LES107: Introduction to

Environmental Sciences
Lecture 2: Introduction to
Ecosystems

Prof. Thomas Lei

Programme Coordinator for Bachelor of Environmental Science (BES)
Institute of Science and Environment, University of Saint Joseph, Macao
September 11, 2023
Earth’s Life-Support System

´ Atmosphere (air)
´ Hydroshpere (water)
´ Geosphere (rock, soil, and sediment)
´ Biosphere (living things)
Atmosphere

´ A spherical mass of air surrounding the earth’s surface that is held to the
earth by gravity
´ The troposhere contains the air we breathe, including 78% nitorgen (N2),
21% oxygen (O2), and 1% water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and
methane (CH4)
´ The statosphere is the atmopsheric layer above the troposhere
´ The lower stratosphere called the ozone layer, contains enough ozone (O3)
gas to filter out about 95% of the sun’s harmfil ultraviolet (UV) radiation
Hydrosphere

´ Contains all of the water on or near the earth’s surface

´ It is found as water vapor in the atmosphere
´ And as liquid water on the surface and underground
´ And as ice-polar ice, icebergs, glaciers, and ice in frozen soil-layers called
permafrost
´ Oceans cover about 71% of the earth’s surface
´ Only 2.5% of Earth’s Water is fresh water
Geosphere

´ Contains the earth’s rocks, minerals, and soil

´ Consists of an intensively hot core, a thick mantle of very hot rock, and a
thin outer crust of rock and soil
´ Also, it contains nonrenewable fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas
Biosphere

´ Consists of the parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere

where life is found
Factors to Sustain the Earth’s Life

´ Greenhouse effect
´ Nutrients
´ Gravity
Greenhouse effect

´ As solar energy interacts with carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, and
several other gases in the troposhere
´ Without this natural process, the earth would be too cold to support
humans and most other froms of life on earth
Nutrients

´ Chemicals that organism need to survive

´ Because the earth does not get signifcant inputs of matter from space
´ Its fixed supply of nuttrients must be recycled to support life
Gravity

´ It allows the planet to hold on tp its atmosphere and enables the

movement and cycling of chemicals through air, water, soil, and organisms
Ecology

´ The science that focuses on how organisms interact with one another and
with their nonliving physical environment of matter and energy
 Five Levels of Matter

´ Biosphere
´ Ecosystems (includes living and non-living parts)
´ Communities (group of populations – ex. dogs and cats)
´ Populations (group of individuals – ex. 30 dogs)
´ Organisms (individuals – ex. 1 dog)
Biosphere

´ Parts of the earth’s air, water, and soil where life is found
´ Made up of living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) components
´ Biotic components include plants, animals, and microbes
´ Abiotic components include water, air, nutrirents, rocks, heat, and solar
energy
Ecosystem

´ A community of different species interacting with one another and with

their nonliving environment of matter and energy
Community

´ Populations of different species living in a particular place, and potentially

interacting with each other
Population

´ A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular place

Organism

´ An individual living being

´ Organisims are classfied as producers and consumers based on whether
they make (produce) or find (consume) food
´ Producers are organisms, such as green plants, that make the nutrients they
need from compounds and energy obtained from their environment
Photosynthesis

´ Plants capture solar energy that falls on their leaves and use it to combine
carbon dioxide and water to form carbohydrates, such as glucose
(C6H12O6)
´ They store as a source of chemical energy
´ In the process, they emit oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere
´ Oxygen keeps us and most other animal species alive
Chemical Reaction of Photosynthesis

´ Carbon dioxide + Water + Solar Energy -> glucose + oxygen

6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Solar Energy -> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Organisms - Producers

´ On land, most producers are green plants such as trees and grasses
´ In freshwater and ocean ecosystems, algae and aquatic plants growing
near shorelines are the major producers
´ In open wtaer, the dominant producers are phytoplankton, mostly
microscopic organisms that float or drift in the water
Organisms - Consumers

´ Cannot produce their own food

´ They get the nutrients they need by feeding on other producers or other
consumers
´ Or on the wastes and remains of producers and consumers
´ Primary consumers (herbivores) are animals that eat mostly green plants or
algae, such as caterpillars, giraffe, and zooplankton
´ Secondary consumers (carnivores) are animals that feed on the flesh of
other animals, such as spiders, lions, and fishes
´ Omnivores such as pigs, rats, and human eat both plants and animals
Organisms - Decomposers

´ Consumers that get their nutrients by breaking down the waste or remains
of plants and animals
´ The process of decomposition returns these nutrients to the soil, water, and
air for reuse by producer
´ Most decomposers are bacteria and fungi
Aerobic Respiration

´ Producers, consumers, and decomposers use the chemical energy stored

in glucose and other organic compunds to fuel their life process through
cellular respiration
´ Aerobic respiration uses oxygen to convert glucose and other organic
compounds back into carbon dioxide and water
Chemical Reaction on Aerobic
Respiration
´ Glucose + Oxygen -> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 -> 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Energy
Soil

