Environmental Systems - Topic 1: Systems and Models

Why is this course called Environmental Systems? In the systems approach, the environment is seen and analyzed as a set of complex systems. Each system has a set of components that function together as an integrated unit. Plants, animals, soils, the atmosphere, or water are not studied separately but as interacting parts of an ecosystem. The systems approach is an integrated approach that emphasizes linkages and relationships. What is a system? 1.1.1 Outline the concept and characteristics of a system. A system is an assemblage of parts and their relationship forming a functioning entirety or whole. A system is composed of a number of interconnected parts. It is the interconnection that is important (a jumbled pile of automobile parts has little value until connected together to form a car). Systems vary in size and level and complexity e.g. the biosphere, a biome, an ecosystem, a community, a population and an organism. Furthermore these systems are organized in a hierarchy of systems and subsystems. Systems at each level affect other levels, that is to say the whole is more than just the sum of its parts. Ecology emphasizes the holistic study of parts and the whole; a forest is more than a collection of trees. Ecosystems An ecosystem is a community of organisms in its abiotic environment, together with the relationships amongst these components. This course looks at biomes, communities, and populations but the system that students will most usually investigate for themselves is the ecosystem. Here the components are plants, animals and microorganisms and the abiotic components are such as air, soil, and water. The ecosystem concept includes the network of linkages and relationships that exist between the components in a given area. The food linkages, such as might be shown in a food chain or food web are as much a part of the system as the creatures themselves. The term is frequently used in the study of communities such as mid-latitude deciduous woodland, tropical rainforest, desert, tundra, coral reef or mangrove swamp. Ecosystems can be very small (a tiny rock pool on the shore, a rotting log on the forest floor, or even a decaying sheep carcass). The boundaries of an ecosystem can be assigned quite arbitrarily for a particular study (one hectare of sandy beach, one sq. km of Australian eucalyptus forest), but is often useful if natural boundaries can be used, as in the cases of a remote oceanic island or a lake. Ecosystems can be extended to systems modified by human activities such as a wheat field, a farm, a village, a city, and even a spacecraft. Types of System 1.1.2 Define and use the terms open closed and isolated systems. A system has boundaries or edges. In the case of an ecosystem, this might be for example, the low tide line on an island, the edge of a pond, or the edges of a hectare of grassland arbitrarily but carefully pegged out for a student ecological project. Beyond the boundary of the system is its environment, defined in systems studies as what lies outside the system under study, but which influences, and is perhaps influenced by, the system. In the hierarchy of ecological systems the larger systems are the environment of their sub-systems, e.g. a rotting log is an ecosystem affected by the woodland ecosystem in which it is situated. Systems are described as being open, closed and isolated. An open system is one that exchanges matter and energy across its boundary with its environment. The remote island ecosystem is open because, despite its relative isolation, quite a lot of energy and matter is gained and lost across its boundaries. The plants that form its vegetation cover photosynthesize, fixing the energy from sunlight; nitrogen-fixing organisms fix the nitrogen from the atmosphere, building it into complex organic molecules that may eventually find their way into the soil. Seabirds from breeding colonies on islands scour the ocean for food, bringing fish from the ocean (the

island's environment) and thus enriching the island's soil with the phosphorus in their guano. If the island is in the tropics, turtles, as well as seabirds may come to the island to breed and then depart. Almost all ecosystems are open systems.

A closed system is one in which energy is transferred between a system and its environment, but not matter. This is fairly rare in natural systems but the Earth as a whole might come close to it. Some matter arrives in the form of meteorites, and there may be some small loss of material from the upper atmosphere, or spacecraft. Large amounts of energy come in from the sun, however, and leave in the form of long-wave radiated heat. An aquarium may be run as a more-or-less closed system for some time. If it is balanced so that photosynthesizing plants provide sufficient food and oxygen for the animals, including fish within it. However, it is likely that some interference will have to occur, by topping up with water, providing food, or some other adjustment. There will inevitably be some exchange of gases at the surface. Certainly, some systems are more 'closed' than others. An isolated system is one that exchanges neither matter nor energy with its environment. This cannot exist naturally (with the possible exception being the whole universe as a system). A cave ecosystem may receive no light from the outside world, the organisms in it feeding and living off each other, recycling the small amount of energy, may be thought of as an isolated system, but is not truly so. Bats may bring organic matter in from outside, percolating water may bring detritus, nutrients or even carry in small animals. Heat enters through the surrounding rocks. The Laws of Thermodynamics 1.1.3 Describe how the first and second laws of thermodynamics are relevant to environmental systems. The first law of thermodynamics (or law of conservation of energy) states that: Energy may be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed. It is the flow of energy that helps to maintain the integrity of systems. The flow of electricity through a circuit maintains the relationship between the components; without fuel a transport system collapses; an ecosystem is maintained by the flow or cascade of energy through it. The energy of the sun is trapped by green plants that convert it to chemical energy through photosynthesis. The chemical energy stored in the plant tissues may be eaten by herbivores, and the food used to fuel their activities and stored in their tissues. The energy is passed on again to carnivores. Some is released as

