Agroecology. Agroecosystem

10.10.2019

Agroecosystem (agricultural ecosystem, agrocenosis, agrobiocenosis) is a biotic community created and regularly maintained by man in order to obtain agricultural products. Includes a set of organisms living on agricultural land. Character. Feature-small environmental. reliability, but high yield of one or more plant species (fields, orchards, orchards, large livestock complexes with adjacent pastures, etc.)

Agroekos. Possess a certain composition of organisms and defined. relationships between organisms and the environment. They form the same food chains as in natural ecosystems. But unlike natural Ecosystems Man is an obligatory link in the food chain. Agroekos. are arts. systems and are different from nature. 1st difference: the diversity of living organisms in them is sharply reduced to obtain the highest possible production (on a wheat field, in addition to a cereal monoculture, several types of low-abundance weeds can be found). On natural. meadow biological. diversity is higher, but biological. productivity yields to a sown field many times over. 2nd difference: species of agricultural plants and animals obtained as a result of the arts. selection, which affects the narrowing of their genetic base.

3rd difference: consists in obtaining additional energy for normal functioning. Additional energy - any type of energy (muscular strength of a person or animals, various types of fuel, pesticides, pesticides, additional lighting, etc.). animal husbandry products, as a result of soil destruction, the change grows. cover occurs at the will of man. All this is not capable of self-regulation, self-healing, they are subject to the threat of death from the mass reproduction of pests and diseases. To maintain them, constant human activity is necessary.

An urban ecosystem is an environment artificially created and maintained by man. This includes cities, towns and areas of land urbanized by people. The urban ecosystem also includes the impact of urban population growth and maintenance of building infrastructure on the environment of the city and the territories adjacent to the city. These include suburbs surrounding cities, as well as agricultural activities and natural landscapes. By considering urban areas as part of a larger ecological system, scientists can explore the functions of urban landscapes, their impact on other landscapes with which they interact. Knowing this can lead to a better environmental outcome.

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Ecology is a science that studies the interactions of living organisms and their communities with each other and with the environment.
The subject of ecology is the totality of connections between the organism and the environment. The subject of ecology research is biological macrosystems (population, biocenoses) and their dynamics in time and in simple terms.

Levels of organization of living systems.
Each living system consists of units of organizational levels subordinate to it and is a unit that is part of the living system to which it is subordinate. For example, an organism is made up of cells

The concept of limiting factors. J. Liebig's law of the minimum.
In ecology, a limiting (limiting) factor is understood as any factor that limits the development or existence of an organism, species, or community. They can be any of

W. Shelford's law of tolerance. Eurybionts and stenobionts.
Studying various limiter. environmental action. factors on insects, amer. zoologist Victor Shelford came to the conclusion that not only a lack, but also an excess of such facts can be limiting.

Depending on the density and pressure of sea and ocean waters, organisms in them are divided into three ecological. groups with different lifestyles.
BENTOS - a set of organisms that live at the bottom of the oceans and seas. They can be sessile (algae, sponges, bryozoans), burrowing (annelids, bivalves), crawling (echinoderm

Water as an environmental factor, Ecological. groups of plants in relation to humidity.
Water is essential for life and can be an important limiting factor in terrestrial ecosystems. Water comes from the atmosphere in the form of precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, hail or dew. In nature

The concept of a population. Basic dynamic and static characteristics of populations.
The term "population" is borrowed from demography, where it denoted a people, population (from Latin). POPULATION - a group of organisms of the same species that lives for a long time in a certain territory, free

Spatial structure of the population.
Under space The structure of a population is understood as the features and nature of individuals in a population in space. The number of individuals in a population is one of the important characteristics in ecological studies.

Age structure of the population.
An important characteristic in the study of a population is its age structure. affecting both fertility and mortality. Allocate 3 ecological. age groups: *pre-reproductive

Sexual structure of the population.
The sex structure of a population determines the ratio of individuals of different sexes in it. The genetic mechanism of sex determination ensures the splitting of offspring by sex in a ratio close to 1: 1 - floor

The size of any population is determined by its ability to reproduce
Two theories explaining the regulation of abundance. 1. Mortality in the population is due only to the effects of physical (weather, fire, pollution) or biological. factors (predators). Factors, d

The concept of biocenosis. Species composition and species diversity as specific characteristics of biocenosis.
BIOCENOSIS is a combination of populations of plants, animals and microorganisms interacting with each other within a given environment and forming a special living system with its own

Green plants are at the base of all food chains. They feed themselves and feed all other living organisms.
2. Organisms that use organic substances produced by other species for nutrition - Consumers (consumers) - these include all animals that extract the necessary energy from

Competition. Law of competitive exclusion G.F. Gause. Ecological niche concept.
Competition (collide) - interaction, when two populations (or two individuals) in the struggle for the conditions necessary for life affect each other negatively, i.e. mutually oppress each other

Characteristics of the main land biomes.
A biome is a natural area or region with a specific climate. conditions and the corresponding set of dominant (in forest biomes - trees, in the tundra - perennial grasses) species of plants and animals

Biosphere as the highest degree of development of living systems. The composition and structure of the biosphere, its boundaries (according to V.I. Vernadsky).
"The biosphere is an organized, definite shell of the earth's crust, associated with life." The basis of the concept of the biosphere is the idea of ​​living matter. More than 90% of all living matter is found in

The limit of the extent of the biosphere is expressed as 39-40 km.
The material composition of the biosphere: living matter; biogenic matter (combustible minerals, limestones, etc.); inert substance formed without the participation of living organisms (solid, liquid, gaseous

The doctrine of V. Vernadsky about the biosphere. The living matter of the planet and its global geochemical functions.
The living substance of the biosphere is the totality of all its living organisms. The main purpose of living matter is the accumulation of free energy in the biosphere. Biogeochemical energy of living matter

Evolution of the biosphere. Historical changes in the biosphere. Noosphere. Technosphere.
The most important part in the biosphere of V. I. Vernadsky is the idea of ​​its origin and development. The modern biosphere did not arise immediately, but as a result of a long evolution in the process of settlement.


The outer layer of gas that surrounds the Earth is called the atmosphere. Its main constituent gases are nitrogen and oxygen. The atmosphere is divided into three parts. The lower part is the troposphere (here is

Greenhouse effect, its causes and consequences
The greenhouse effect is a phenomenon in which atmospheric gases (water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, and ozone) trap heat rising from the Earth in the troposphere, preventing it from rising more


Water is part of all organisms in the biosphere, including the composition of the human body. The life of all living organisms depends on the availability of water. Water regulates the planet's climate,

Every fifth person in the world does not have access to clean drinking water. Every second person uses water that has not undergone normal purification.
In Belarus, there are 20 cubic meters per inhabitant of the republic. m of fresh water per day (not bad), but for the most part this water is polluted. Water contains oil products, nitrogen, phenols, organic. and

Soil resources. Types of soil degradation (in the world and in Belarus).
The number of people in the world engaged in agriculture is decreasing - due to population growth and the release of part of the land from agriculture. turnover (ruined). One of the main troubles of the destruction

Protected natural territories and objects of Belarus, their characteristics.
Reserves (no economic activity, for the sake of preserving intact natural complexes, protection of rare and endangered species); National parks (preservation and maintenance of ecological

Red (all pages of the book were painted red; red is dangerous).
First edition of Kras. Books in Belarus-1981, 1993, 2006 All kinds of animals and plants are grouped into sections. Each species is characterized in terms of its status, i.e. ocher categories

Energy saving and energy resources.
Energy is inextricably linked with the daily life of a person. Its types: Primary energy - contains all natural geologically mined energy resources (coal, oil,

The role of energy in the development of society. Energy and environment.
Energy is a field of human activity related to the production, transmission to consumers and use of energy. The world's most developed electricity generation


Alto. source energy is wind, sun, tides, ebbs, biomass., the use of the natural heat of the earth's interior. Most areas of non-traditional electric power industry are based on

Unlike a natural ecosystem, an artificial ecosystem is characterized. Write your answer in numbers without spaces.

1) a wide variety of species

2) diverse supply chains

3) open circulation of substances

4) the predominance of one or two species

5) the influence of the anthropogenic factor

6) closed circulation of substances

Explanation.

Differences of agrocenoses from natural biogeocenoses. Between natural and artificial biogeocenoses, along with similarities, there are also big differences that are important to take into account in agricultural practice.

The first difference is in the different direction of selection. In natural ecosystems, there is natural selection that rejects non-competitive species and forms of organisms and their communities in the ecosystem and thereby ensures its main property - sustainability. In agrocenoses, mainly artificial selection operates, directed by man primarily to maximize the yield of agricultural crops. For this reason, the ecological stability of agrocenoses is low. They are not capable of self-regulation and self-renewal, they are subject to the threat of death during the mass reproduction of pests or pathogens. Therefore, without human participation, his tireless attention and active intervention in their lives, agrocenoses of grain and vegetable crops exist for no more than a year, perennial grasses - 3-4 years, fruit crops - 20-30 years. Then they disintegrate or die.

The second difference is in the source of energy used. For natural biogeocenosis, the only source of energy is the Sun. At the same time, agrocenoses, in addition to solar energy, receive additional energy that a person spent on the production of fertilizers, chemicals against weeds, pests and diseases, on irrigation or drainage of land, etc. Without such additional energy consumption, the long-term existence of agrocenoses is almost impossible .

The third difference is that the species diversity of living organisms is sharply reduced in agroecosystems. One or several species (varieties) of plants are usually cultivated in the fields, which leads to a significant depletion of the species composition of animals, fungi, and bacteria. In addition, the biological uniformity of cultivated plant varieties occupying large areas (sometimes tens of thousands of hectares) is often the main reason for their mass destruction by specialized insects (for example, the Colorado potato beetle) or damage by pathogens (powdery hummock, rust, smut fungi, phytophthora and etc.).

The fourth difference is the different balance of nutrients. In natural biogeocenosis, the primary production of plants (yield) is consumed in numerous food chains (networks) and is again returned to the biological cycle system in the form of carbon dioxide, water and mineral nutrition elements.

In the agrocenosis, such a cycle of elements is sharply disturbed, since a person removes a significant part of them with the harvest. Therefore, in order to compensate for their losses and, consequently, to increase the yield of cultivated plants, it is necessary to constantly apply fertilizers to the soil.

Thus, in comparison with natural biogeocenoses, agrocenoses have a limited species composition of plants and animals, are not capable of self-renewal and self-regulation, are subject to the threat of death as a result of mass reproduction of pests or pathogens, and require tireless human activity to maintain them.

Under the numbers 3, 4, 5 - characterizes agrocenosis; 1, 2, 6 - natural biogeocenosis.

Answer: 345.

Agroecosystems and their difference from natural ecosystems
Man, in a competitive struggle for survival and to meet his ever-increasing needs, is forced to change natural ecosystems and even destroy them, perhaps without wanting to.
In order to rationally use biological resources, mankind creates agricultural ecosystems, or agroecosystems, designed to obtain a high yield - pure production of autotrophs. The main differences between agroecosystems and natural ecosystems are:
a decrease in the diversity of species in them, since the species diversity of plants and animals bred by man is negligible compared to the natural one;
plant and animal species cultivated by man "evolve" through artificial selection and are not competitive in the fight against wild species without human support;
agroecosystems receive additional (except solar) energy subsidized by man;
net production (crop) is removed from the ecosystem and does not enter the biocenosis chain;
agroecosystems are simplified systems, unstable and incapable of self-regulation.
In agroecosystems, an excessive increase in the form of an "ecological explosion" of individual species occurs much more often. For example, in the 19th century An “explosion” of the phytophthora fungus population destroyed potatoes in France and caused famine, and the Colorado potato beetle spread from America to European Russia. To avoid such phenomena, artificial regulation of the number of pests is necessary with the rapid suppression of those that are only trying to get out of control. Simplifying the natural environment of a person from an ecological standpoint is very dangerous. Therefore, it is impossible to turn the entire landscape into an agricultural one, it is necessary to preserve and increase its diversity, leaving untouched protected areas that could be a source of species for the restoration of communities.
A person also creates complex urban systems, pursuing a good goal - to improve living conditions, and not only simply "protecting himself" from limiting factors, but also creating for himself a new artificial environment that increases the comfort of life. However, this leads to a separation of a person from the natural environment and disruption of natural ecosystems.
Urban settlements are an unstable natural-anthropogenic system consisting of architectural and construction objects and sharply disturbed natural ecosystems. As cities develop, functional zones become more and more differentiated - industrial, residential, forest park. Industrial zones are territories where industrial facilities of various industries are concentrated, which are the main sources of environmental pollution. Residential zones are areas of concentration of residential buildings, office buildings, objects of culture, education, etc. The forest park zone is a green area around and inside the city, cultivated by man, that is, adapted for mass recreation, sports, entertainment. The forest park zone, city parks and other areas of the territory allotted and specially adapted for people's recreation are called recreational zones.
The environment surrounding a person in urban conditions is a combination of abiotic and social factors that jointly and directly affect people and their economy. It is subdivided into the natural environment itself, the natural environment transformed by man, and the artificial environment. In general, the urban environment is part of the technosphere, i.e., the biosphere, radically transformed by man into technical and man-made objects.
In addition to the terrestrial part of the landscape, the surface part of the lithosphere, which is commonly called the geological environment, also falls into the orbit of human economic activity. The geological environment is rocks, groundwater, which are affected by human activities. The geographic and geological environments of urban systems have been most strongly altered and, in fact, have become artificial. Here there is an increasing isolation of economic and production cycles from natural metabolism (biogeochemical equipment).

