversity in the gene pool could mean that a single environmental change or disease would wipe them all out. Ex: Tule Elk, which descended from as few as two individuals.

Productivity-

In ecosystems, productivity refers to the production of food. The most productive ecosystem on the earth is the intertidal kelp community.

Cycles of Matter-

Energy flows through an ecosystem and is dissipated, but matter is continually recycled.

Carbon Cycle-

It exemplifies the cycles of matter in nature. Carbon flows through producers, consumers, and decomposers in the form of organic compounds. The largest reservoir of carbon on the earth is limestone or calcium carbonate. Various animals us this carbonate to form skeletal parts such as bones and shells. Fossil fuels are another reservoir or organic carbon. Coal, gas, and oil are organic compounds that, when burned, yield energy. The process resembles cellular respiration. Oxygen is required, and C02 and H20 are produced.

Nitrogen Cycle-

Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the total gas in air, making it the most abundant of the gases. It is also a component of amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins have three uses in living organisms: 1.) To form structures (skin, hair, muscle), 2.) To provide energy, 3.) To act as enzymes that regulate chemical reactions. The conversion of nitrogen gas to amino acids is known as nitrogen fixation.

Other Cycles-

Phosphate is a component of animal skeletons. It is necessary for all living organisms as a component of lipids in membranes and minerals in skeletons, and as an integral part of the DNA and RNA mechanisms by which amino acids are put together to form proteins. It is also a part of the molecule known as ATP, which is involved in transfers of metabolic energy such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

The most variable factor in ecosystems is water. Its cycle is similar to that of carbon: It is a requirement for photosynthesis and a waste product of cellular respiration.

Summary-

Ecosystems are composed of living and nonliving components. The living components include producers, consumers, and decomposers. The nonliving components include light, heat, air, water, and soil. The source of all energy in ecosystems is sunlight. Energy flows through ecosystems in one direction. Its transfer is not very efficient, as dictated by the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Matter and materials cycle through the ecosystem. Because these materials are parts of cycles, no single part can function without influencing all other parts. Any factor that becomes deficient in an ecosystem becomes limiting, and the entire ecosystem must adapt to that limit or perish. Humans have a tendency to simplify ecosystems, which usually requires a large input of energy and causes the system to become unstable.

(Schoenherr pp. 18 -33)

Climate refers to overall combo of temperature, precipitation, winds, etc. in a particular region. Weather refers to daily variations.

Major Movement of Air Masses-

Adiobatic cooling is when the sun shines directly on the equator and air rises it becomes less dense and therefore cooler. When the air is cool water vapor condenses and falls in the form of rain. This is tropical weather. Descending air causes the moisture to evaporate and the air to become dry. Warm air is less dense so it rises. Cool air is dense so it sinks. Weather is best described as changes in pressure.

The Influence of Ocean Currents-

Ocean water swirls clockwise in the N. hemisphere and counter clockwise in the s. hemisphere, the corialis effect, is caused by the earth's rotation current of water that pass through the equator are warmer and flow northward. Then the water flows through the arctic region and then along the Western edge of a continent, like N. Ca. Water off the East Coast of any continent is comparatively warmer and West Coast is comparatively cold.

A climate dominated by the influence on the ocean is called maritime climate. Water and air temp. Fluctuate very little. When the water is cold there is fog over the water and land daily. Rain is confined to the ocean because the land must be cooler than the air. On the East Coast there is no fog but it rains often inland.

The Horse Latitudes are calm of wind. The Doldrums occurs at the equator. A southwestward wind south of the 30th parallel is called the Trade Winds. North of the 30th parallel winds flow west to east and are named Prevailing Westerlies.

Low-pressure areas over the ocean are signs of a storm. Air rises, carrying evaporated water. Wind on the surface of the earth blows toward a low-pressure cell, this causes a counter clockwise spin in the Northern Hemisphere, similar to a spinning top moving randomly around. The prevailing winds push the storm around.

Chubascos, or erratic storms, in S. Ca. are common in September. They move up the Gulf of Ca. on the E. side of the peninsular ranges. These storms can cause intense flooding. The relict cypress relies on summer rains.

On the East Coast of North America a current of warm water from the equator flows northward, the Gulf Stream. This is the famous Florida climate sunny in winter. In the summer Florida is full of thunderstorms. The southern tip of Florida is near the Tropic of Cancer.

Along the Atlantic coast some form of precipitation occurs throughout the summer, whether it be rain or snow. The center of N. America is dry because it is far from the ocean.

Pacific storms are the main source of water. The Sonoran Desert of Arizona experiences considerable summer storms. Evaporation stops water from sinking far into the earth.

The Influence of Local Topography-

Rain-Shadow Effect- The Sierra Nevada intercepts precipitation on its western slope. This is rain-shadow effect. This causes chilled air on the side of the mountain facing the coast and heavy evaporation on the eastern side, Owens Valley, creating a desert, Great Basin Desert. Owens Valley is in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada.

Temperature Inversion Layers-

Valleys affect climate. Dense air, flows down hill like water, cold air collects in low spots. Cold air flows from the mountains at night and collects in the valleys. The Great Central Valley has tule fog. When cold air masses are trapped in a valley it gets warmer as you go up and this is known as temperature inversion layer. Pollutants get trapped in Temperature Inversion Layers. The Santa Ana winds push pollutants out to sea during winter and autumn through the Cajon Pass, between San Gabriel and Bernadino Mountains. The Great Central Valley is unable to be cleaned out by a wind. It is too surrounded by mountains.

Seasons in California-

East Coast seasons are poetically typified. In California this type of seasonal climate is near a riparian community (riverside). S. Ca. climate is marked by precipitation not temperature. The "awakening" is winter, plants green and alive. If precipitation has been heavy there will be spring flowers even in the desert. Summer is warm and sunny. Autumn is the Santa Ana winds. Northern Ca. can experience precipitation at any time of the year. It is heaviest in the winter. Fog is frequent along the coast. Maritime clime is strongest on northern coastline due to fog. Heavy winter precipitation and continuous fog. A chain of mountains formed by the Cascades, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Ranges and Peninsular ranges cast a rain shadow forming the Great Basin Desert, which covers the Modoc Plateau and extends to Owens Valley. The Great Basin has snow in the winter. The Mojave Desert gets snow at higher elevations. The Colorado Desert rarely gets snow, but summer rains fall. N. California is heavy in precipitation and the south is mostly evaporated. 2/3's of the water is in the north and 2/3's of the people are in the south.

Classifications of Biotic Communities-

Vegetation varies with climate. Clements and Shelford invented a biome concept that large ecosystems that are varied in temperature and precipitation and linking an assemblage of plants and animals to areas, unlike Merriam who had his database solely on temp. CA temp and vegetation is so diverse that broad classification doesn't work. In 1959 Munz and Keck invented a system of plant communities that is used by many ecologists in Ca, because of our varied climate and diverse vegetation.

nature. Traditionally Organisms are divided up into 3 categories:

Producers Which consist of the green plants that convert light energy

to food energy, known as photosynthesis.

Consumers are the animals:

Herbivores are the first consumer and eat the plants.

Carnivores are the secondary consumers and eat the animals that eat the plants.

Omnivores are either primary or secondary consumers and eat plants or animals.

Decomposers Break down detritus (the remains of other organisms), they

include bacteria, fungi or other micro-organisms.

However this method of classification has exceptions. So a new classification has been designed. It consists of two categories:

Autotrophic (self-nourishing) and Heterotrophic (organisms that do not produce their own food.) thus including all the component of the traditional chart and those that the traditional chart missed.

In a healthy ecosystem matter is recycle over and over. If one power is deficient, it becomes ecologically limiting and exerts a powerful influence on the ecosystem. (pg. 18) This is known as the Law of Minimum, and the entire ecosystem adapts.

Energy powers all life; all ecosystems therefore depend on a constant transfer of energy. (Pg 20) Matter is used over and over again but energy dissipates. Energy is transferred as a three step process.

1.The sun is the source.

