ENV100Y5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ecosystem Ecology, Biogeochemical Cycle, Ecosystem Services
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ENV100Y5 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Study of interactions among organisms and their physical environment. Cannot separate organisms from their special environment which they form one physical system, systems are the basic units of nature. 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. Ecosystems are nested and hierarchical; thus we can study them on a number of different spatial and temporal scales. Boundary between biotic and abiotic components is often blurred. Reference to matrix, things aren"t as they seem, you"re really looking at the code that is behind things, the systems behind it. Negative feedback - the stabilizer think of thermostat, when the house gets hot, thermostat cools, furnace goes on to regulate temperature. As the climate warms, we get less ice as it melts, albedo (reflection of light on surface) changes, water absorbs more radiation and heat, which melts more ice, etc.
