System Concept in

Ecology
Betha Putri Rahmaningrum
(3315115796)
Nur Rohmah
(3315115770)
Okty Chairunnisa
(3315115798)
Sarah Afsholnissa
(3315115767)
Viory Eka Savitry
(3315115781)

Types of System
Isolated

Closed

Open

Ecology System
S = sun, P = producers, H = herbivores, C = carnivores, D = decomposers,
NP = nutrient pool, EF = energy flow and MC = matter cycling

The Concept of System in

Ecology has Main
Characteristic

1. The ecosystem is a type of general

system and is thermodynamically
open with steady state properties
2. The ecosystem is structured in an
orderly and comprehensive manner

The Concept of System in

Ecology has Main
Characteristic

3. Its fuctions invlove continous input

and movement of metter and
energy, which occur through feeling
levels
4. The ecosystem is holistic

Componen of Ecosystem
The non living environment (abiotic)
Producers
Consumers
Decomposers

Classification of Pond and

Glassland
Pond

Classification of Pond and

Glassland
Glassland

Energy Flow Based

Classification of Ecosystem

Functional attributes of an
Ecosystem
Biological diversity and maintenance of
stability
Primary and secondary productivity
Food chain realitionships
Energy flow
Material cycling
Homeostasis and feedback
Development and evolution of
ecosystem

Works on :
Evaporation
Transport
Condensation
Precipitation
Groundwater
Run-off

Heres the cycle

!

In the atmosphere, carbon is

attached to some oxygen in
a gas called carbon dioxide
In the atmosphere, carbon is
attached to some oxygen in
a gas called carbon dioxide
Plants that die and are
buried may turn into fossil
fuels made of carbon like
coal and oil over millions of
years.
humans burn fossil fuels,
most of the carbon quickly
enters the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide.

The nitrogen cycle is the set of

biogeochemical processes by which
nitrogen undergoes chemical reactions,
changes form, and moves through
difference reservoirs on earth, including
living organisms.

Nitrogen is required for all

organisms to live and grow
because it is the essential
component of DNA, RNA, and
protein. However, most
organisms cannot use
atmospheric nitrogen, the
largest reservoir.

The five processes in the

nitrogen cycle -- fixation,
uptake, mineralization,
nitrification, and
denitrification -- are all
driven by microorganisms.

Nitrogen fixation
N2 NH4+ Nitrogen fixation
is the process wherein N2
is converted to
ammonium, essential
because it is the only way
that organisms can attain
nitrogen directly from
the atmosphere. Certain
bacteria, for example
those among the genus
Rhizobium, are the only
organisms that fix
nitrogen through
metabolic processes

Nitrification

NH4+ NO3- Some of the ammonium

produced by decomposition is converted
to nitrate via a process called nitrification.
The bacteria that carry out this reaction
gain energy from it. Nitrification requires
the presence of oxygen, so nitrification can
happen only in oxygen-rich environments
like circulating or flowing waters and the
very surface layers of soils and sediments.

 Denitrification
NO3- N2+ N2O Through denitrification,
oxidized forms of nitrogen such as
nitrate and nitrite (NO2-) are
converted to dinitrogen (N2) and, to a
lesser extent, nitrous oxide gas.

Oxygen cycle

Homoestasis and Feedback

Homoestasis is the property of
a system that regulates its
internal environment and tends
to maintain a stable, relatively
constant condition of properties
such as temperature or pH. It
can be either an open or closed
system. In simple terms, it is
basically a process in which the
body's internal environment is
kept stable.

FEEDBACK
This is a concept of system theory regarding interactions.
Negative feedback means that a factor within a control
system has negative influence on itself. Example: In a
biotope there are a certain number of foxes and prey
animals like hares and mice. When the number of foxes
increases, they reduce the prey animals. As they now have
less food, also the foxes get less. And so the prey animals
can multiply again. Negative feedback thus tends to lead to
a stable balance.
A positive feedback on the other hand means that a factor
strengthens itself and so can run out of any balance. An
example of positive feedback in ecology: A plant has
become rare in a biotope. Therefore its pollinators hardly
ever come there. As a consequence the plants often stay
without pollination and so get reduced in number.

FOOD CHAIN AND

TROPHIC LEVELS

Concept
Food Chain : the transfer of food energy
from plant sources through a series of
organisms forms.
Plant Herbivore Carnivore 1
Carnivore 2
Organisms whose food is obtained from
plants by the same number of steps are
said to belong to the same trophic level.

Types
Grazing

 Detritus

 Parasitic Operation

Significance
Food chains help us to :
comprehend the energy flow mechanism
and matter circulation in ecosystems
understand the movement of toxic
substances in the ecosystem
the problem of biological magnification.

