Ecology: the Biology of Interactions. 3.03. Examples of Ecosystems
Examples of ecosystems include a pond and a meadow, a city and a field. Living organisms and their environment are inseparable both in a pond and in a meadow. Most organic matter is in soil or the solid phase. In water, microproducers dominate...
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3.02. Ecosystem Components
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interactions Section 3. Biogeocenology and Ecology of Communities
3.04. Classification of Biomes
3.03. Examples of ecosystems Examples of ecosystems can be a pond and a meadow (comparison of their homogeneous areas is in Table 3.3.1), a city and a field. Living organisms and their environment are inseparable in both the pond and the meadow. Most of the organic matter is contained in the soil or in the solid phase. Table 3.3.1. Comparison of two ecosystems (Yu. Odum, 1986)
Ecological groups
Pond
Scale
Composition
Mass, g/m2
Composition
Mass, g/m2
Producers
Phytoplankton
5
Herbs
500
Consumers of the autotrophic layer
Zooplankton
0,5
Insects
1
Consumers of the heterotrophic layer
Benthos
4
Soil invertebrates
4
Permeants (large mobile consumers)
Fish
15
Vertebrates
15
Reducers
1-10
1-10
1-10
10-100
In water, microproducers dominate, while on land, macroproducers do (most of their body consists of transport and supporting tissues). Organic residues decompose more slowly on land, and therefore a larger amount of detritus accumulates there. The ecosystem of a city is characterized by very intensive energy exchange, a large demand for diverse substances and energy, and a powerful and diverse flow of waste. For example, the annual energy expenditure to maintain a square meter of lawn in front of a house in necessary condition is the same as for maintaining a square meter of cornfield. The area that provides food for the city must exceed the area of the city itself by 30–100 times or more, and the water basins it exploits must be even larger. The ecosystem of a field belongs to agroecosystems, which occupy a significant part of the planet's area (crop production – about 10%, pastures – another 20%). They are characterized by extremely unstable states, maintained by the input of muscle energy (40% of fields) or fossil fuel energy (60%). The main differences between agroecosystems and natural ecosystems are reduced diversity and the presence of artificially created components.
3.02. Ecosystem Components
D. Shabanov, M. Kravchenko. Ecology: Biology of Interactions Section 3. Biogeocenology and Ecology of Communities
3.04. Classification of Biomes