This energy is dissipated, meaning it is lost to the system. It cannot be recycled. Without the continued input of solar energy, biological systems would quickly shut down. The earth is an open system with respect to energy. Elements such as carbon, nitrogen, etc.
Plants obtain elements from the surrounding atmosphere, water, or soil water.
Animals may also obtain elements directly from the physical environment, but usually they obtain these mainly as a consequence of consuming other organisms. These materials are transformed biochemically within the bodies of organisms, but sooner or later, due to excretion or decomposition, they are returned to an inorganic state. Often bacteria complete this process, through the process called mineralization. The earth is a closed system with respect to elements. They are cycled endlessly between their biotic and abiotic states within ecosystems.