heat by the metabolism of organisms, including decomposer organisms. Energy thus continually flows through an ecosystem. No new energy is created by the system, or destroyed by it, any more than energy is created or destroyed when the kinetic energy of water falling turns a turbine to create electricity. However, any conversion is less than 100% efficient and, inevitably, some energy is lost or wasted, usually in the form of heat at each transfer. This is the reason for food chains rarely having more than 4 or 5 links, At the end, there is little energy left. The same energy cannot be re-circulated within an ecosystem or any other sort of system indefinitely. Unless it is replenished and energy continues to cascade through, the system breaks down, becomes disordered and matter and energy change from concentrated forms to more dispersed forms. So the level of entropy or disorder increases. The second law of thermodynamics states that: In an isolated system, entropy tends to increase spontaneously. Life is a battle against entropy and without the constant replenishment of energy life cannot exist. Consider an aquarium removed from the source of light, no further food or water being added. The plants would soon die so without food or oxygen would the animals. The complex organic molecules built up in the organism's tissues would be broken down to simpler inorganic ones by the decomposers. The system would break down as matter and energy stored in the living system would become more dispersed - entropy increases.

For a question and answer discussion on the second law of thermodynamics visit this webpage (http://www.secondlaw.com/two.html) So what is entropy anyway? It is simply a measure of what happens in a process as energy disperses. The word spontaneous refers to the fact that events/reactions are continually happening around us and as a result energy spreads out. Entropy should really be referred to as entropy change because we can only measure how much energy has been released or spread out after an event has happened. We then compare it to the level of energy available to before the event happened. Thus entropy is measured as the how much energy has been spread out during the event divided by the time or T this event took to occur. An explanation of entropy is often described that entropy is the level of disorder measured in a system. Entropy does not measure "disorder" in the sense of a messy room, matter being disorganised or a poorly designed inefficient system. Thus, entropy simply refers to the spreading of molecular ENERGY not matter. For some more discussion on entropy visit this website (http://www.secondlaw.com/six.html).

Equilibrium 1.1.4 Explain the nature of equilibria. Many natural systems exist in a state of balance, known as equilibrium or homeostasis. Equilibrium avoids sudden changes in the number of components or their form or behaviour. An equilibrium can be either static or dynamic. A static equilibrium is when a system remains in a steady state because the properties of a system remain constant over long periods of time A pile of scree material (a mass of weathered rock fragments) piled up against a cliff could be said to exist is static equilibrium. The forces within the system (which may be considerable) are in balance, and the components (the rock fragments, the rock wall, and the valley floor) remain unchanged in their relationship to one another for long periods of time. A dynamic equilibrium is when a system remains in a steady state but there is continual input and output of matter and energy (through flow). Dynamic equilibria are characteristic of open systems. In a population of an organism for example, there will be constant recruitment to the population through births or immigration, and losses through death and emigration. Yet over the long term the population (as expressed by the actual number, or the density (the number per unit area) will remain more-or-less constant (there may be fluctuations). The actual individuals making up that population will be forever changing. A steady state may be said to exist. Similarly, with the amount of energy stored in the biomass (total living material) of an ecosystem: this may remain approximately constant for long periods, although elements are cycling and energy is continually entering and leaving. The maintenance of the temperature of a warmblooded creature (mammal or bird) within a degree or two of the 'normal' (37 0C in humans) provides another example of homeostasis, or the maintenance of equilibrium. Feedback 1.1.5 Define and explain principles of positive and negative feedback. The concept of feedback is very important in the understanding of dynamic equilibrium. Feedback is where input is affected by output. Systems continually receive information from their environments, which helps them to adjust; in other words a feedback loop exists. Negative feedback is a stabilizing process where a control mechanism reacts to change (output) in a system by promoting a restoring action. Negative feedback is a self regulating control mechanism that tends the damp down or counteracts any deviation from the equilibrium level. A common example of technological feedback is provided by a thermostat, which is a device that can sense the temperature, switching a heating system on when the temperature decreases to a predetermined level, and off when it rises to another warmer temperature. A mammal is able to perceive its external temperature, and adjust its metabolic rate and effect other changes in its physiology to maintain its internal temperature in an analogous manner. A predator (e.g. an owl) will tend to increase in numbers when numbers of its prey (e.g. mice, voles, shrews) increase, as more food is available, and it has a higher breeding success. The predator species will decrease in abundance during a scarcity of prey, as many individuals, particularly the vulnerable young, starve. The predators are pert of a negative feedback loop, maintaining the equilibrium level of the prey population. Some organisms have internal feedback systems, physiological changes occurring that prevent breeding when population densities are high, promoting breeding when they are low. It is negative feedback loops such as these that maintain 'the balance of nature'.

