**Instructions fill in notes WHILE you read the chapter. Add any additional notes during class.
***Notes that you are to complete before lecture will be preceded by the following symbol:
Part 5: Succession

**Chapter 3 PAGES 68 – 71
 BRAINSTORM: How to Biomes/Ecosystems Form?
Chapter 3 [PAGES 68 – 71] : Succession

Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human activities or events.
 List some natural or human events that can change ecosystems:
Natural Events
Human Events
-

The series of predictable changes that occur in an ecosystem over time is called succession.
- During the different growth stages of succession, one species
does NOT turn into another species (e.g. grasses do not turn
into shrubs). Instead, different species at different stages create
conditions that are suitable for certain organisms (e.g. taller
trees begin to grow, block out the sunlight needed by smaller
trees, and replace them. Smaller tree species do not turn into
larger tree species.)

There are two types of succession:
 1. Define Primary succession:
Examples:
 2. Define Secondary succession:
Examples:
 Define Pioneer Species:
Examples:
 Define Climax Community:
In general, how long does it take for a climax community to form?
 Succession Summary
 Is the following diagram depicting primary or secondary succession?
 Is the following diagram depicting primary or secondary succession?
 Arrange the following steps of succession in the order they occur.
_____ As these plants live and die, the soil continues to develop to the point that grasses can
successfully grow and grassland community forms.
_____ The shrub community may be replaced by a forest.
_____ Bare rock is first colonized by lichens* and bacteria.
_____ Over time, the soil level increases to point that shrubs can grow in the grassland. The
grassland is replaced by a shrub community.
_____ The small amount of soil formed by the lichens* is colonized by mosses and ferns, which do
not have roots and require little soil.
 Arrange the species below in order of their appearance in succession from bare rock to
forest:
Softwoods (conifer),
lichen,*
moss,
ferns,
hardwoods (oak)
*lichens are not really one species or one type of organism. A lichen body is actually made
up of an algae and a fungus.
Part 6: Cycles of Matter
Matter is Recycled
 Define Matter:

Everything that has mass is made of matter, including living things.

The law of conservation of matter states that matter is neither created nor destroyed.
However, matter can be “reassembled” to produce different compounds/molecules.
Example: Your body breaks down the fat molecules in the cheeseburger you eat
so that it can reassemble them to form the earwax in your ears.

With the exception of some cosmic dust and the odd meteorite, we have the same amount
of matter on the planet now as was here when the Earth was formed.
We HAVE to RECYCLE matter.
Indeed, the carbon dioxide that Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts exhales today may
eventually end up in the broccoli you have for dinner sometime in the future.
All matter on earth has been used before.

