Energy And Matter Flow Through Ecosystems

Energy flow through an ecosystem energy from the sun is captured by organisms that carry on photosynthesis.

Energy and matter flow through ecosystems.

Ecosystems are a constant flow of matter and energy from one place to another. The term ecosystem refers to a group of organisms and their environment. Similarly plants require nutrients like nitrogen to grow. And while all matter is conserved in an ecosystem energy flows through an ecosystem meaning it is not conserved.

Matter moves through an ecosystem through the recycling of energy and nutrients between different trophic levels. When organisms use organic matter for cellular respiration all the matter goes back into carbon dioxide water and minerals while all the energy leaves the ecosystem as heat which is ultimately radiated out into space. That matter and energy can be recycled within the ecosystem or exported out of the ecosystem. And how does the ecosystem make use of that energy.

Ecosystems take up matter and energy as plants and animals grow reproduce and maintain life. However before energy flows out of the ecosystem as heat it flows between organisms in a process called energy flow. The energy flow in the ecosystem is one of the major factors that support the survival of such a great number of organisms. Energy usually enters ecosystems as sunlight and is captured in chemical form by photosynthesizers like plants and algae.

It is amusing to find that we receive less than 50 per cent of the sun s effective radiation on earth. Instead energy flow through an ecosystem is a one way street generally from light to heat. As energy flows from one trophic level to the next approximately 90 of it is lost. The energy for most ecosystems originally comes from the sun.

Ecosystems balance the various processes and activities within them. There are other sources of energy you could think about even moonlight but that essentially comes from the sun. So matter cycles energy flows through ecosystems. Energy enters all ecosystems as sunlight and is gradually lost as heat back into the environment.

In this lesson we will discuss some of the important energy and matter cycles that take place within and between. The first trophic level consists of primary producers like plants that can manufacture their own food through photosynthesis. These are the producers at the first trophic level. Energy flow is unidirectional or one way.