4.

4 Decay is a natural process

The first ones to appear when an organism decays are the scavengers (which break up the
dead bodies into more manageable pieces. Scavengers eat some of the dead body but leave
behind blood or small pieces of tissue.
The remains are decomposed by the activities of microorganisms (fungi and bacteria). Microbes
convert the substances from large, complex molecules in animal and plant remains to simpler
compounds in the soil and the atmosphere- and this is how substances pass through the
nutrient cycle.
Requirements for decomposition:
1. Heat- for rapid decomposition, need to maintain an optimum temperature for the activity
of enzymes. Heat is generated by the respiration process that occurs during the
respiration process.
2. Oxygen-is required for aerobic respiration, which releases energy in bacteria and fungi
to drive their metabolism.
3. Water- they use water to split chemical bonds. Water is also required to dissolve the
breakdown products before they can be absorbed by the saprotrophs or other
organisms.(hydrolysis reactions)
In the absence of oxygen, decomposition is very slow and smelly.
Importance of decomposition processes to humans
1. Organic waste in sewage is decomposed and made less harmless in water treatment
plants.
2. Organic pollutants such as spilled oil may be removed from the environment by
decomposing bacteria.
3. Food is spoilt due to decomposition. Many food treatments alter physical conditions to
inhibit enzyme activity.
4. Wounds may become infected by saprotrophs, leading to tissue loss or even death.
Many medical treatments inhibit the multiplication or metabolism of saprotrophs.

4.5 The carbon cycle

Living organisms require carbon containing compounds as
1. A source of energy.
2. Raw materials for the growth of cells.
Processes that will affect the carbon cycle:
1. Sometimes conditions are not suitable for respiration by decomposers, and carbon
remains locked up in the bodies of organisms.
2. Over millions of years the formation of fossil fuels has removed carbon dioxide from the
air. Humans have exploited fossil fuels as a source of energy over a relatively short time,
and combustion has increased the levels of co2 in the atmosphere.
3. The burning of biomass fuels such as wood and alcohol not only uses up oxygen but
also returns carbon dioxide.

Death
and
excretio
Feedin
g

respiration
in
respiratio decomposer
s.
n in
animals.

respiratio
n in
plants

Amount of respiration in different groups of living organism:

1. Plants usually respire less than they photosynthesise.
2. Decomposer s respiration can be very high.

combusti
on

4.6 The nitrogen cycle

Plants need nitrogen for the synthesis of proteins and other compounds. But plans do not have
the necessary enzymes to use the nitrogen directly; instead they must absorb it as nitrate.
Microorganisms conduct the following processes to form nitrate:
Nitrogen fixation
1. Nitrogen and hydrogen are combined to form ammonium ions and then nitrate.
2. Performed by nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
3. Most of these bacteria live in free soil, but Rhizobium leguminosarum live in the
nodules on the roots of leguminous plants (peas, beans, clover)
4. Also occurs naturally in the atmosphere when the energy from lightening
combines nitrogen directly with oxygen.
5. Farmers plant legumes in a crop rotation as it saves money and also limits
pollution of water.
Nitrification
1. Ammonium ions produces by the decomposition of amino acids and proteins are
oxidised, first to nitrite and then to nitrate.
2. This process is carried by nitrifying bacteria.
Denitrification
1. In the absence of oxygen the process is reversed, causing denitrifying bacteria
obtain their energy by converting nitrate to oxygen gas.
Once nitrate has been formed it can be absorbed by plants through their roots. Eventually the
plant dies, and its body is added to the animal wastes and remains in the soil. Decomposers
break down the nitrogen compounds in these wastes and the formation of nitrate can begin
again.
Loss of nitrate:
Denitrification
When crops are harvested and removed from the site where they have grown.

4.7 Water is recycled too!

Special properties of water:
High specific heat capacity-means that cells or bodies with a high water content tend to
resist heating up or cooling down, when the temperature of the environment changes.
Evaporation- from a surface allows loss of heat.
It is incompressible- water can help support a whole organism (fish) or a part of an
organism (eyeball).
Lubricant- (saliva or synovial fluid in movable joints)
Biological reagent- process of photosynthesis and digestion.
Transport medium- such as oxygen, glucose, amino acids and urea)
The water cycle:

Evaporation (liquid to vapour)

Evapotranspiration (liquid to vapour from plants)
Condensation (vapour to water droplets)
Precipitation (droplets fall as snow, rain and hail)
Melting or freezing (ice to water or vice versa)

4.8 Factors affecting population size

Biotic factors that affect population growth:

Food
Predators
Competitors
Disease

Abiotic factors that affect population growth:

Temperature
Oxygen availability
Light availability
Toxins and pollutants

All the factors that affect population growth and size together make up the environmental
resistance. This is how humans exploit the environmental resistance:
Predators are eliminated from farm situations
More food is made available to domestic animals
Nitrogen fertilizers and artificial light are used to boost plant growth
Predators may be used to control pests
Anaerobic conditions or low temperatures are used to prevent populations of microbes
from consuming our food.
Competitors are eliminated from crops using pesticides.

