​Ecosystem Functioning

Ecosystems are complex dynamic systems. They play three major roles for sustaining life:

1. Energy Flow
2. Nutrient Cycling
3. Ecological Succession

1.Energy Flow

• Energy flow is an important function of ecosystem which makes them more dynamic.
• Ecosystems need a constant supply of energy to synthesize the molecules they require, to counteract the universal tendency towards increasing disorderliness.
• Sun is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on Earth. There is unidirectional flow of energy from the sun to producers and then to consumers.
• In almost all ecosystems, photo synthesizers are the only "gateway" for energy to flow into food webs (networks of organisms that eat one another).
  • Plants and photosynthetic ....