Ecology

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Ecology

• Everything Is Connected To Everything Else

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Cycles of Matter

• Matter can not be created or destroyed.
• Matter, in the form of chemicals, flows in cycles
  from the nonliving part of the environment to
  living things and back again.

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4 Important Matter Cycles

• Hydrologic (Water) Cycle
• Oxygen Cycle

• Carbon Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle

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The Water Cycle
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Water Cycle Terms

• Radiation is the suns energy (heating water).
• Evaporation is water (liquid) changing to water
  vapor (gas). Evaporation requires energy.
• Condensation is water vapor (gas) changing to
  water (liquid). Condensation releases energy.
• Precipitation is any form of water falling from
  the sky.
• Infiltration/Percolation is water filtering into
  the ground.
• Runoff is water that flows on top of the ground.
• Perspiration is water that comes out of animals
  in the form of sweat. Respiration is from
  breathing.
• Transpiration is water that comes out of plants.

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Infiltration

• Infiltration is water moving into the ground.
  Most precipitation that reaches the surface
  infiltrates the ground.
• Infiltration can only occur it the surface is
  permeable (allows water to flow through), and is
  unsaturated.

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Permeability

• Most infiltration occurs in the thin layer of
  rock, sand, gravel and soil lying on top of the
  bedrock. This layer is called the regolith.
• Permeability refers to the ability of the
  regolith to allow water to pass through.
• Material that does not allow water to flow
  through is said to be impermeable.

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Water Table

• When water can not infiltrate deeper and fills
  the pores above the impermeable layer a zone of
  saturation forms.
• The upper surface of this zone is called the
  water table.
• The zone above the water table is called the zone
  of aeration.

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Water Table Zones
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Permeability and Particle Size
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Porosity

• Porosity refers to the amount of open space
  between the pores of a material.
• Porosity of a loose material is dependent on the
  shape, packing, and sorting of the material.
  Particle size is not a factor.
• Porosity is usually expressed as a percentage
  comparing the volume of open space to the total
  volume of the material.

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Porosity and Permeability
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Capillarity

• Capillarity is the ability of water to move
  upward through small openings in soil.
• The smaller the particle size the greater the
  capillarity.

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Surface Water

• Runoff is water that does not infiltrate the
  ground. There are many factors that affect
  runoff.
• Runoff occurs when
• Rain fall exceeds the permeability rate
• Slope of surface is too steep to allow
  infiltration.

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