Let's take a break from environmental issues for a bit and get back to the basics shall we?
Source~USDA NRCS & NSTA (2010)
Based off of the title, I'm sure you all know that I'm going to talk about the importance of nutrient cycling in ecosystems. But what exactly is nutrient cycling? Well, all jargon aside, nutrient cycling is the flow of energy in -and out of- an ecosystem. It may seem hard to believe, but our world only has a finite amount of resources. Think of it like a decorative fountain you see in a park. Water continually flows through the fountain, but that doesn't mean that the water is infinite in supply; it's simply being reused. Earth is a lot like that fountain, only on a much larger scale and with everything. Literally everything you see -from your clothes, your dog, your phone, your lawn, your hair, even the computer screen you're staring at now to read this blog- needed energy to be made a/o needs energy to survive or function. In order to maintain balance and keep everything running smoothly, nature's got a pretty good thing going: its called eating.
Everybody -and everything really- eats. In order for you to survive, you obtain nutrients (your energy) from food by eating that greasy burger. Plants eat sugar and nutrients like nitrogen to stay alive. Those plants are eaten by animals like cattle to stay alive and do cattle things like make milk. That cow is then turned into that awesome burger you hypothetically ate earlier. If your eyes by chance were too big for your stomach, then you most likely will have leftovers that may or may not eventually be eaten by decomposers like fungi and bacteria; releasing those nutrients and sugar to be eaten by plants starting the whole process over again. In ecology we call this a food web, and many of you may already be aware of this. What they don't really go over in many examples of foods webs though, is how plants (the primary producers) are getting these nutrients and sugar in the first place.
The short answer to this, is chemistry. This is the magic behind eating and digestion. Basically, a nutrient is any chemical substance that is essential for the survival of a species. These nutrients enter an ecosystem through the weathering of rocks, biological fixation from the atmosphere, and deposition by rain and wind. Plants then obtain and utilize these nutrients by chemical processes involved in digestion. Every organism has a similar suite of digestive tactics, tailored to fulfill their specific nutrient requirements. Most notable of these organisms, are the decomposers.
The microbial community plays an important role in nutrient cycling. This is mainly because microbes make otherwise unattainable nutrients available to the rest of the ecosystem by either atmospheric fixation or breaking down dead or living matter(i.e when they eat). There is a delicate balance in nutrient cycling. In order to release nutrients from other matter, microbes need a sufficient supply of a different nutrient. So the amount of a "limiting nutrient/element" will determine the amount of other nutrients available in an ecosystem.
So nature has pretty much everything accounted for in nutrient cycling except for one thing: us. We have an interesting habit of altering our environment, both intentionally and unintentionally. Activities like digging for fossil fuels, taking away or introducing species into an environment, or removing forests for agricultural farm land throw off an ecosystem's equilibrium. If you suddenly add or take away a limiting nutrient from an area, the present ecosystem will completely change. This is partially why things like biodiversity and species abundance are so important when we study ecology; it makes an ecosystem robust. And the more robust an ecosystem is, the more resistant it is to disturbances.
So does that mean you're a bad person for driving your car to work, using paper and enjoying today's modern conveniences? Should we all convert to Amish lifestyles? Not necessarily. The point is that everything comes from somewhere, and when you're done with it it has to go somewhere. As much as we like to point out how unique we are on this planet, that doesn't change the fact that we are still very much a part of it. This is why environmental issues are such a big deal. Since we're all sharing the same planet and resources, it behooves everyone to be conscious of the decisions we make with where we get and how we use resources. All you need is the proper information, and as they say knowing is half the battle. But as we'll see next week, the other half is more complicated.
The short answer to this, is chemistry. This is the magic behind eating and digestion. Basically, a nutrient is any chemical substance that is essential for the survival of a species. These nutrients enter an ecosystem through the weathering of rocks, biological fixation from the atmosphere, and deposition by rain and wind. Plants then obtain and utilize these nutrients by chemical processes involved in digestion. Every organism has a similar suite of digestive tactics, tailored to fulfill their specific nutrient requirements. Most notable of these organisms, are the decomposers.
The microbial community plays an important role in nutrient cycling. This is mainly because microbes make otherwise unattainable nutrients available to the rest of the ecosystem by either atmospheric fixation or breaking down dead or living matter(i.e when they eat). There is a delicate balance in nutrient cycling. In order to release nutrients from other matter, microbes need a sufficient supply of a different nutrient. So the amount of a "limiting nutrient/element" will determine the amount of other nutrients available in an ecosystem.
So nature has pretty much everything accounted for in nutrient cycling except for one thing: us. We have an interesting habit of altering our environment, both intentionally and unintentionally. Activities like digging for fossil fuels, taking away or introducing species into an environment, or removing forests for agricultural farm land throw off an ecosystem's equilibrium. If you suddenly add or take away a limiting nutrient from an area, the present ecosystem will completely change. This is partially why things like biodiversity and species abundance are so important when we study ecology; it makes an ecosystem robust. And the more robust an ecosystem is, the more resistant it is to disturbances.
So does that mean you're a bad person for driving your car to work, using paper and enjoying today's modern conveniences? Should we all convert to Amish lifestyles? Not necessarily. The point is that everything comes from somewhere, and when you're done with it it has to go somewhere. As much as we like to point out how unique we are on this planet, that doesn't change the fact that we are still very much a part of it. This is why environmental issues are such a big deal. Since we're all sharing the same planet and resources, it behooves everyone to be conscious of the decisions we make with where we get and how we use resources. All you need is the proper information, and as they say knowing is half the battle. But as we'll see next week, the other half is more complicated.
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