Methods for Studying Food

Chains
Gut content analysis
The alimentary canals of animals are opened and
undigested food materials are taken and identified.
A gross analysis is made of the food habits of an
animal and food chain relationships are drawn.

Use of radioactive isotopes

Phosporus 32. a good method to analyse food chain
relationship.
By following their movements and detecting them by
a GM counter.

Precipitin Test

Concept

Sun as Source of
energy

Laws Governing
Energy Transformation

Energy transformation
in nature

Energy Flow in Ecosystem

Energy flow
Models

Ecological
Efficiencies

Lindemans
Concept

Concept
Energy is the capacity to do work
In biological world the energy flows
from the sun to plants and then to all
heterotrophic organisms
Kinetic
Mechanical
Energy
Potential

Sun as Source of Energy

The sun radiation heats up the earth, and
affects the climate and soil-forming
processes, and physiological processes
like photosynthesis
Photosynthetic equation
:
Solar
6CO2 + 6H2O
C6H12O6 + 6O2
Energy
Enzymes etc
(Chlorophyll)

Laws Governing Energy

Transformation

Energy Transformation in
Nature
The average amount of solar energy per
unit area per unit time it depends on their
geographical location.
This diagram shows that energy transfer
isnt 100% efficient and there is degradation
of energy (2nd Law of Thermodynamics)
Each transfer and the end result confirms
the 1st Law of Thermodynamics

Lindemans TrophicDynamic Concept

Ecological Efficiencies
The ratio between energy flow at different
points along the food chain expressed as
percentage
Between
trophic levels
Ecological
Efficiences
Within
trophic levels

Energy Flow Models

Golley (1960) a simple food chain
Odum (1956) the earliest energy flow model. a community
boundary was shown. (1971) gave a simplified energy flow
diagram. Explaining the energy flow mechanism.
John Teal (1957) elucidated the energy flow mechanism in a
temperate cold spring in the USA
Bray (1961) calculated a photosynthetic efficiency of 7.9% for
Picea omorika
Pradan and Dash (1984) transfer functions and the efficiency
of energy capture in a savana type
Westlake (1963) has compared 31 different plant
communities.
This information helps us understand energy flow at the producer
level

Primary Production
Primary production is the chemical energy
generated by autotrophs, derived from
fixation of CO2 in photosynthesis and
chemosynthesis.

Gross primary production (GPP)total

amount of carbon fixed by autotrophs in
an ecosystem.
GPP depends on the influence of climate on
photosynthetic rate and the leaf area
index (LAI)leaf area per unit of ground
area

Net primary production (NPP):

NPP = GPP respiration
NPP represents the biomass gained by
the plant.
NPP is the energy left over for plant
growth and consumption by detritivores
and herbivores.
NPP represents storage of carbon in
ecosystems.

In terrestrial ecosystems, NPP can be

estimated by measuring the increase in
plant biomass in experimental plots,
and scaling up to the whole ecosystem.

Harvest techniques are impractical for large

or biologically diverse ecosystems.
Chlorophyll concentrations can provide a
proxy for GPP and NPP. They can be
estimated using remote sensing methods
that rely on reflection of solar radiation.

NPP can be estimated from GPP and

respiration measurements.
This involves measuring change in CO 2
concentration in a closed chamber.
Sometimes whole stands of plants are
enclosed in a chamber or tent and
exchange of CO2 with the atmosphere in
the tent is measured.

Secondary Production
Secondary productionenergy derived
from consumption of organic compounds
that were produced by other organisms.

Determining what organisms eat is not

always simple.
One method compares the isotopic
composition of an organism to its potential
food sources.
Concentrations of naturally occurring stable
isotopes of carbon (13C), nitrogen (15N),
and sulfur (34S) differ among potential food
items.

Ecosystem are capable of self-development:

The evolution of ecosystem :

- Life began three billion years ago
- Athmosphere : water vapour, ammonia, methane,
hydrogen sulphide, and oxides of carbon.
- Oxygen was not perhaps available in free form, the first
living organism may have been a heterotroph.
- At a later stage, the primitive autotroph converted the
reducing athmosphere into an oxygenic one through
photosynthesis.
- Thus, the ecosystem containin well-defined biotic and
abiotics component evolved.

>>>
- Ecosystems influenced and controlled the
athmosphere by their activities.
- Natural selection. It brought evolutionary
changes at species and subspecies level.

CONCEPT OF MODEL AND

ECOSYSTEM MODELLING

An ecologycal system is a macrosystem

where many complex interactions occur and
various forces act and interact.

 Non-linearity

 Interaction

 Feedback

Discontinuity