ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Sedimentary Rock, Photic Zone, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Study of interactions among organisms and their physical environment as an integrated system. A way of looking at organisms and their interactions with the environment as an integrated system focuses on functions, processes, fluxes (energy, nutrients), biogeochemical cycles, etc. Inputs, outputs, feedback loops, resistance & resilience, emergent properties. Boundary between the biotic (living) and abiotic (dead) components is often blurred. Resistance = system resists change and remains stable despite a disturbance. Resilience = system changes in response to a disturbance, but later returns to its original state. Whole is more than the sum of its parts. Ecosystem ecology provides a mechanistic basis for understanding the earth system. Ecosystems provide goods and services to society. Stores 67 billion tons of carbon = 303 years of carbon emissions. Carbon bank account = . 1 trillion; billion annually. Abiotic env"t (water, soil minerals, atmospheric gases) Species are not usually treated as separate units; functional role is what is important.
