How does energy flow and matter move within the interior of the Earth and difference between the transfer of energy and inorganic nutrients in ecosystems?
Energy is transferred in the atmosphere, ocean, and Earth's interior system by three processes: convection, conduction, and radiation. These processes can all occur at the same time on either a small or large scale. Energy and nutrients are passed from organism to organism through the food chain as one organism eats another. Decomposers remove the last energy from the remains of organisms. Inorganic nutrients are cycled, energy is not.
Energy and nutrients are passed around through the food chain, when one organism eats another organism. Any energy remaining in a dead organism is consumed by decomposers. Nutrients can be cycled through an ecosystem but energy is simply lost over time. Chemical nutrients and energy tend to flow in the same direction for most of an ecosystem, but the main difference is that the nutrient cycle is recycled in the ecosystem while the energy flow is ultimately lost from the ecosystem to the universe at large. Some inorganic nutrients, referred to as macronutrients, are needed by plants in relatively large quantities. These are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulphur. Foods that are energy-dense have lots of calories per serving. The calories may come from protein, fat, or carbohydrates. Foods that are nutrient-dense have high levels of nutrients per serving. Nutrient-dense refers to the amount of vitamins, minerals, and/or protein in a food. Flow of energy in different trophic levels of an ecosystem is called as bioenergetics. It is also called as energy flow. In this, there is flow of energy through the food chain. Solar energy is converted to chemical energy by photosynthetic plants. Energy is transferred in the atmosphere, ocean, and Earth's interior system by three processes: convection, conduction, and radiation. These processes can all occur at the same time on either a small or large scale. Energy from the Sun is the driver of many Earth System processes. This energy flows into the Atmosphere and heats this system up it also heats up the Hydrosphere and the land surface of the Geosphere, and fuels many processes in the Biosphere.