What is an Ecosystem? TUTORIAL WEEK 12 Discuss and analyse the concepts and issues in relation to an ecology system.

The Concept of the Ecosystem "I bequeathe myself to the dirt, to grow from the grass I love; If you want me again, look for me under your boot-soles." - Walt Whitman Introduction - What is an Ecosystem? An ecosystem consists of the biological community that occurs in some locale, and the physical and chemical factors that make up its non-living or abiotic environment. There are many examples of ecosystems -- a pond, a forest, an estuary, a grassland. The boundaries are not fixed in any objective way, although sometimes they seem obvious, as with the shoreline of a small pond. Usually the boundaries of an ecosystem are chosen for practical reasons having to do with the goals of the particular study. The study of ecosystems mainly consists of the study of certain processes that link the living, or biotic, components to the non-living, or abiotic, components. Energy transformations andbiogeochemical cycling are the main processes that comprise the field of ecosystem ecology. As we learned earlier, ecology generally is defined as the interactions of organisms with one another and with the environment in which they occur. We can study ecology at the level of the individual, the population, the community, and the ecosystem. Components of an Ecosystem You are already familiar with the parts of an ecosystem. You have learned about climate and soils from past lectures. From this course and from general knowledge, you have a basic understanding of the diversity of plants and animals, and how plants and animals and microbes obtain water, nutrients, and food. We can clarify the parts of an ecosystem by listing them under the headings "abiotic" and "biotic".

ABIOTIC COMPONENTS Sunlight Temperature Precipitation Water or moisture Soil or water chemistry (e.g., P, NH4+)

BIOTIC COMPONENTS Primary producers Herbivores Carnivores Omnivores Detritivores

Processes of Ecosystems This figure with the plants, zebra, lion, and so forth illustrates the two main ideas about how ecosystems function: ecosystems have energy flows and ecosystems cycle materials. These two processes are linked, but they are not quite the same (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Energy flows and material cycles. http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/kling/ecosystem/ecosyst em.html ISSUES : Environmental problems in Malaysia A tropical natural bounty, but can this treasure be kept? Malaysia, one of the 'Asian tiger' economies, has enjoyed remarkable growth over the last few decades, with industrialization, agriculture and tourism playing leading roles in this success story. But today, despite a relatively positive environmental record, Malaysia faces problems of deforestation, pollution of inland and marine waters, soil and coastal erosion, overfishing and coral reef destruction, along with air pollution, water pollution and the problem of waste disposal. Deforestation Oil palm plantations are a prevalent feature of the Malaysian landscape, as this industry has become a major contributor to the countrys export earnings. The increase in palm oil production has been driven by strong global demand for oils and fats, notably from Europe and China. However, this expansion of land for oil palm cultivation has taken place at the expense of

lowland tropical forests, which are ecologically sensitive habitats. The fate of a magic floodplain in Sabah This includes the Lower Kinabatangan Floodplains in Sabah. In this area, stretching along the northeastern coast of Borneo, forests have been reduced to scattered pieces, while endangered animals such as elephants have lost their natural homes. Flooding has also intensified. Because the remaining forest is fragmented, elephants are forced to move through plantations and smallholdings to get from one patch to another. They prefer to use forest on dry ground, so during floods they are also forced into agricultural land, sometimes causing considerable damage. Habitat fragmentation has also affected the orangutan populations and other species of high conservation priority (rhinoceros, monkeys, storm storks, oriental darters and others). Pollution Malaysia has enjoyed one of the least polluted urban environments in Asia. However, with the massive industrial development of recent years, and an increase in urbanization and vehicle use, air and water pollution are of growing concern. http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/malaysia/environmental_problems_malaysia/