What kinds of matter cycle between the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem?
The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle in which carbon moves through the biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.
In general, abiotic factors like rock, soil, and water interact with biotic factors in the form of providing nutrients. Just as humans mine mountains and cultivate soil, rock and soil provide resources for plants, and plants cycle the nutrients through so they (usually) end up back in the ground where they began.
Nutrients, such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C), are among the 16 chemical elements necessary for growth. Plants, microbes, animals, and organic matter are the biotic locations of nutrients. The atmosphere, water, and soil represent the abiotic locations.
Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
Dead producers and consumers and their waste products provide matter and energy to decomposers. Decomposers transform matter back into inorganic forms that can be recycled within the ecosystem. So, the energy that enters an ecosystem as sunlight eventually flows out of the ecosystem in the form of heat.
The rest of this concept takes a closer look at four particular biogeochemical cycles: the water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
The ecosystem is the interaction of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) at a geographical location to form a functional biosphere. The abiotic components of an ecosystem are air, water, soil, sunlight, temperature, etc. The biotic components of an ecosystem include plants, animals, plants, etc.
Abiotic factors help living organisms to survive. Sunlight is the energy source and air (CO2) helps plants to grow. Rock, soil and water interact with biotic factors to provide them nutrition. Interaction between biotic and abiotic factors helps to change the geology and geography of an area.
Both biotic and abiotic factors are related to each other in an ecosystem, and if one factor is changed or removed, it can affect the entire ecosystem. Abiotic factors are especially important because they directly affect how organisms survive.
What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem?
Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem; such as plants, animals, and bacteria, while abiotic are non-living components; such as water, soil and atmosphere. The way these components interact is critical in an ecosystem.
Abiotic factors do the same thing, but they are non-living. Together, biotic and abiotic factors make up an ecosystem. To survive, biotic factors need abiotic factors. In turn, biotic factors can limit the kinds and amounts of biotic factors in an ecosystem.
This recycling process involves both the living organisms (biotic components) and nonliving things (abiotic factors) in the ecosystem. Through biogeochemical cycles, water and other chemical elements are constantly being passed through living organisms to non-living matter and back again, over and over.
The key difference between energy flow and matter cycling is that energy flow shows the energy transmission from one trophic level to next trophic level in food chains while matter cycling shows the flow or cycling of elements through the living and nonliving parts of ecosystems.
The sun (abiotic) provides energy for plants (biotic) that are changed through photosynthesis into sugars that are eaten by people (biotic). Wind (abiotic) blows pollen around from some plants (biotic) so they can pollinate. Water (abiotic) can also move pollen and seeds around (biotic).
Biotic and Abiotic Relationships
Nonliving factors determine what living things can be supported in an ecosystem. The living creatures in a habitat affect the nonliving elements within the community. For example, plants can affect soil chemistry or certain algae can influence water chemistry.
The cycling of matter. Because there are only finite amounts of nutrients available on the earth, they must be recycled in order to ensure the continued existence of living organisms.
Three cycles significant for life are the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
The most important cycles of matter will be described here; those of water, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and carbon.
Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth. Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their food too.
How does matter cycle between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem?
Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
The rest of this concept takes a closer look at four particular biogeochemical cycles: the water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
Dead producers and consumers and their waste products provide matter and energy to decomposers. Decomposers transform matter back into inorganic forms that can be recycled within the ecosystem. So, the energy that enters an ecosystem as sunlight eventually flows out of the ecosystem in the form of heat.
This recycling process involves both the living organisms (biotic components) and nonliving things (abiotic factors) in the ecosystem. Through biogeochemical cycles, water and other chemical elements are constantly being passed through living organisms to non-living matter and back again, over and over.
The key difference between energy flow and matter cycling is that energy flow shows the energy transmission from one trophic level to next trophic level in food chains while matter cycling shows the flow or cycling of elements through the living and nonliving parts of ecosystems.