Ecosystems are one of the key concepts of ecology, which is a system that includes several components: a community of animals, plants and microorganisms, a characteristic habitat, a whole system of relationships through which the interchange of substances and energies is carried out.

In science, there are several classifications of ecosystems. One of them divides all known ecosystems into two large classes: natural, created by nature, and artificial, those created by man. Let's look at each of these classes in more detail.

natural ecosystems

As noted above, natural, natural ecosystems were formed as a result of the action of the forces of nature. They are characterized by:

  • Close relationship between organic and inorganic substances
  • A complete, vicious circle of the circulation of substances: starting from the appearance of organic matter and ending with its decay and decomposition into inorganic components.
  • Resilience and ability to self-heal.

All natural ecosystems are defined by the following features:

    1. species structure: the number of each species of animal or plant is regulated by natural conditions.
    2. Spatial structure: all organisms are arranged in a strict horizontal or vertical hierarchy. For example, in a forest ecosystem, tiers are clearly distinguished, in an aquatic ecosystem, the distribution of organisms depends on the depth of the water.
    3. Biotic and abiotic substances. The organisms that make up an ecosystem are divided into inorganic (abiotic: light, air, soil, wind, humidity, pressure) and organic (biotic - animals, plants).
    4. In turn, the biotic component is divided into producers, consumers and destroyers. Producers include plants and bacteria, which, with the help of sunlight and energy, create organic matter from inorganic substances. Consumers are animals and carnivorous plants that feed on this organic matter. Destroyers (fungi, bacteria, some microorganisms) are the crown of the food chain, as they produce the reverse process: organics are converted into inorganic substances.

The spatial boundaries of each natural ecosystem are very conditional. In science, it is customary to define these boundaries by the natural contours of the relief: for example, a swamp, lake, mountains, rivers. But in the aggregate, all the ecosystems that make up the bioenvelope of our planet are considered open, as they interact with the environment and space. In the most general view, the picture looks like this: living organisms receive energy, cosmic and terrestrial substances from the environment, and at the output - sedimentary rocks and gases, which eventually go into space.

All components of the natural ecosystem are closely interconnected. The principles of this connection are formed over the years, sometimes centuries. But that is why they become so stable, since these connections and climatic conditions determine the types of animals and plants that live in this area. Any imbalance in the natural ecosystem can lead to its disappearance or attenuation. Such a violation can be, for example, deforestation, extermination of a population of a particular species of animals. In this case, the food chain is immediately disrupted, and the ecosystem begins to "fail".

By the way, the introduction of additional elements into ecosystems can also disrupt it. For example, if a person starts breeding animals in the selected ecosystem that were not there initially. A vivid confirmation of this is the breeding of rabbits in Australia. At first it was profitable, because in such a fertile environment and excellent climatic conditions for breeding, rabbits began to multiply with incredible speed. But in the end it all came crashing down. Countless hordes of rabbits devastated pastures where sheep used to graze. The number of sheep began to decline. A person receives much more food from one sheep than from 10 rabbits. This case even entered the proverb: "Rabbits ate Australia." It took an incredible effort of scientists and great expenses before they managed to get rid of the rabbit population. It was not possible to completely exterminate their population in Australia, but their numbers declined and no longer threatened the ecosystem.

artificial ecosystems

Artificial ecosystems are communities of animals and plants that live in conditions created for them by man. They are also called noobiogeocenoses or socioecosystems. Examples: field, pasture, city, society, spaceship, zoo, garden, artificial pond, reservoir.

The simplest example of an artificial ecosystem is an aquarium. Here, the habitat is limited by the walls of the aquarium, the influx of energy, light and nutrients is carried out by man, he also regulates the temperature and composition of the water. The number of inhabitants is also initially determined.

