GEE 11 chapter

Ecosystem Components
and Energy Flow
through Ecosystems

Mr. Joylinber P. Tandingan, MSc

Instructor 1
Department of Environmental Science
College of Forestry & Environmental Science
Central Mindanao University
[Link]@[Link]
09952836136

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GEE 11- Chapter 2

This PowerPoint presentation is intended

exclusively for educational purposes
within the context of GEE 11 - Introduction to
Environmental Science and should
not be
utilized as a point of reference.
Any unauthorized utilization of this

RE
material, including uploading it to the internet or
distributing it to third parties, is expressly

prohibited without prior authorization.

MINDER not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2

1. Ecosystem Dynamics
2. Components of the ecosystem (biotic & abiotic)
3. Structure and function
4. Energy flow and material cycling
5. Food chain, food web & trophic levels
6. Biogeochemical cycles
7. Human Influences on Energy Flow and
Biogeochemical Cycles
8. Types of Ecosystems in the Philippines
9. Aquatic ecosystems (freshwater & saltwater)

Topic 10. Terrestrial ecosystems

111. Urban and Human Ecosystems
Outline not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2

At the end of the chapter, the students should be

able to:

1. describe an ecosystem and give some examples

2. enumerate the biotic and abiotic components of an
ecosystem
3. differentiate the structural and functional components of
an ecosystem;
4. trace the flow of energy in an ecosystem;
5. discuss the laws of thermodynamics;
6. illustrate a food chain, food web and trophic levels; and
7. describe the major types of ecosystems and biomes.

Learning
Objectives not for circulation
GEE 11

What is Ecosystem?

2
Chapter
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Ecosystem is defined as any unit that

includes all the organisms, i.e., the
community in a given area interacting
with the physical environment so that
a flow of energy leads to clearly
defined trophic structure, biotic
diversity and material cycles, i.e.,

2.0
exchange of materials between living
and non-living, within the system.

DEFI Eugene Odum

NITION not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2

The study of ecosystems

mainly consists of the
study of certain
processes that link the
living, or biotic,
components to the non-

2.1
living, or abiotic,
components.

COM
PONENTS not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2

Energy transformations and

biogeochemical cycling are
the two main processes that
comprise the field of ecosystem
ecology.
2.1
COM
PONENTS not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2 Energy transformation

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COM
PONENTS Image source: [Link] not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2 Biogeochemical cycling

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COM
PONENTS Image source: [Link]
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

There are two components of the ecosystem:

a) abiotic component (non living)- various

physical and chemical factors, e.g., climatic,
geologic and pedologic (soil) components of the
environment;

2..11
b) biotic component (living)- producers,
consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores,
detritivores), decomposers (bacteria and fungi).

COM
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Structure and function are two major

concepts used to describe the roles of
individual elements (plants, animals,
water, minerals) play in creating an
ecosystem.

2..11 Elements will have both structural and

functional components.
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PONENTS not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2

Structure refers to the

spatial relations of an
ecosystem's elements.
2 .1
Structure
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

For example in a forest, trees

and shrubs will form multi-
layered tiers of structure
(dominant, co-dominant,
intermediate, and
suppressed), which results
from light diffusion through the
canopy.

2 1
.
Structure
This type of layering is called
light stratification.

COM
PONENTS
Image source: [Link]

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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Wildlife will develop

niches at different
levels within this forest
structure forming a
secondary degree of
structure, which is
dependent on the first.
Other organisms will

2
develop niches based

2.1 .1
on the existence of the
particular wildlife
forming a third layer of
Structure
Structure
structure dependent
on the first two.

COM
PONENTS Image source: [Link]
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

for Envi Sci Major only

2 .1
Structure
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Function refers to the processes

that transform energy and cycle
materials (nutrients) through and
among all elements (living and
2
2.1 .1
Function
non-living) within the structure of
an ecosystem.
Function
COM
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

2
2.1 .1
Function
Function
COM Compounds, such as water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, are all cycled through
an ecosystem. Organisms, by the mere nature of their existence, will convert (cycle)

PONENTS compounds into forms that are usable by other organisms.

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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The biogeochemical cycles on Earth

2
2.1 .1
Function
connect the energy and molecules on the
planet into continuous loops that support life.
The basic building blocks of life like water,
Function oxygen, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and
COM phosphorous are recycled and go back into
PONENTS their respective cycles repeatedly. not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2

2.2
As shown in Figure, useful energy flows through ecosystems
in a one-way path, entering living things from the physical
world, passing from one organism to another and eventually
ENERGY escaping back to the physical environment in a less useful
FLOW form (due to entropy)
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

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2..22
ENERGY
FLOW Image source: WDiment
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Why there is a heat lose?

