1. UNIT 11: Ecosystems and Communities

2. Weather and Climate What is climate?
Weather- is the day-to-day conditions of the earths atmosphere
A regions climate is defined by year-after-year patterns of temperature and precipitation.
Environmental conditions can vary over small distances, creating microclimates.

3. Factors That Affect Climate
Global climate is shaped by many factors, including solar energy trapped in the biosphere, latitude, and the transport of heat by winds and ocean currents

6. Greenhouse Effect: Greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere allow solar radiation
to enter the biosphere but slow down
the loss of reradiated heat.

7. Cycles of Matter
Unlike the one-way flow of energy, matter is recycled within and between ecosystems.
Biological
Geological
Chemical & Physical
Human Activity

8. Water Cycle
Water continuously moves between the oceans, the atmosphere, and land- sometimes outside living organisms and sometimes inside them

9. Nutrient Cycle
Every Organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out life functions
Like water, nutrients pass through organisms and the environment through biogeochemical cycles
The 3 cycles:
Nitrogen
Carbon
Phosphorous

12. Succession
Ecosystems change over time, especially after disturbances, as some species die out and new species movie in.

15. Succession
Primary Succession- occurs in an area in which no trace of previous community is present.
Secondary Succession- occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbances.