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ECOSYSTEMS

ENV20:
INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

ENGR. ADONIS P. ADORNADO


Outline
2

 Ecosystem Structure and Function


 Energy Flow in Ecosystems
 Material Flow in Ecosystems
 Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
Ecosystem Structure and Function
3

 Ecosystem
 an assembly of mutually interacting organisms and
their environment in which materials are
interchanged in a largely cyclical manner
 has physical, biological & chemical components
along w/ the energy sources & pathways of energy
& materials interchange
Ecosystem Structure and Function
4

 Biotic Components
 Abiotic Components
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
5

 Photosynthesis
Nutrients   CO2 sunlight
 O2  High  Energy Molecules 

 Respiration
High  Energy Molecules   O2  CO2  Nutrients 
 Organisms
 Producers

 Consumers

 Decomposers
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
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 Food chain
 passage of energy from one trophic level to the
next as a result or organism consuming another
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
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2nd order
consumer

1st order
consumer

producer

 Food web – overlapping of food chains


Energy Flow in Ecosystems
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Material Flow in Ecosystems
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 Biogeochemical Cycles
 C,O, N, P, S Cycles
 Hydrologic Cycle
Material Flow in Ecosystems
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 Microbial Decomposers
 Aerobic

Detritus   O2  CO2  H 2O  Nutrients 


 Anaerobic
Detritus   CO2  CH 4  H 2 S  NH 3  ...  Nutrients 
 Facultative
Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
11

 Categories of Ecosystem Services


 Provision (food production)
 Regulation (climate control)

 Support (crop pollination)

 Culture (recreational amenities)

 Preservation (diversity maintenance)


Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
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Toxic Substances and Ecosystem and Human Health


 Bioconcentration
 directabsorption of a chemical into an individual
organism
 Bioaccumulation / Biomagnification
 accumulationof chemicals by exposure to
contaminated water and ingestion of
contaminated food
Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
13

 Bioconcentration Factor, BCF


 ratio of concentration of a
chemical in an organism to
that in the surrounding
environmental medium (due
to direct uptake)
 Bioaccumulation Factor, BAF
 ratio of the concentration of a
chemical in an organism to
that in the surrounding
medium (all mechanisms
considered)
Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
14

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health


 Biodiversity
 great variety present in all forms of life
 Environmental Niche
 an organism’s specialized role in the ecosystem
 Invasive Species
 speciesthat have become established in a natural
ecosystem and threaten native biodiversity
Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
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 Reasons to Support Biodiversity


 plants and animals may play a critical role in the
development of more productive food supplies and
medicines that improve human health and life
 the loss of a single component (specie) could
permanently and fatally disrupt ecosystem function
 humans are stewards of the environment
Outline
16

 Ecosystem Structure and Function


 Energy Flow in Ecosystems
 Material Flow in Ecosystems
 Ecosystem Health and Public Welfare
ECOSYSTEMS

ENV20:
INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

ENGR. ADONIS P. ADORNADO

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