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2..22
ENERGY
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 THERMODYNAMICS
GEE 11- Chapter 2

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2..22
ENERGY
FLOW Image source: Quanta Magazine
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

THERMODYNAMIC
• thermo = energy
• dynamic = movement

- the study of energy transfer.

2
2..22
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
First law of thermodynamics:

[Link] is neither created nor destroyed, but is

only transformed.
[Link] any process, the total energy of a closed
system remains constant.
[Link] cannot get something from nothing.

2
2..22
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Second law of thermodynamics:

[Link] closed system tends spontaneously toward
increasing disorder (disordered energy = entropy).
[Link] any energy conversion some energy is
transferred to the surroundings as heat.
[Link] real process can be 100% efficient. There can
never be a perpetual motion machine.

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2..22
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

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ENERGY
FLOW Image source: WDiment
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

Food chain, food web & trophic levels

Each ecosystem has a trophic structure

that represents the different feeding
relationships that determine the route of
energy flow and the pattern of chemical
cycling.

2
2..22
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
Food chain, food web & trophic levels

Ecologists divide the species

in a community or ecosystem
into different trophic levels
based on their main source of
nutrition.

2
2..22
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

A. Producers- Autotrophs
(usually photosynthetic) are the
organisms that support all other
trophic levels either directly or
indirectly by synthesizing sugars
and other organic molecules
using light energy.

2
2..22
Some examples of these
include terrestrial plants, aquatic
photosynthetic protists, and Image source: [Link]

ENERGY cyanobacteria.

FLOW not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

B. Primary consumers. At
the second trophic level are
the herbivores, animals
that eat plants. Some
examples are terrestrial
insects, snails, grazing
mammals, seed-eating birds,

2
aquatic zooplankton, and

2..22 some fish.

Image source: [Link]

ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

C. Secondary consumers. At
the third trophic level are the
carnivores (meat eaters)
that eat herbivores. Just some of
the many examples of this group
include terrestrial spiders, frogs,
insects-eating birds, lions, many
fish, and sea-stars. They are the

22 ..22
secondary consumers of
ecosystems. Some animals like
bears and humans eat both
ENERGY
Image source: [Link]

ENERGY plants and animals and are

FLOW
FLOW called omnivores.
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

D. Tertiary consumers.
These are the carnivores
that eat other carnivores.

2
2..22
ENERGY
Image source: [Link]

FLOW not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

E. Detritivores and
decomposers.

These are the consumers that

derive energy from detritus,
organic wastes and dead
organisms that are produced
at all trophic levels.

2
2..22
ENERGY
Image source: [Link]

FLOW not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

E. Detritivores and
decomposers.

Some examples of
decomposers include the
bacteria and fungi. Also

2
included are detritivores

2..22
such as worms,
arthropods and vultures.
ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The five trophic levels are:

E. Detritivores and
decomposers.

This level often forms a

major link between primary
producers and higher-level
consumers, and is important
components of the recycling

2
2..22
process.

ENERGY
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
The five trophic levels are:

E. Detritivores and decomposers.

2
2..22
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GEE 11- Chapter 2

food chain vs. food web

shows all of the different
single pathway of relationships or possible
energy transfer energy transfers
between a selected
group of species

2
2..22
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
food web (terrestrial)

2
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ENERGY
FLOW Image source: [Link]
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
food web (aquatic)

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
Major types of ecosystem

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TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
Major types of ecosystem

1. Aquatic
Ecosystem

2. Terrestrial
Ecosystem

2.3
TYPES Image source: [Link]

ESOSYSTEM not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2
Major types of ecosystem
1. Aquatic
ecosystems

2.3
TYPES
ESOSYSTEM Image source: [Link] not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2
Major types of ecosystem

1. Aquatic ecosystems
A. Freshwater systems
B. Transitional Communities
C. Saltwater/Marine systems

2.3
TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
1. Aquatic Ecosystem

A. Freshwater
systems

B. Transitional
Communities

2.3
TYPES
ESOSYSTEM Image source: [Link] not for circulation
GEE 11- Chapter 2
1. Aquatic Ecosystem
C. Marine/Saltwater Ecosystem

Beach

Mangrove

Seagrass

2.3
Coral

TYPES
Deep Sea

ESOSYSTEM not for circulation

GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
- are land-based environments, either natural or artificial

2.3 Image source:[Link]

TYPES Natural Forest

Location: Sitio Dagunalan, Talakag, Bukidnon
The Tropical Biome at the Eden Project
Location: University of Exeter, Streatham Campus, Exeter,
ESOSYSTEM England
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

2.3 Image source: Ville Koistinen

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

Tundra- The tundra

biome exists mainly in
latitudes north of the
Arctic Circle.

