Ecosystems Flashcards
what is an ecosystem
the physical, climatological and chemical conditions that make up a non-living/abiotic environment and their interactions
what are the components of an ecosystem
abiotic (sunlight, temperature) and biotic (herbivores, carnivores)
what are the primary processes of an ecosystem
capturing, storing and tranferring energy, carbon dioxide, nutrients and water
what does ecosystem functioning refer to
the capacity of ecosystems to carry out primary ecosystem processes of capturing, storing and transferring energy, CO2, nutrients and water
in the past what was wrong with the way hummanity viewed ecosystems
they were often undervalued and as such viewed as public property
what percentage of the Earths ecosystems services are in decline or threatened
2/3
what are supporting services within ecosystems
processes that are necssary for the production of all other ecosystem services
what are regulating services within an ecosystem
benefits obtained from the acosystem processes that help regulate natural phenomena
what are cultural services within an ecosystem
nonmaterial benfits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cogntiive development etc
what are some examples of goods from the ecosystem
minerals, energy, food, medicine
give the provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting elements of the wetlands ecosystem
provisioning: fresh water supply, food source
regulating: river flow regulation, nutrient cycling
cultural: ecotourism
supporting: biodiversity, groundwater recharge
name 3 examples of how ecosystems rely on the beneficiaries themselves
-pollination services
-coastal marine ecosystem
-ocean ecosystem services