Lag phase (population growing slowly)

Exponential phase (population growing exponentially)
Deccelerating growth (population growth deccelerates)
Stationary phase (population remains constant)
Death phase (population falls when resources are used up
faster than they are replaced)

4.9 Human population growth

Medical revolution- Improvement in sanitation and the control of infectious diseases
reduced the number of deaths.
Industrial revolution- The development of machinery increased agricultural efficiency and
improved housing conditions. The number of births increased.
Agricultural revolution- human settlers became more efficient in their farming. More food
became available.
The age structure of a population pyramid can be affected by:

Food availability (deficiencies in protein and vitamins can cause death)

Hygiene (food poisoning and water-borne diseases can increase death rate)
Medical provision (disease should be treated to prevent death)
Working conditions (unsafe work {like mining} can increase death rate)
Political instability (can lead to war- causing deaths)

LEDNs Wide base

Low height
Sloping sides
MEDNs
Narrow base
Considerable height
Vertical sides

4.10 Humans and agriculture

The enormous rise in productivity of land is due to the following reasons:

Increased and more efficient use of machinery

Use of pesticides
Increased use of inorganic fertilisers
Tendency toward monoculture

Monoculture:
specialised harvesting techniques (one type of machine can collect all the crop)
highly selected strains
mineral/ water requirement (scientists can work out exactly what they need)
poor wildlife foods
spread of diseases (a single disease can kill all the crop)
loss of genetic variety (any change in environmental resistance could kill all plants)
Damage to soil (as the crop is harvested and taken away the minerals will be lost from
the soil.)
Loss of amenity value (monocultures are very boring to look at)

Crop rotations

potatoes
carrots

peas
broad beans

Root
crop

Legu
me

Fallow

Cereal

rough grass
beans

Increase soil
content

barley
wheat

Grazing for cattle.

Food/ shelter for
wildlife
Reduced build up of pests as crop rotations break life cycles
Reduced depletion of minerals

Reduced need of pesticides and fertilizers

Improves soil texture as different plants have different roots
Can increase costs
Reduce efficiency

The problem for the world is how to balance productivity (more food for humans) and
biodiversity (keeping the wide range of wildlife)

4.11 Land use for agriculture

The technique used to clear forest today is often known as the slash and burn technique. The
largest trees may be removed for sale as timber but the less valuable trees are chopped down
and burned.
Deforestation (the rapid destruction of woodland):
Reduction in soil fertility
Soil erosion may be rapid in the absence of trees and wind and direct rain may
remove the soil.
Flooding and landslips
Normally 25% of rainfall is absorbed by foliage or evaporates and 50% is
absorbed by root systems. After deforestation water may accumulate in river
valleys, causing landslips.
Changes in recycling of materials
Levels of carbon dioxide will rise.
Levels of oxygen are decreased.
Atmosphere may become drier and the soil wetter. (as transpiration becomes
slower than evaporation)
Climatic changes
Drier atmosphere and reduced rainfall.
Rapid heat absorption by bare soils raise the temperature and cause intense
winds.
Species extinction
It is estimated that one plant dies every 30 minutes
Plant species have many medicinal properties

4.12 Pollution of water: Eutrophication

Causes of oxygen depletion in water bodies:

Fertilizers- nitrates and phosphates are added to the soil but the rain washes it from the
soil into the lake- leaching
Sewage- contains an excellent source of organic food for bacteria and also contains
phosphates from detergents.
Liquid manure- slurry
algae and other
surface plants
grow very
rapaidly, and
block out the
light for the
plants rooted at
the bottom
other living
organisms
cannot consume
oxygen- thay
will die
providing even
more nutrients
for bacteria.

eutrophicati
on

the rooted
plants die, and
their body
provides even
mor nutrients

the popualtion
of bacteria
increases
rapaidly,
consuming all
the oxygen.
there is now a
biological
oxygen demand.

Effects- depleted oxygen levels causing death of fish and most invertebrates.
Solutions:

Treat sewage before it enters rivers

Prevent farmyard drainage entering rivers and ponds
Control use of fertilisers
Bubble a steam of air through polluted ponds.

4.13 Human impacts on the environment

Effects of humans on the environment:

Agriculture: use of tools made agriculture more efficient.

Deforestation and desertification: greater need for shelter, agricultural land and
fuels.
Pollution: careless use of pesticides and fertilisers
Conservation: using our skills and knowledge to conserve species

Places where humans are causing great change:

The atmosphere
The aquatic environment
The land

Pollution is any effect of human activities on the environment. A pollutant is any product of
human activity that has a harmful effect on the environment.
Pollution on the environment

The greenhouse effect

Production of acid rain

Green house effect

Causes
Greenhouse gases trap infrared radiation close to the earths surface
Carbon dioxide (released by combustion of fossil fuels)
Methane (produced in the guts of ruminants)
CFCs chlorofluorocarbons (from aerosol propellants and refrigerator coolants)
Effects
Greater climatic extremes
Melting of polar ice changes density of sea water
Evaporation of water from fertile area
Pests may spread to new area
More photosynthesis more food production
Solutions
Reduce burning of fossil fuels (explore alternative energy sources)
Reduce cutting of forests (avoid deforestation)
Replant forests

Acid rain

Causes
Sulphur and oxygen are converted into oxides during combustion
More oxidation occurs in the clouds
The oxides dissolve in water and fall as acid rain.

Carbon + Oxygen

Carbon Monoxide
Carbon Dioxide

Sulfur + oxygen

sulfur dioxide

Nitrogen + oxygen

nitrogen monoxide
nitrogen dioxide

Effects
Soil becomes very acidic causing leaching of minerals and inhibition of soil
decomposition
It also affects the water in lakes and minerals causing death of fish and
invertebrates- food chains are disrupted
Forest trees suffer starvation and destruction of photosynthetic tissues
Solutions
Cleaning up emissions from power stations with scrubbers
Cleaning up car exhausts with catalytic converters
Acid lakes can be improved by the addition of crushed limestone

4.13 Humans have a positive impact on the

environment

Endangered species:

Pest control (killing of species that causes inconvenience to humans and hunting other
beneficial animals)
Commercial exploitation (species of value have been exploited)
Loss of habitat (more land is being used for agriculture, removing the habitat for many
species)

Conservation strategies:

Preservation
Reclamation
Creation

Conservation plan:

Sampling
Devising a management plan
Carrying out the plan
resampling