Rainforests are the forests characterized with tall trees, relatively warm climates and a great degree of rain on an annual basis. Most rainforests have an annual rainfall in the ranges of 250 to 450 centimeters (98 to 177 inches). In ecological explanation, rainforests are defined as “multi-storied closed, broad leaved forest vegetation with a continuous…
Ecosystem is the interconnectedness of organisms including animals, plants, and microbes with each other and their non-living environment. Examples of the non-living aspects of the environment include climate, soil, water, sun, earth, rocks, atmosphere, temperature, and humidity. In an ecosystem, every living organism has an ecological niche. Hence, what makes an ecosystem is the complex…
Biomagnification stands for Biological Magnification, which means the increase of contaminated substances or toxic chemicals that take place in the food chains. These substances often arise from intoxicated or contaminated environments. The contaminants include heavy metals namely mercury, arsenic, pesticides such as DDT, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) compounds which are then taken up by organisms…
Eutrophication is characterized by dense algal and plant growth owing to increased concentration of chemical nutrients needed for photosynthesis. It mainly arises from the oversupply of phosphate and nitrate nutrients. As such, increased levels of chemical nutrients from animal waste, fertilizers and sewage often give rise to eutrophication when washed into nearby surface waters by…
Biomes are a group of ecosystems sharing the same characteristics and are well adapted to the prevailing abiotic factors. Any earth surface that has got a very large ecological system characterized by dominant forms of plant and animal life forms adapted to the prevailing climate and other environmental factors is termed as a biome. Biomes…
Ecological footprint is a terminology that attempts to gauge the extent of human impact on the earth’s ecosystems. There are many ways humans deplete environment capital just from our basic lifestyles to resource exploitation, environmental degradation, and pollution. As our consumption increases due to overpopulation, it is important for us to measure nature’s capacity to…
In all ecological communities, living organisms feed to get the energy that sustains their growth, movement, and reproduction. Accordingly, communities of organisms have to feed on each other creating a system whereby each organism is eaten and, in turn, it is eaten by another organism. This system is what is widely known as food chain….
Food chain and food web represent how living organisms feed to get the energy that sustains their growth, reproduction, and movement in their respective ecological systems. It is because the various communities of organisms in an ecosystem have to feed on each other to survive. This feeding relationship in the ecosystem is thus what brings…
Biodiversity is the variety within and between animal and plant life in a particular habitat or the entire planet. In any particular region on the planet, there are numerous different species. A small-scale example of biodiversity is the various life forms within the park in the neighborhood. Examples of diverse species locally include butterflies, trees,…
Ecology is an intricate biological subject that deals chiefly with the relations between organisms, including humans, and the environmental elements that affect them. For instance, ecology helps the world understand how microscopic bacteria grow in water, how animals and plants interact and survive in the seas, deserts, forests or land and the list goes on….
Since the great era of industrialization and mechanization of machinery for transport and manufacturing, the rate of greenhouse gas emission has gradually increased, and it became even worse in the 20th century. Use of fossil fuels has been the biggest driver of the earth’s total greenhouse gas emissions, leading to an increase in the amount…
Various simple and implementable ways can be used to limit the pollution of our water resources. These actions can be taken individually or collectively and must be done repeatedly to reduce the impacts on the water systems. Some people perceive that the harmful substances or pollutants normally disappear once discharged into water. There are lot…
During dry and hot weather periods, it is common to find dry and cracked earth without even a single shed of water or wet areas. Lakes, rivers, and streams may as well run dry. Well, these are the typical earth conditions that define drought in layman terms. Drought can simply be defined as extended periods…
Soils are essential for the continuity of life on earth since many ecosystems depend on them for survival. Still, soils persist to face serious threats in so many ways. Soil erosion, use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, unsustainable agricultural practices, excessive farming, water pollution and land pollution are some of the aspects upsetting the natural…
Soil erosion is a process that involves the wearing away of the topsoil. The process involves the loosening of the soil particles, blowing or washing away of the soil particles, and either ends up in the valley and faraway lands or washed away to the oceans by rivers and streams. Soil erosion is a natural…