2. Photosynthesis takes place.

3. Metabolism happens.

The end product of these steps is that energy is transferred from solar radiation to green plants, and then to animals and micro-organisms. Without this transfer there would be virtually no life on earth.

Thermodynamic means heat power which is a form of energy and heat energy is measured in units called Calories. The transfer of energy or Calories in an ecosystem is inefficient.

The two laws of thermodynamics are:

1.) The total amount of energy in the universe is constant.

2.) Energy can be converted from one form to another, but transformations are never completely effective.

Entropy (Disorders) occurs during step two of the process. The approximate efficiency rate of transfers is as follows: Autotrophic 1%, Heterotrophic 10%.

This means that 100 pounds of vegetation will support 10 pounds of herbivores, which will support 1 pound of carnivores.

A food pyramid can be based on three types of data:

1.) the number of

individuals.

2.) The amount to energy.

3.) The total weight.

The food pyramid is designed to show the transfer of energy, putting the Laws of Thermodynamics into a picture form. A diagram of who eats whom, is a food web, which illustrates the interweaving of the food chain.

A healthy ecosystem is made up of many living and non-living things, causing constant change in environment. The environment will have great years, where there will be a surplus of food causing population growth.

And it will have bad years were animals will either die or emigrate.

When this process occurs we say that population has over shot carrying capacity. Humans tend to cause simplification of the ecosystem which thus causes unstable ecosystems. We try to create simple ecosystems that go against the laws of nature, such as a managed forest, that are unstable. For a lack of diversity in the gene pool could mean a single environmental change or disease would wipe them all out.

So the best thing that humans can do to create a healthy ecosystem is to leave nature alone.

In an ecosystem, productivity refers to the production of food. Primary production is the amount of food produced by green plants. Gross Primary production Is the total amount of energy produced, and is not all available for herbivores because of the loss of energy in transfer.

Net Primary production Is the amount on energy available measured over a certain period of time.

The most productive terrestrial ecosystem on earth is a tropical forest and on earth it is the intertidal kelp community.

The lowest productivity is found in deserts, mountains, lakes and open oceans.

Energy flows through an ecosystem and is dissipated, but matter is continually recycled.

Carbon Cycle

Carbon flows through producers, consumers and decomposers in the form of organic compounds. The largest

reservoir of carbon on the earth is limestone or calcium carbonate

(CaCo3). Carbonates dissolve in water and more than 99% of carbon on

earth is found in carbonate rock. Fossil fuels are another reservoir of

organic carbon, which yields energy. Excessive combustion haw two

important effects on the carbon cycle. 1.) It depletes the fossil fuel

reserve. 2.) It causes an increase in atmospheric Co2, which traps heat

causing the greenhouse effect.

Nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the total gas in air. It

is also a component of amino acids that are the building blocks of

proteins. The conversion of nitrogen gas to amino acids is called

nitrogen fixation. (Pg. 29) Proteins have three uses in living

organisms: 1.) to form structures. 2.) To provide energy. 3.) To act as

enzymes that regulates chemical reactions. Since most organisms in the

ecosystem are unable to carry out this process, nitrogen gas is inert.

Other cycles Phosphate (PO4) is a component of animal skeleton and is

a component of lipids in membranes and minerals in skeletons and as an

integral part of DNA and RNA mechanism, in which amino acids form

proteins. (Pg. 32) It is also part of the molecule known as ATP which

involves the transfer of metabolic energy. An ecosystem without

phosphates is severely limited. Phosphates limit algal growth in lakes

and decreases water loss. Groundwater overdraft, salt buildup in soil,

abandoned fields, and wind erosion are all part of a phenomenon known as

Desertification, which could be California most serious environmental

problem. (Pg. 33)

Climate and Weather

Meteorology is the study of climate. Climate refers to the overall

combination of temperature, precipitation, winds and so forth, that any

region may experience. Weather refers to the daily variations of

climate. Climate and Weather is affected by:

1.) Movement of air masses.

