Q. “How does the way that matter flows throughout an ecosystem differ from the way that energy flows through an ecosystem?"
A. Energy is able to diffuse and actually stop existing where as matter can never be anything but that. It may come back in different forms but it can never diffuse or stop existing. Energy flows through in one direction while matter cycles through.
A. Energy is able to diffuse and actually stop existing where as matter can never be anything but that. It may come back in different forms but it can never diffuse or stop existing. Energy flows through in one direction while matter cycles through.
In the Temperate Forest, nitrogen flows through the ecosystem by first starting in the air. The nitrogen then gets de-nytrifyd (basically converted from gas to a form that plants can absorb) by bacteria and absorbed by the plants, which animals (such as rodents) eat. The nitrogen then gets absorbed into their systems. When the animals die and decompose, the nitrogen gets absorbed into the ground. Bacteria in the ground changes the form of the nitrate (NO3) back into regular nitrogen (nitrification), which then releases into the air. (Graded T.L)