Positive feedback is a process where a control mechanism reacts to change (output) in a system by increasing the change. Positive feedback increases any deviation from the equilibrium. A fire starting is an example of positive feedback. In some developing countries poverty contributes to lack of education, which prevents knowledge of family planning methods and contribute to population growth, adding further to the causes of poverty - 'a vicious circle of poverty'. An example of positive feedback in forests is a 'vicious circle of acidification' or positive feedback loop may occur in the soils beneath conifers. Acid rain causes acidification of soil, which increases the availability of the element manganese (Mn). The Mn uptake by tree roots thus increases, the element accumulating in the needles, eventually being leached out and returned to the soil. This process, apparently, accelerates the deposition of S02 in the soil, and the production of dilute sulphuric acid (H2504), intensifying the acidification of the soil and further increasing Mn release.

1.1.6 Describe transfer and transformation processes. Energy and matter flowing through ecological or natural systems come in 2 forms. The simplest and thus the more efficient form of moving energy from one place to another is called a transfer process. The more complex and less efficient form (as it requires more energy) is known as a transformation process. In each case energy is lost as described by the second law of thermodynamics where as energy moves from one stage to the next in an ecosystem the amount of energy is dispersed to more organisms. Most of this energy (90%) is radiated by these organisms in the form of heat. In other words, for more organisms to receive energy, they must share it and thus will have a much smaller portion to keep for themselves. Energy transfer: This process can involve both matter and energy which during its transfer from one location to the next does not change its structure but simply moves. In the form of matter it will not change its state or molecular structure. Some examples of transfers are: a cat eating a mouse (a living process involving matter) water running from a stream into a lake (a non-living processes involving matter) a rock falling which by hitting a second rock causes it to move (a non-living process involving kinetic energy)

It is important to note that in the first case where the cat eats the mouse the material transfer only exists as long as the mouse remains in its present form (flesh, hair, etc.). As soon as this material begins to breakdown and change (i.e. as energy for living processes) this is no longer a transfer of matter. However, not all the matter is converted to energy, fibres that are difficult to digest by the cat remain intact and get excreated in the form of waste. Energy transformation: As in a transfer, transformations occur with energy and matter and through living and non-living processes. However, as energy or matter moves from one location to another it is converted into a different form than it was before. The transformation of matter involves the change or state and/or molecular structure. In the case of energy, the type of energy form changes. Examples of transformations are: ice melting from a solid into a liquid (a non-living process involving matter) solar radiation converted into heat when re-radiated by a matter (a non-living process involving energy) a rock falling from a cliff in which potential energy is converted to kinetic energy (a non-living process involving energy)

Transformations can also occur as matter is changed to energy or vice versa. Some examples are presented below. Quiz: As an exercise, determine for each of the following which is a transfer/transformation, living/non-living process and involving matter/energy. heating a stove with electricity a pebble hitting a calm lake causing ripples to form a stream eroding the banks of a river sound due to an explosion groundwater seeping into a lake water condensing in the atmosphere a cow excreting solid waste a cow digesting grass to waste a fish swimming organisms digesting food and converting it into heat energy (matter into energy) a plant converting solar energy to sugars through photosynthesis (energy into matter)