2.3
Image credit: Ksenya_89/Shutterstock

Autumn tundra, Arctic, Kola Peninsula.

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

Tundra- It is mostly flat, almost treeless arctic

coastal plain that receives less than 250 millimeters
(10 inches) of annual precipitation. Tundra soils,
which are frozen most of the year, thaw and
support a rich diversity of grasses and shrubs during
brief arctic summers. Permafrost underlies most
tundra.

2.3
Image credit: Ksenya_89/Shutterstock

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

B. Boreal coniferous
forest. Boreal coniferous
forests (also called taiga)
circle the earth south of
arctic tundra regions.
They are characterized by
warm summers and cold
winters. Annual
precipitation is about

2.3
500 millimeters (20 Image Credit: John E Marriott/All Canada Photos/Getty Images

inches). Boreal forest (Taiga) is a biome near Yoho National Park, British
Columbia, Canada.

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

B. Boreal coniferous forest.

Dominant trees include aspen
and coniferous (cone-
bearing) species such as black
and white spruce and jack pine,
from which the biome takes its
name. Boreal coniferous forest
serves as winter habitat for
migrating caribou and year-
round habitat for the moose,
black bear, grizzly bear, lynx,
wolverine, snowshoe hare, and

2.3
Juday (2023)
Image Credit: John E Marriott/All Canada Photos/Getty Images
red squirrel.
Boreal forest, Alaska, U.S., dominated by spruce trees (Picea).

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

C. Temperate
deciduous and
coniferous forest.
Temperate deciduous
and coniferous forests
are found in the
eastern and western
United States, British
Columbia in Canada,
Britain, eastern
Europe, southern
Russia, and
southeastern China

2.3
and Japan.

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

C. Temperate deciduous
and coniferous forest.
They are characterized by
hot summers, cold winters,
and long growing seasons.
Annual precipitation is
about 1,000 millimeters (≈
39 inches), and vegetation
consists of broad-leaved
hardwood deciduous trees
(those that seasonally shed
their leaves), including oak,
maple, hickory, ash, and Image source: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedi

2.3
beech, and softwood
evergreen trees, such as Deciduous forest in fall coloration, Wasatch Mountains, Utah.
spruce, pine, hemlock, and

TYPES
cedar.

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

C. Temperate
deciduous and
coniferous forest.
Some of the oldest and
tallest trees in the world-
Douglas fir and coast
redwoods-grow in Pacific
Northwest coniferous
forests. Fauna include
cougars, bears, deer,
rodents, tree squirrels,

2.3
birds, and stream-
spawning salmon.

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2. Terrestrial ecosystems
D. Mediterranean
scrub and woodland.
This temperate biome,
also known as
chaparral, occurs
along Mediterranean
seacoasts as well as
coastal areas in
California, southern
Australia, and parts of
South Africa. Both Los
Angeles and San

2.3
Francisco lie within the
chaparral biome. Watson (2018)

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
D. Mediterranean scrub and
woodland. Annual precipitation
is less than 300 millimeters (≈
12 inches). Typical trees
include evergreen shrubs,
drought-resistant scrub oaks,
and pine trees. Chaparral
vegetation produces
flammable aromatic oils that
make this biome prone to
frequent fires. Resident animal
species include wild sheep and
goats near the Mediterranean,

2.3
Image source: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedi
small antelope in southern
Africa, and kangaroos in Chaparral vegetation in southern California.
Australia.
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2. Terrestrial ecosystems

E. Temperate grassland.
The temperate grassland
biome, also called prairie,
occurs in mid-continental
areas of North America,
South America, Europe and
Asia.

2.3
Image source: Terpsichores

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

E. Temperate grassland.
A moderate climate
prevails in these areas,
with an annual
precipitation of 250-750
millimeters (≈ 10-30
inches).

2.3 Image source: Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedi

TYPES
Buffalo Gap National Grassland, South Dakota, U.S

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
F. Desert and semi-arid communities. Desert is an arid (dry) biome where
annual precipitation is generally less than 250 millimeters (≈ 10 inches).
Vegetation is sparse and includes creosote bushes, sagebrush, and cacti.
Desert and semi arid communities typically exist close to 30º N and 30º S
latitudes where dry air originating from above the equatorial tropics descends.