´ A complex mixture of rock pieces and particles, mineral nutrients, decaying

organic matter, water, air, and living organisms that support plant life,
which, in turn, supports animal life
´ Soil is one of the most impoirtant components of the earth’s natural capital
´ It purifies water and supplies most of the nutrients needed for plant growth
´ Soil is a renewable resource but it is renewed very slowly and becomes a
nonrenewable resource if we deplete it faster than natural processes can
renew it
´ The formation of topsoil (1 inch) can take hundred to thousands of year
´ Removing plant cover from soil exposes its topsoil to erosion by water and
wind
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

´ The rate at which an ecosystem’s producer (such as plants and

phytoplankton) convert solar energy into chemical energy, which they
store as compounds in their bodies
´ To stay alive, grow, and reproduce, producers must use some of ther stored
chemical energy for their own aerobic respiration
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

´ The rate at which producers use photosynthesis to produce and store chemical
energy minus the rate which they use some of this stored chemical energy
through aerobic respiration
´ NPP measures how fast producers can make the chemical energy that is
potentially available to the consumers in an ecosystem
´ Tropical rainforest have a very high NPP because they have an abundance
and variety of producer trees and other plants to support a large number of
consumers
´ When such forests are cleared or burned to make way for crops or for grazzing
cattle, they suffer a sharp drop in NPP and lose many of their plant and animal
species
´ The planet’s NPP ultimately limits the number of consumers (including humans)
that can survive on the earth
Nutrient Cycles (Biogeochemiccal
Cycles)
´ The elements and compounds that make up nutrients move continually
through air, water, soil, rock, and living organisms within ecosystem
´ These cycles are driven directly or indirectly by energy from the sun and by
the earth’s gravity
´ They include the hydrologic (water), carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus
cycles
 Water Cycle

´ Collects, purifies, and distributes the earth’s fixed

supply of water
´ The sun provides the energy needed to power the
water cycle
´ Incoming solar energy causes evaporation, the
conversion of some of the liquid water in the earth’s
ocean, lakes, rivers, soil, and plant to vapor
´ Most water vapor rises into the atmosphere, where it
condenses into droplets in clouds
´ Gravity then draws the water back to the earth’s
surface as precipitation, such as rain and snow
 Carbon Cycle
´ Carbon is cycled through the biosphere by a
combination of photosynthesis by producers that
remove CO2 from the air and water, and aerobic
respiration by producers, consumers, and
decomposers that add CO2 to the atmosphere
´ CO2 remains in the atmosphere for 100 years or
longer
´ Some of the CO2 in the atmosphere dissolves in
ocean water
´ Some of the carbon in deeply buried deposits of
dead plant matter and algae has been
converted into carbon-containing fossil fuels,
such as coal, oil, and natural gas
´ Scientific evidences showed the disruption of
carbon cycle has lead to global warming and
climate change.
 Nitrogen Cycle
´ N2 in the atmosphere cannot be absorbed
and used directly as a nutrient by plants and
other organisms
´ It becomes a plant nutrient only as a
component of nitrogen-containing ammonia
(NH3), ammonium ions (NH4+) and nitrate ions
(NO3-), which are circulate through parts of
the biosphere in the nitrogen cycle
´ Human activities disrupted the nitrogen cycle
by burning gasoline and other fuels, with high
temperatures convert some of the N2 and O2
in air to nitric oxide (NO).
´ In the atmosphere, NO can be converted to
nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) and nitric acid
vapor (HNO3-), which can return to the earth’s
surface as acid depoition, commonly known
as acid rain.
´ Acid deposition damages stone buildings and
statues, and also kill forests and other plant
ecosystems, and wipe out life in ponds and
lakes.
 Phosphorus Cycle
´ The cyclic movement of the phophorus (P) through
water, earth’s crust, and living organisms
´ Most of the phosphorus compounds in this cycle
contain phosphate ions (PO43-), which are an
important plant nutrient
´ Phosphorus does not cycle through the atmosphere
because few of its compunds exist as a gas. It also
cycles slower than water, carbon, and nitorgen
´ As water runs over exposed rocks, it slowly erodes
inorganic compounds that contain phosphate ions.
Much of the phosphate that erodes from rocks is
carried into rivers and streams and into the ocean
´ Human activities including the removal of large
amount of phosphate from the earth to make fertilizer
disrupt the phosphorus cycle.
´ By clearing tropical forests, the topsoil is exposed to
erosion, which reduces phosphate level in the tropical
soil
´ Fertilizers washed into in streams and lakes stimulate
the growths of algae
In-Class Activity: Discuss and Answer
the Following Questions
´ What are the four earth’s life support system?
´ What are the five levels of matter?
´ What are the four nutrient cycles?
In-Class Activity: Write and Balance the
Following Chemical Formula
´ Chemical Reaction of Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + Solar Energy ->

´ Chemical Reaction of Aerobic Respiration

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 ->