Energy input in ecosystem, Biology

Assignment Help:

Energy Input in Ecosystem

Survival and functioning of ecosystem is dependent on the input of energy. Continuous availability of energy is essential for supporting diverse ecosystem processes. For any ecosystem, the ultimate source of energy is sunlight. And as you know, it enters the ecosystem through the producers. When a primary consumer (herbivore) eats a producer, and is itself eaten by secondary consumers, we can say that energy is flowing through the ecosystem. The information provided therein, would serve you as a base material for understanding this and the subsequent sections of this unit. As you already know that the amount of solar energy received at the outer boundary of earth's atmosphere is at the rate of 2cal/cm2/min. This quantity is fixed and known as solar constant. You have also learnt that about 30 per cent often sunlight reaching the earth's atmosphere is reflected back into space, about 51 per cent is absorbed as heat by ground, vegetation or water, and about 19 per cent is absorbed by the atmosphere.

Only a small fraction of sunlight, that is, about 0.b2 per tent reaching the atmosphere is used in photosynthesis. Nevertheless; it is this small fraction on which all the organisms of the ecosystem depend. The actual amount of solar flux' received at the surface of the earth is dependent on various climatic, geographic and other environmental factors. On an average the total amount of solar energy that reaches the earth's surface is about 3,400 kcal/m2/day. It varies significantly from one place to another, for example, it decreases with latitude and its input also varies during different seasons at any given location.


Related Discussions:- Energy input in ecosystem

Explain atazanavir, Explain Atazanavir Atazanavir (ATV, Reyataz) - Ata...

Explain Atazanavir Atazanavir (ATV, Reyataz) - Atazanavir (Medical Letter 2003; 45:89) is the first single-agent protease inhibitor with once-daily dosing. In clinical trials

Explain mechanism for reduce the absorption of nutrients, Explain Mechanism...

Explain Mechanism for reduce the absorption of nutrients? The absorption of nutrients is also reduced by mechanisms other than increasing the viscosity of gastrointestinal cont

Biota of estuaries, Biota of Estuaries The estuarine community is a m...

Biota of Estuaries The estuarine community is a mixture of three components: Marine Fresh water and Brackish water but overall estuarine div

Skeleton, what are the biological significance of skeleton

what are the biological significance of skeleton

What do you understand by metanephridia, What do you understand by Metaneph...

What do you understand by Metanephridia? An excretory-osmoregulatory organ comprising a ciliated funnel, nephrostome, connected to tubules that lead to the external nephridiopo

Describe cluster analysis, Q. Describe Cluster analysis? After making a...

Q. Describe Cluster analysis? After making a similarity table, it is then rearranged so that OTU's whose members have the highest mutual similarity are brought together. This c

What is the resting membrane voltage of the neuron, What is the resting mem...

What is the resting membrane voltage of the neuron A complete motor neuron is removed from a frog and placed in normal physiological saline at 1 AM.  The neuron is healthy.  At

What are blood enzymes, What are blood enzymes? Enzymes are proteins th...

What are blood enzymes? Enzymes are proteins that take out chemical reactions (as opposed to structural enzymes). Most of the detectable enzymes in the blood come from the seve

Embryology and histology, Embryology: Embryology (from Greek words embryon...

Embryology: Embryology (from Greek words embryon which means unborn embryo and logia which means study) is a branch of science which deals with the development of an embryo starti

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd