Continual input of energy from sunlight keeps the process going. At times, environmental conditions are such that plants and marine organisms grow faster than decomposers can recycle them back to the environment. Layers of energy-rich organic material have been gradually turned into great coal beds and oil deposits by the pressure of the overlying earth. By burning these fossil fuels, stored energy is passed back into the environment as heat and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide. Research the methods used to obtain the resource, and the impact the removal of the resource has on the biogeochemical cycles of an ecosystem.
Ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years.
If a disaster such as flood or fire occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to recover in stages that eventually result in a system similar to the original one. Predict the population growth curve over time assuming no hunting pressure or predation of moose in Alaska by using a theoretical model. Human beings are part of the earth's ecosystems. Human activities do, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems. Test a local water source for nitrate and phosphate pollution associated with fertilizer use, and investigate the consequences of such pollution.