a dammed up lake driving the turbines of a hydro-electric station

Flows and Storages 1.1.7 Distinguish between flows (inputs and outputs) and storages (stock) in relation to systems. The flow of energy through the system is tightly connected with the flow of matter. Photosynthesis not only fixes the sun's energy but also fixes carbon from carbon dioxide into carbohydrates. There are, however, differences. While energy is continuously flowing through systems, matter tends to circulate around them. While the energy fixed in photosynthesis and passed on to animals is eventually released as heat and radiated out into space, the carbon will pass through several organisms before reaching the atmosphere from whence it will be extracted by photosynthesizing plants again. There is a circulation or cycling of carbon from one storage (stock or store) to another. Similarly, nitrogen is fixed from the atmosphere and passed from one storage to another (plants, animals, decomposing organic matter, soils, atmosphere) in a broadly similar way. The cycling of nutrients e.g. nitrogen is known as a biogeochemical cycle. In the hydrological cycle, water is stored in the atmosphere (water vapour), in the oceans (by far the largest store), in glaciers and ice caps, in rivers, lakes, and streams, in rocks and organisms. The flows into a storage, whether of energy or of matter (the inputs) and the flows out (the outputs) will, of course, in the long term balance. Each of the flows in a system will be associated with a process, thus evaporation is the loss of water from bodies of water to the atmosphere, photosynthesis the fixation of sunlight and its storage by green plants. Note that storages if measured are given as an amount, flows as a rate or amount per unit time. In a diagram of a model of the energy flow through an ecosystem, arrows represent flows and boxes represent energy stored in the tissues of organisms or detritus. The arrows and boxes are drawn proportional to the rate or size respectively.

It is important to note that the following notation is used in the diagram: Matter, stores, standing stalk or storages are identified by boxes, Energy flows are shown by the use of arrows, and Feeback also is indicated by an arrow, however to distinguish them from energy flow arrows, a different colour or line pattern should be used and the arrow labelled as to the type of feedback that is occurring.

1.1.8 Construct and analyze diagrammatic and graphic quantitative models involving flows and storages in a system. Complexity and stability It may be seen that most natural systems, including ecosystems, are very complex. They may have many energy and material flow paths and numerous feedback links, maintaining the integrity of the system, and its equilibrium. Complexity and stability are closely linked: the more complex a system is, for example the more species that occur in an ecosystem, the more energy paths and feedback links there are. A system with a multitude of links can withstand stress or change better than one with only a few components, as, if one set links or feedback loops is disturbed, there are others that can take over. A rail or motorway (freeway) network with a relatively small number of links provides an analogy: a single derailment, accident, or bomb-scare can cause extensive dislocation. Thus, if a natural community has a number of predators, if one is removed by disease, or by human interference, the others will, to some extent at least, increase in numbers to make use of the food ill the trophic layer beneath them (the herbivores) and equilibrium will be restored. Some scientists have used this sort of argument to account for the apparent instability of simple tundra ecosystems, with their spectacular fluctuations in numbers of animals (e.g. of the lemming) compared with, for example, mid-latitude woodland or tropical rainforest. Monocultures - farming systems in which there is only major crop - are vulnerable to, for example, the sudden spread of a pest or disease through a large area with devastating effect. The spread of potato blight (disease) through Ireland in 1845-1848 provides an instance; the crop was the major one grown over large areas of the island, and the biological, economic and political consequences were severe. Often Monocultures, whether of wheat or plantation trees, are only maintained by the massive input of matter and energy in the form of pesticides, and the effort involved in weeding, bird-scaring and other forms of pest and disease control. Systems Modelling A model is an artificial construction invented to represent the properties, behaviour, and the relationships that exist between individual parts of the system being studied. Here are some assumptions that are made when designing a model. A model can be used to highlight complex relationships of integrated systems which would not be obvious with more traditional approaches . Environmental systems behave in more-or-less predictable ways and these can be identified and measured..

One of the ways to help understand how complex systems around us work, and perhaps predict their future behaviour is through modeling, the building of a simplified version of reality. This may be just what the name implies, the construction of a hardware model. E.g. the flow of a glacier may be simulated by a model glacier of kaolinite clay and water and the circulation of water in the hydrological cycle can be demonstrated by a system of tanks (representing the storages) and pipes (representing the flows). In ES we have used diagrammatic models of ecosystems and global cycles in order to appreciate the flows between the various parts. Other models consist of a series of mathematical equations that show the relationships that exist between the various components of a system and the environment. A variety of simulations of a system, under different conditions (e.g. increasing temperature, increasing rainfall or atmospheric acidity, or decreasing the number of predators in an

environment by pesticide pollution) can be run in a computer quite quickly. Since the 1960s complex mathematical models for the entire biosphere have been constructed (e.g. by the Club of Rome) with a view to highlighting the human impacts on the complex environmental systems of the world, and predicting future changes. The diagram below illustrates a model describing a system. E.P. Odum, one of the first ecologists to study of the environment from a systems or holistic approach. He devised this basic schematic model to represent a natural systems. It is driven by a force or energy source E. P1 and P2 are two properties (storages or stocks) which interact (I) to produce an affect on a third property (P3). The flows of energy and/or matter are indicated by arrows (F), where F1 is the input and F6 is the output from the system. The feedback loop L shows recycling of output to affect or control the system processes.

Modified and reproduced with permission from Dave Harrison: DH 280199 Environmental Systems/Study Guides/Topic1.doc