Why is there a need for conservation

www.allenswcd.org/
Conservation is the protection and preservation of natural resources in the environment. There a need to conserve .

1) to prevent extinction of plant species
2) to maintain a stable and balanced ecosystem .this prevents disruption of natural cycles .
3) to maintain a large gene pool many wild plants possess favorable genes , by crossbreeding the variety , we can improve agricultural produce.
4) To ensure the conservation of marine life, as they are a source food
5) Conservation is of scientific value .studying the wildlife provides useful information to humans
6) Conservation preserves natural greenery and wildlife for people to appreciate.
7) To maintain biodiversity ,rainforest is a house of a large number of species and are o graet economic impotance.
a) tropical plants provide raw materials for industries
b) tropical plants provide raw materials for medicinal drugs and natural insecticide.
c)tropical rainforest is a source of food .

Biomagnification

Biomagnification is the bioaccumulation of a substance up the food chain by transfer of residues of the substance in smaller organisms that are food for larger organisms in the chain. It generally refers to the sequence of processes that results in higher concentrations in organisms at higher levels in the food chain (at higher trophic levels). These processes result in an organism having higher concentrations of a substance than is present in the organism’s food. http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/biomagnification.html
Organism which feed higher levels of DDT from consuming their prey , it is not poisonous in small amounts and eventually the DDT concentration accumulates to the extend that the top consumers suffer the effects of bioaccumulation

Eutrophication

Eutrophication is a process whereby water bodies, such as lakes, estuaries, or slow-moving streams receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth . This enhances plant growth, , reduces dissolved oxygen in the water when dead plant material decomposes and can cause other organisms to die.

http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/eutrophication.html

this is the process

fertilizers not absorbed by plants are washed into near lakes, the nitrates and phosphates facilitate plant growth , this added nutrients enhance the growth of algae and water plants , the submerged algae and plants die due to insufficient sunlight, dead bodies get decomposed by bacteria , giving rise to growth of bacteria using up the oxygen in the water thus the other organisms die or are affected eventually

uncontrolled fishing practices

Over fishing occurs when the population decreases in large numbers . some of their methods destroy the seabed and marine habitat.
There are detrimental effects of uncontrolled fishing practices , the species of fish will be caught faster than they can be replaced . the young fishes that are caught are not able to reproduce causing decline in their population and those caught unintentionally would die and more species would become endangered or face extincton.

the impact of human activities on our ecosystem

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/deforestation-2.jpgD
deforestation

This refers to the clearing of forest . They are cleared to meet the rising demands of land and materials.
with the use of modern technology , forest are being cleared at a faster rate than it could be replaced. This often results in undesirable consequences
1) soil erosion: the canopy of trees acts as a shield to protect the soil from the rain water . rain water is stored and absorbed by the roots of trees and gradually released into the soil , with the trees gone,soil is exposed directly to the force of rain,topsoil , also the most fertile layer , gets washed away or eroded during heavy rain
2) flooding: the eroded soil might get deposited in the rivers , disrupting the flow of the river , causing a rise in water levels , causing floods .
3) desertification: exposed to sunlight , water is removed from soil causing it to harden , with the topsoil eroded , land becomes barren , plants are not able to grow and the end result is that habitats and organisms get extinct .overgrazing also leads to desertification
4) climate changes : this is caused by deforestation as when rain water is retained in roots of trees , they are lost as transpiration , and producing rain . without trees , the annual rainfall will decrease.

1) In any ecosystem, the ultimate source of energy is the sun. 2) chlorophyll in plants absorb light energy which is converted during photosynthesis.

http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/cycles6.htm
The carbon process is made up of processes by which carbon dioxide is removed from and restored to the environment.

Removal of carbon dioxide from the environment

During photosynthesis , green plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to manufacture carbohydrates.

The glucose may be changed to other organic compound like amino acid.

The animals feed on green plants , the carbon compounds become part of these animals OR the carbon compounds may also be preserved in fossil fuels like coal

Release of carbon dioxide into environment

carbon dioxide is release into the environment through:
1) respiration
during respiration , carbon compounds are broken down into their bodies and carbon dioxide is released into environment.
2) COMBUSTION: when fossil fuels are burnt, the carbon compounds preserved in the fossil fuels are broken down and carbon dioxide is realeased
3) Decay: when organisms die, their bodies are broken down by decomposers , carbon dioxide is released and some simple substances are absorbed by decomposers and become part of their bodies . when decomposers respire , they too give out carbon dioxide .
The carbon cycle is vital as it provides us a continuous supply of carbon dioxide for plants and allows energy to flow through the ecosystem

What happens to most of the energy in the ecosystem?

1) In any ecosystem, the ultimate source of energy is the sun.
2) chlorophyll in plants absorb light energy which is converted during photosynthesis.
3) Energy that it produce dcrease from one level to another by feeding
4) This flow of energy is non-cyclic . energy is released as heat to the environment as it flows through the ecosystem .This organism neither returns to the same system nor the organisms which produces it, therefore it cannot be recycled in the ecosystem
5) The dead organisms and excreted materials contain trapped energy. This is released by the activity of decomposers, the rest of the energy is loss as heat.