1 Floodplain Management Session 9 Biology Introduction to Ecological Principles and Ecoregions Prepared by Susan Bolton, PhD, PE
2 Introduction to Ecological Principles and Ecoregions Objectives: 1.Ecological principles as they relate to watersheds as ecosystems. 2.Producers, consumers, and decomposers interact with the physical environment to accomplish energy flows and nutrient cycling. 3.Basic concepts of stream and floodplain ecology. 4.Ecoregions definitions. 5.Land cover/land use 6.Ecological principle and Ecoregions within the context case study floodplains
3 Objective 9.1 Explain major ecological principles as they relate to watersheds as ecosystems. Note: basin, catchment and watershed are equivalent terms in the U.S. The term watershed is widely used by agencies at all levels of government. 3
4 Ecosystem
5 General Energy Flow. Respiration Live Consumer Decomposer system Net Primary Production (NPP) Non-living organic material Respiration
6 Nutrient Spiraling
7 General Energy Flow Decomposer system NPP Dead organic material Respiration Live consumer From terrestrial watershed
8 Objective 9.2 Explain how producers, consumers, and decomposers interact with the physical environment to accomplish energy flows and nutrient cycling.
9 Food Webs and Trophic Ecology Input environment Output environment Ecosystem
10 Food Webs and Trophic Ecology
11 Decomposition
12 The Carbon Cycle What about Salmon – how do they supply nutrients?
13 The Phosphorus Cycle
14 The Nitrogen Cycle
15 Objective 9.3 Identify the basic concepts of stream and floodplain ecology.
16 Major forces that influence stream ecosystems
17 Objective 9.4 Describe and define ecoregions.
18 Ecoregions (Association of Geographers).
19 Ecoregions (U.S. Forest Service)
20 Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States.
21 Objective 9.5 Identify the land cover/land use, climate, and general watershed condition in your local area and important producers, consumers and decomposers in your local floodplains and rivers.