Tag: climate factors

Reflection is the process where light waves bounce off a surface, changing direction without being absorbed or transmitted.

Approximately 30 percent of incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space by clouds, the atmosphere, and the Earth's surface (albedo).

At sunrise and sunset, the sun is near the horizon, meaning the sunlight must travel through a much longer path of the Earth's atmosphere compared to when the sun is directly overhead at noon.

Naturally subsidized solar-powered ecosystems are those that rely on the sun as the primary energy source but are also supported by natural energy flows like tides, wind, or flowing water.

Nearly all of the energy, that drives ecosystems ultimately comes from the sun. 

An ecosystem is made up of components, biotic and abiotic. Biotic components constitute all the living members of an ecosystem. While abiotic component of an ecosystem consists of non-living substances and factors such as air, water soil, sunlight etc. Thus option C is the correct answer. 

Soil is made up of many layers, forming soil profile. The uppermost layer of soil is made up of sandy soil that withers away quickly under the effect of blowing wind, flowing water in the form of rains or floods. Apart from this, trees hold the soil particles together with the help of their roots. Deforestation activities lead to a decrease in the number of trees resulting in an increase in the rate of soil erosion.

Flow of energy and consumers are part of biotic components of ecosystem. Water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous all take paths from the non-living environment to living organisms, such as trees and then back to non-living environment. These paths known as biogeochemical cycles. In these cycles, a pathway is formed when a substance enters into living organisms, stays for a long time, then returns to the non-living environment. As it is part of abiotic component of ecosystem.

The fundamental source of energy in almost all ecosystems is radiant energy from the sun. The energy of sunlight is used by the ecosystem's autotrophic, or self-sustaining, organisms. Consisting largely of green vegetation, these organisms are capable of photosynthesis - i.e., they can use the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into simple, energy-rich carbohydrates. The autotrophs use the energy stored within the simple carbohydrates to produce the more complex organic compounds, such as proteins, lipids, and starches, that maintain the organism's life processes. Organic matter generated by autotrophs directly or indirectly sustains heterotrophic organisms. Heterotrophs are the consumers of the ecosystem; they cannot make their own food.