Ecosystem Ecology

Ecosystem- a mixture of biotic and abiotic things interacting with each other

Gross primary Productivity- total of solar energy captured in photosynthesis

Net Primary Productivity- GPP - respired energy by producers

Biomass- measurement of amount of energy

Standing Crop- amount of biomass in an ecosystem at one time 

Ecological Efficiency- amount of energy that can be passed through trophic levels

Trophic Pyramid- distribution of biomass between trophic levels

Biogeochemical Cycles- movement of matter in ecosystems involving biological and geological stuff

Macronutrients- Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium,sulfur

Limiting Nutrient- temporarily or permanently impedes a situation

Leaching- cause pollution of surface water

Disturbance- results in change of population size or community composition

Resistance- measure of disturbance and its affect on energy or matter

Resilience- rate that the ecosystem will replenish itself after disturbance

Instrumental Value- a worth that can be used

Intrinsic Value- a worth independent of human use

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140218114311.htm

Intensive organic agriculture can cause large amounts of nitrate to seep through soil into groundwater and pollute it. Demand from the public has led to the use of organic agriculture. This is the reason why the groundwater is getting polluted with nitrate. It has caused drinking-wells to be shut down. It is caused from the nutrient leakage from the compost, and that is what causes the leaching.

Environmental Quote: if the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, then i believe that man would only have 4 years to live. I agree with this quote because bees pollinate. If they were to stop pollinating, then there would be no more plants. if there were no more plants, animals would die off, and therefore we would end up dying off as well. Its all a chain reaction and we would die if bees did not exist.

Human Impact: Humans have had many different impacts on ecosystems and other things in the environment. Humans can cause leaching from polluting soil samples across the land. They can also effect the biogeochemical cycles, by messing with certain traits of the cycle. Humans have impacts on the trophic levels when they mess with consumers, producers, and other levels. Also with biomass, humans can cut down trees which lead loss of biomass.

Environmental Impact: Leaching can pollute water that us humans and other biotic things use. Cycles can have negative impacts on the environment if they were to be messed with. They could alter climate or living conditions in certain areas. Loss of biomass can hurt the environment in its energy levels. Also when forests are cut down, living things can lose their habitats. 

Economic Impact: Cutting down trees is a loss of biomass, but it is an industry for humans. Lumber industry is big and it has instrumental value. It is used by lots of business to make profit. Either for fuel wood, to make boats, or many other uses. It has a large economic impact through its valuable use. Also if water is polluted through leaching, water companies may have problems with purifying their water to sell to people, which would affect them negatively. 

Government Legislation: the clean water act was placed to protect biomass production. It sets a standard to follow. This keeps leaching at a minimum because companies and organizations try to protect the surface water, which means they try to keep it as clean as possible. Also the Environmental Policy Act states that some regulations must be followed to protect the environment.