ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystems are the interactions between the living things and the nonliving things in a place. In an ecosystem, the plants, animals, and other organisms rely on each other and on the physical environment the soil, water, and nutrients, for example. Even though they are living in the same place, each species in an ecosystem has its own role to play. This role is called a niche. The niche for one species might be to climb trees and eat their fruit, while the niche for another species might be to hunt for small rodents. For a tree, a niche might be to grow tall and make food with the Suns energy through the process of photosynthesis. If the niche of two species is very similar, they might compete for food or other resources. Sometimes ecosystems get out of balance. If, for example, it rains a lot and a type of bird that thrives with extra water increases in numbers, other species in the ecosystem might be crowded out. The birds might take food or space or other resources from other species. They might eat all the food. Sometimes an ecosystem naturally gets back into balance. Other times an ecosystem will become more and more out of balance. Today, human actions are having an impact on ecosystems all over the world. Making buildings and roads, fishing and farming all have an impact on ecosystems. Pollution on land, air pollution, and water pollution is sending many ecosystems out of balance too. 3.1 Types of ecosystems There are essentially two kinds of ecosystems; Aquatic and Terrestrial. Any other sub-ecosystem falls under one of these two headings. 3.1.1Terrestrial Ecosystems: can be found anywhere apart from heavily saturated places. They are broadly classed into: The Forest Ecosystems: They are the ecosystems in which an abundance of flora, or plants, is seen so they have a big number of organisms which live in relatively small space.

 The Desert Ecosystem: Desert ecosystems are located in regions that receive an annual rainfall less than 25. They occupy about 17 percent of all the land on our planet. The Grassland Ecosystem: are located in both the tropical and temperate regions of the world though the ecosystems vary slightly. The area mainly comprises grasses with a little number of trees and shrubs. A lot of grazing animals, insectivores and herbivores inhabit the grass. The two main kinds of grasslands ecosystems are: Savanna and Prairies. The Mountain Ecosystem: Mountain land provides a scattered and diverse array of habitats where a large number of animals and plants can be found. At the higher altitudes, the harsh environmental conditions normally prevail, and only the treeless alpine vegetation can survive. 3.1.2 Aquatic Ecosystems: The aquatic ecosystem is the ecosystem found in a body of water. It encompasses aquatic flora, fauna and water properties, as well. There are two main types of aquatic ecosystem - Marine and Freshwater. The Marine Ecosystem: Marine ecosystems are the biggest ecosystems, which cover around 71% of Earth's surface and contain 97% of out planet's water. Water in Marine ecosystems features in high amounts minerals and salts dissolved in them. The Freshwater Ecosystem: Contrary to the Marine ecosystems, the freshwater ecosystem covers only 0.8% of Earth's surface and contains 0.009% of the total water. Three basic kinds of freshwater ecosystems exist: Lentic, Lotic and Wetlands. 3.2 Photosynthesis A great variety of living things on earth, including all green plants, synthesize their foods from simple molecules, such as carbon dioxide and water. For this process, the organisms require energy, and that energy is derived from sunlight. Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy to chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugar. This process occurs in plants and some algae (Kingdom Protista). Plants need only light energy, CO2, and H2O to make sugar. The process of photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplasts, specifically using chlorophyll, the green pigment involved in photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis takes place primarily in plant leaves, and little to none occurs in stems, etc. The parts of a typical leaf include the upper and lower epidermis, the mesophyll, the vascular bundle(s) (veins), and the stomates. The upper and lower epidermal cells do not have chloroplasts, thus photosynthesis does not occur there.

3.3 Chemistry of Photosynthesis Light energy is captured in the chloroplast of plant cells and used to synthesize glucose molecules, shown as C6H12O6. In the process, oxygen (O2) is released as a waste product. The glucose and oxygen are then used in the mitochondrion of the plant and animal cell, and the energy is released and used to fuel the synthesis of ATP from ADP and P. In the reaction, C02 and water are released in the mitochondrion to be reused in photosynthesis in the chloroplast. The process of utilizing energy to synthesize carbohydrate molecules is referred to as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is actually two separate processes. In the first process, energy-rich electrons flow through a series of coenzymes and other molecules. This electron energy is trapped. During the trapping process, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules and molecules of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen (NADPH) are formed. Both ATP and NADPH are rich in energy. These molecules are used in the second half of the process, where carbon dioxide molecules are bound into carbohydrates to form organic substances such as glucose. The overall chemical reaction involved in photosynthesis is: 6CO2 + 6H2O (+ light energy) C6H12O6 + 6O2. This is the source of the O2 we breathe, and thus, a significant factor in the concerns about deforestation.

CONCLUSIONS

1. An ecosystem is very important because it is the community of living things where they develop their life processes.

2. An ecosystem may lose its balance by the neglect of human actions.

3. A plant can synthesize their food from a process that just requires sun light and its call photosynthesis.

4. Photosynthesis is essential for there to be an ecosystem.

5. Chemistry is important because it helps to understand the effects of photosynthesis in ecosystems and it describes the process reaction.

ANNEXES

1. Crowded: Concurrido / Lleno de animales, gente etc.

2. Headings: Encabezamientos.

3. Heavily: Fuertemente.

4. Pollution: Polucin, Contaminacin

5. Rely: Confiar

6. Resources: Recursos

7. Scattered: Disperso

8. Shrubs: Arbustos

9. Slightly: Ligeramente

10. Stems: Deriva

11. Thrives: Prospera

12. Thus: As

REFERENCES

1.

CLIFFSS NOTES. Photosynthesis Defined. (On line). Clifton Keith Hillegass. Nebraska, 2010. Consulted in: 23 October 2012. Available on <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/PhotosynthesisDefined.topicArticl eId-8741,articleId-8596.html>>

2.

ECOSYSTEM. ORG. Different types of ecosystems. (On line). Daniela Paley. Los Angeles, 2012. Consulted in: 23 October 2012. Available on: <http://www.ecosystem.org/types-of-ecosystems>>

3.

SCLINKS. Photosynthesis. (On line). J. Stein Carter. Menlo Park, CA. 2004. Consulted in: 23 October 2012. Available on: <<http://biology.clc.uc.edu/ courses/bio104/photosyn.htm>>

4. WINDOWS TO UNIVERSE. Biomes and ecosystems. (On line). Lisa Gardiner. Orlando Fl. 2008. Consulted in: 23 October 2012. Available on: <<http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/ecosystems.html>>