Topic
Plants in Ecosystems
Framing Question
How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?
Learning Objectives
- Evaluate the claim that energy first enters the ecosystem through photosynthesis; consider relative to chemosynthesis.
- Create a diagram that illustrates the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and respiration in an ecosystem.
- Diagram the flow of water through an ecosystem, incorporating photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration.
- Estimate the impact of a reforestation and/or deforestation project of 1 million hectares on the global carbon cycle.
- Evaluate the nitrogen runoff into watersheds from fields of nitrogen-fixing crops versus fields of crops fertilized with inorganic nitrogen.
- Evaluate a current research paper on how plant diversity affects ecosystem resiliency after a disturbance.
- Consider a situation in which population size or distribution of plants is altered due to changes in climate, herbivore populations, or invasive species, and predict how this might affect other aspects of the ecosystem.
Related Articles
- Using Pathway Maps to Link Concepts, Peer Review, Primary Literature Searches and Data Assessment in Large Enrollment Classes: An example from teaching ecosystem ecology
- Using Place-Based Economically Relevant Organisms to Improve Student Understanding of the Roles of Carbon Dioxide, Sunlight, and Nutrients in Photosynthetic Organisms