Ecologists call the cycling of matter through the biotic (biosphere) and abiotic
(atmosphere/hydrosphere) compartments of Earth BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES.
 You are responsible for knowing the Biogeochemical Cycles of Water, Carbon,
Nitrogen, and Phosphorus. Study each cycle.
Importance of the four Biogeochemical Cycles
Why do living things need water?
All living things need water to survive. Water is an essential part of metabolism, the sum
of all of the chemical and physical reactions in a living thing/organism. Without water,
metabolic processes would not occur (e.g. your body would not be able to digest the food
you eat without water.)
Why do living things need carbon?
Carbon is important to living things because it is the key element in the biological
molecules that make up living things. These biological molecules can also be broken
down and the energy from their catabolism used to power or build (grow) organisms.
Why do living things need nitrogen?
All organisms need nitrogen to make amino acids, which are in turn used to build
proteins.
Why do living things need phosphorus?
Phosphorus is essential to living organisms because it is a component of DNA and RNA
which form our genetic code and ATP which we use for energy.
 Read about each biogeochemical cycle and answer the following questions about the
biogeochemical cycles.
WATER (H2O)
How is water cycled through an ecosystem?
All living things need water to survive. Water enters the atmosphere from bodies of
liquid (lakes, oceans) by evaporation, which is the process by which water changes from
liquid to gas. Water also enters the atmosphere from plants in a process called
transpiration. In transpiration water evaporates out of the leaves of plants. Air
containing moisture rises and eventually cools and is converted back into liquid water
through the process of condensation (gas to liquid). These tiny droplets of water form
clouds and eventually release it back to earth as precipitation (droplets merge to form
larger droplets). On land water runs off the surface into lakes and streams or is taken into
the soil by a process known as seepage where it is either taken up by the roots of plants or
seeps into the groundwater.
Water Cycle
1. Liquid water enters the atmosphere and is converted to water vapor. What are two
ways liquid water enters the atmosphere and from where does it come?
__________________________ __________________________________________
__________________________ __________________________________________
2. What process converts water vapor back into liquid water? __________________
3. Water falls back to earth as ___________________. (either ______ or ________)
4. Water runs along the surface of the earth into streams and lakes. This is called
_______________.
5. Precipitation can enter the soil by ________________ and be taken up by plants.
6. If water seeps down deep into the soil it can become part of the _____________.
7. Water is stored for long periods of time in ________________,_____________,
___________________________ and ____________________________.
CARBON (C)
How is carbon cycled through an ecosystem?
Carbon is present in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide enters the
atmosphere through diffusion from ocean surfaces, through the respiration by all living
organisms (mostly soil micro-organisms and insects), volcanic activity and the burning of
biomass and fossil fuels. Carbon leaves the atmosphere by two processes; absorption into
the oceans and photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, which is performed by plants and algae,
converts carbon dioxide gas into carbon molecules such as glucose. The amount being
absorbed by the oceans is relatively the same as the amount diffusing out of the oceans.
The amount plants take in by photosynthesis is relatively the same as the amount given
off by the respiration of soil micro-organisms and insects. While in the ocean the carbon
is used to make shells for sea invertebrates. When animals eat plants they use the carbon
from the plants to build their own tissues and to obtain energy through respiration. The
waste of respiration, carbon dioxide, is released into the atmosphere. Decomposition
converts organic carbon back into atmospheric carbon dioxide. When humans burn these
substances they release carbon dioxide that has been stored for long periods of time back
into the atmosphere. There is nothing to balance this.
Carbon Cycle
1. Carbon exists in the atmosphere as _______________________.
2. The amount of carbon leaving and entering oceans is nearly the same. Carbon
leaves oceans by ______________ and returns by______________.
3. The amount of carbon entering the atmosphere from living things and moving
from living things into the atmosphere is nearly identical. Carbon moves from
living things into the atmosphere by ________________________. Carbon is
transferred from the atmosphere into living things by ____________________.
4. Most of the respiration done by organisms is done by ___________________ and
________________________________.
5. A small amount of carbon enters the atmosphere naturally from ______________.
6. Humans transfer carbon into the atmosphere by burning ________________ &
___________________.
7. Most of the human transferred carbon comes from ______________________.
8. The cycle is out of balance because carbon that was once stored deep in the earth
is now accumulating in _______________________________.
9. Carbon is stored for long periods in the ocean as ________________________ &
in ________________________.
10. Plants get carbon by ________________________.
11. Animals get carbon by _______________________________________.
12. Animals use glucose (carbon molecule made by plants) to get energy by the
process of __________________________.
13. Carbon from dead animals and plants is converted back into the gas carbon
dioxide by the process of ______________________.
14. Under unique conditions and over millions of years organisms can be converted
into ___________________, _________________ & ____________________.
NITROGEN (N)
How is nitrogen cycled through an ecosystem?
Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the atmosphere. The gaseous nitrogen is converted into
solid nitrogen in the soil where it may be taken up by plants. Plants make proteins from
the nitrogen. All nitrogen obtained by animals can be traced back to the eating of plants.
The nitrogen is passed up the food chain. At each trophic level, nitrogen is excreted as
liquid which is converted back into forms plants can use. Some nitrogen is converted
back into gas and re-enters the atmosphere.
Why are bacteria essential to the nitrogen cycle?
Only bacteria can convert nitrogen from gas to solid forms and back into gas form.
Certain bacteria that live in the root nodules of certain plants called legumes (peas &
beans) convert nitrogen gas solid forms plants can use in a process called nitrogen
fixation. This is a symbiotic relationship because the bacteria get a place to live and an
energy source and the plants get nitrogen. Other soil bacteria convert nitrates into
nitrogen gas.
Nitrogen Cycle
1. Nitrogen gas makes up __________ of the atmosphere.
2. Only _________________ can convert nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form
plants can use.
3. Plants have bacteria living in their roots to convert nitrogen gas into a solid form
are in the ____________ family of plants. Ex: ____________ ______________
4. Soil bacteria use three steps to convert nitrogen gas into ____________ which can
be used by plants.
5. The process of _____________________ converts dead plants and animals back
into ____________________ which can eventually be taken up again by
_____________.
6. The conversion of nitrates back into nitrogen gas is called __________________.
It is done by ________________.
7. A small amount of nitrate is fixed in the atmosphere by _________________.
8. The excretory waste (urine) is converted back into ammonia by ______________.
9. In factories, humans fix nitrogen chemically into products called
__________________ to increase crop yield.
10. When the phosphorus in fertilizers runs into bodies of water and kills all the
animal (most fish) life this is called _________________________.
11. The nitrogen cycle would not happen without _____________________.
PHOSPHORUS (P)
How is phosphorus cycled through an ecosystem?
Phosphorus is not very common in the biosphere and unlike carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
and nitrogen, is never found in the atmosphere. On land it is found mostly in rock and in
the ocean in sediment. Phosphate is released as rock and sediment are eroded. It cycles
on land from the soil to the plants to the animals and back to the soil and in water from
the water to the algae to the zooplankton to fish and back to the water. There is exchange
between the land and sea’s cycles as phosphorus from land washes into rivers and flows
to the sea and the phosphate that has been stored in sediments for thousands of years is
eventually weathered and released back to land.
Phosphorus Cycle
1. Phosphorus is never found in the ___________________________.
2. On land phosphorus is found mostly in _______________.
3. In oceans phosphorus is stored in _______________ & ___________.
4. Phosphorus runs into the soil and back into bodies of water by the process of
______________________.
5. Phosphorus moves from ocean to land when __________________________.
6. Phosphorus in the _____________ moves into plants through their ________.
7. Animals get phosphorus by ___________________________.
8. The phosphorus that plants take out of the soil is added back in when
_______________________________.
9. In the ocean ___________________________ takes up phosphorus from the
water and then it is ______________________________________________.
It returns to the water when ___________________________.