2.3 Image source: [Link]

TYPES Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
F. Desert and semi-arid communities. Deserts are found in southern
Arizona and New Mexico, north Mexico, coastal Chile and Peru, North
America, Saudi Arabia, parts of Iran, Mongolia, China, and central
Australia. Examples of animal life adapted to the dessert biome include
buffalo, camels, donkeys, sheep, and goats.

2.3
TYPES
ESOSYSTEM Mustapha et al., (2012)
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

G. Tropical savanna
woodlands. Tropical
savannas are open
grasslands in eastern
Africa, parts of
Australia, Venezuela,
Brazil, southern Asia,
and Madagascar.

2.3 Credit: Terpsichores

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
G. Tropical savanna
woodlands. Their climate is
mostly hot, and they average
250-750 (≈ 10-30 inches) of
annual precipitation. Savannas
are known for their abundant tall
grasses often growing as high as
3 meters (≈ 10 feet), and their
umbrella-shaped acacia trees, a
dominant species. Animal life on
the African savanna includes
zebras, wildebeests, lions,

2.3
elephants, giraffes, and
rhinoceroses. Image Source: ProfessorX

TYPES
Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, East Africa

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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

H. Tropical woodland and thorn scrubs. Tropical

woodlands consist of dry forests and scrublands
occurring at lower elevations. They have summer and
winter rainy seasons interspersed with long drought
periods when little or no rain falls for six to eight
months. Annual rainfall is generally 500 millimeters (≈
20 inches) or less.

2.3
TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

H. Tropical woodland
and thorn scrubs.
Examples of tropical
dry forests are found in
western Costa Rica
where some trees and
shrubs are deciduous,
losing all their leaves
during prolonged dry
periods to conserve

2.3 moisture.
Image source: [Link]

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems

H. Tropical woodland
and thorn scrubs.
Tropical woodlands
are found mainly in
Central America,
southern Asia
(monsoon forests),
and parts of Australia.

2.3
TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
I. Tropical rainforest. The tropical rain forest biome is found near the equator,
spanning continents and islands mainly between 23.50N and 23.50S latitude.
Major tropical rain forest formations exist in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia,
Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Congo, Gabon,
Guinea, Myanmar, Nigeria, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cameroon, and
Papua new Guinea.

2.3
TYPES
ESOSYSTEM Image source: NASA
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
I. Tropical rainforest.
Annual rainfall ranges
between 2,000 and 4,500
millimeters (≈ 80 to 180
inches), although dry
seasons less than three
months long also occur. The
rain forest supports complex
multi-level tree canopies
and lush, diverse plant and
animal communities.

2.3
Image source: Smith (2023)

Ecuador

TYPES
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2. Terrestrial ecosystems

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2. Terrestrial ecosystems

J. Tropical deciduous forest.

Tropical deciduous forest,
another equatorial biome, is
similar to tropical woodland and
thorn scrub but occurs at
moderate elevations where
rainfall usually exceeds 500
millimeters (≈ 20 inches) a year.
The trees, which are taller than
thorn scrub and cacti, are

2
sensitive to temperatures

2..33
approaching freezing. This
biome occurs in southeastern Image source: Dinesh Valke

Brazil and India.

TYPES
Anshi National Park, Thane, India

TYPES
ESOSYSTEM
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2. Terrestrial ecosystems

K. Montane. Montane, the

mountain biome, makes
up one-fifth of the world’s
landscape. Its ecology is
highly variable owing to
significant changes in
temperature, cloud, and
rainfall patterns with
increasing elevation.

2.3
Photo: Brown et al .(2013)

Mt. Cagua, Zambales, Philippines

TYPES
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GEE 11- Chapter 2
2. Terrestrial ecosystems
K. Montane. different vegetative
zones are seen in mountainous
environments, depending on
their elevation above sea level.
The sequence of changes in
plant life in the progression to
higher elevation mimics the
pattern found from the equator
to the poles. Montane fauna
differ greatly as well, depending
on a mountain’s latitude and
elevation. Overall, the diversity
of plant and animal life

2.3
decreases with increasing
elevation, paralleling what Photo: Brown et al .(2013)

occurs at higher and higher

TYPES latitudes in other biomes.

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GEE 11- Chapter 2

2.3
Image credit: Ksenya_89/Shutterstock

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Humans and the Ecosystem

Pollutants

2.3
Image credit: Ksenya_89/Shutterstock

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GEE 11- Chapter 2

The more we understand the things

around us, the more we realize our
interconnectivity.

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