(Winds and storms)

2.) Ocean currents

3.) Topography

1. Adiabatic cooling Is where the air on the surface of the earth will

move toward the point of raising air from north and south. As air rises,

it becomes less dense and thus cooler. Air rises or descends due to

density. Warm air is less dense, so it rises. Cool air is dense, so it

will sink. Meteorologists explain changes in weather as change in

pressure which is measured by a barometer.

2. Ocean water swirls clockwise in thru northern hemisphere and

counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere. The Coriolis Effect is

caused by the earth s rotation. A climate dominated by the influence of

the ocean is known as a maritime climate.

3. Rain shadow effect is where the mountain ranges intercepts

precipitation. Temperature Inversion takes place when cold air masses

are trapped and it becomes warm up top. Cold air drainage takes place

when dense air flows downhill. A Santa Ana wind is air being blowing

thru a gap out to the sea. For seasons see page 43. Two-thirds of the

water is in north but two-thirds of the people are in the south.

Biotic Communities

Vegetation is associated with climate, which C. Hart Merriam created a

system by life zone, which is used by government. Clements and Shelford

created a chart that breaks up the biotic into communities by climate.

See pg. 47, used by lay people. And Phillip Munz and David Keck

classification system is based on dominant plant species that occupy the

area.

An ecosystem is made up of living and nonliving organisms that interact, and are divided into 3 categories, producers, consumers, and

decomposers. Consumers can be divided into primary, secondary, and tertiary. An ecosystem can also be looked at in terms of 2 categories,

autotrophic and heterotrophic. Autotrotphc produce their own food. Heterotrophic do not produce their own food.

 

Ecosystems work best when they have the correct number of decomposers and consumers. When this balance is out of whack nature

compensates by increasing the number of a species to keep it in balance. Stability is achieved when the ecosystem supports itself. When one

species dies out another will reproduce until the system functions again at peak efficiency.

 

Kelp beds in inertial kelp communities are the most productive ecosystems (Produce enough

food). Desserts, mountains, lakes, and open oceans are low productivity areas.

Non living components of an ecosystem include light, heat, air, water, and soil. If one component is deficient, it becomes ecologically limiting.

this is known as "law of the minimum". Which ever factor occurs at a minimum becomes the limiting, and the ecosystem must adapt to it.

The flow of energy and nutrients in an ecosystem occurs in the following manner:

• 1. The source of all energy is the sun, it provides light and heat.
• 2. Green plants convert light to food via photosynthesis.
• 3. Consumers, via cellular respiration convert energy to carbohydrate energy which allows them to grow, move, or think.

Thermodynamics

Energy transfer via organisms (producers to consumers) in an ecosystem is not very efficient. All parts of the cycle (producers, consumers,

and decomposers) are required in order for it to work, if one part fails it affects all the other parts. It also takes a lot more energy to produce

than can be reclaimed at the end of the food chain by consumers. It takes approximately 1,000 Kg vegetation to feed 100,000 Kg herbivores,

which in turn only feed approximately 10,000 Kg carnivores. If any part of the cycle become deficient then all other parts have to adapt to

change. Humans tend to cause system to become unstable by simplifying ecosystems. Sometimes attempts by humans to make a natural

ecosystem better for a specific species, they tend to do more damage than if they were to leave it alone.

Meteorology-climate and weather

Climate/weather for specific geographic regions is affected by many variables including movement of air masses, ocean currents, and local

topography-rain-shadow effect and temperature inversion layers. California for example has an extreme range in climates as well as a very

diverse vegetation that classification biomes and plant formation is often inadequate.

Ocean currents, mountains, high and low pressure systems all play a part on the weather in California. Fog helps to keep the ocean at a

consistent temperature. When inland areas, such as Ukiah, heat up the air is drawn in off the coast to cool the valleys and fog blankets the

coastal areas.

 

California has such an extreme range of climate and vegetation that a broad classification schemes including variables such as world plant

formations or biomes (large ecosystems which variations in temperature and precipitations have created a characteristic assembly of plants

and animals) have proved inadequate. A system of plant communities has become the system of choice. This system is based on the

dominant plant species that occupy the area.

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