First feature: all artificial ecosystems are heterotrophic, i.e. consuming prepared food. Take, for example, a city, one of the largest man-made ecosystems. The influx of artificially created energy (gas pipeline, electricity, food) plays a huge role here. At the same time, such ecosystems are characterized by a high yield of toxic substances. That is, those substances that in the natural ecosystem later serve for the production of organic matter often become unusable in artificial ones.

Another distinctive feature of artificial ecosystems is the open cycle of metabolism. Take, for example, agro-ecosystems - the most important for humans. These include fields, orchards, vegetable gardens, pastures, farms and other agricultural lands on which a person creates conditions for the removal of consumer products. A part of the food chain in such ecosystems is taken out by a person (in the form of a crop), and therefore the food chain becomes destroyed.

The third difference between artificial ecosystems and natural ones is their species scarcity.. Indeed, a person creates an ecosystem for the sake of breeding one (rarely several) species of plants or animals. For example, in a wheat field, all pests and weeds are destroyed, only wheat is cultivated. This makes it possible to get the best harvest. But at the same time, the destruction of organisms "unprofitable" for humans makes the ecosystem unstable.

Comparative characteristics of natural and artificial ecosystems

It is more convenient to present a comparison of natural ecosystems and socio-ecosystems in the form of a table:

natural ecosystems

artificial ecosystems

The main component is solar energy.

Mainly gets energy from fuel and cooked food (heterotrophic)

Forms fertile soil

Depletes the soil

All natural ecosystems absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

Most artificial ecosystems consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide.

Great species diversity

Limited number of species of organisms

High stability, ability to self-regulation and self-healing

Weak sustainability, as such an ecosystem depends on human activities

closed metabolism

Unclosed metabolic chain

Creates habitats for wild animals and plants

Destroys wildlife habitats

Accumulates water, using it wisely and purifying

High water consumption, its pollution

The concept of "agroecosystem" appeared quite recently. Man has already studied the principles of the formation of ecosystems and established the level of harm caused to him and nature by user, irrational farming. Therefore, a well-thought-out agroecosystem should provide humanity with food and not harm the remaining ecosystems on Earth.

Definition

Agroecosystem- these are the varieties of ecosystems that a person created in order to provide his family and the population of the country with food and raw materials for various industries.

Ecosystem- this is a historically established community of plants-fungi-animals-microorganisms in a certain sector of the hydrosphere, on the mainland, in the lower atmosphere or in the upper soil layer.

Comparison

An agroecosystem is a certain area on land or in the sea, on which a person has organized the agricultural process in a special way. The condition for this site to receive the right to be called an agroecosystem should be rational land use, animal husbandry or the cultivation of certain crops in the sea. That is, agriculture should not be user-friendly and extensive, but as intensive as possible, with a well-thought-out process of returning the used force and energy of nature to the general cycle of organic and mineral substances on the planet.

To ensure such a cycle, the agroecosystem must be diversified and multifaceted. For example, a pasture, a meadow, an orchard and a small livestock complex must be “attached” to a plot of arable land. All connections between the components of the agroecosystem are organized and carried out by a person.

Ecosystem is the basic concept of ecology. An ecosystem can be natural or anthropogenic. For example, the ecosystem of the savannah, the ecosystem of Lake Baikal, or the ecosystem of the wasteland behind the house.

The ecosystem consists of two types of components - biotic and abiotic. Biotic components are a set of living organisms that have populated our system. In this case, we will call them producers, consumers of different levels and decomposers. Abiotic components are the basis for the formation of an ecosystem: aquatic environment or land, underlying rocks, temperature and humidity indicators, temperature regime.

Between the components of the ecosystem, there are different types of connections that have developed historically, over a fairly long time period. Therefore, time, competition and natural selection are the main creators of the ecosystem.

Findings site

  1. Agroecosystems are created by man, most ecosystems are created by nature.
  2. It takes much less time for a person to create a specific agroecosystem than it took for nature to form an elementary ecosystem.
  3. The boundaries of the agroecosystem are defined by man, the boundaries of the ecosystem are blurred.
  4. The links between the elements of the agroecosystem are determined, organized and carried out by people. In most ecosystems, nature has successfully coped with this task by itself for many millions of years.
  5. Agro-ecosystems appeared thanks to man, while many natural ecosystems on Earth disappeared or were unbalanced due to man.
  6. Today, there are very few objects on Earth that can be called an ideal agroecosystem, and there are a lot of objects that can be called hopelessly damaged, “wounded” and “killed” ecosystems by people.


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