Whether it's a forest, grassland, agricultural field or wetland, vegetation has direct and indirect influences on all aspects of ecosystem function.
Ecosystem functions are processes that provide some sort of service, such as soil and nutrient retention, flood protection and habitat for a variety of animals. Plants are autotrophic organisms, meaning they make their own food. Regardless of the ecosystem, plants serve as the basis of the food chain.
Carbon Dioxide
It's no secret that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing over the past few decades. Through photosynthesis, plants reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, contribute oxygen and affect the amount of water in the soil. Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants use carbon dioxide and water to convert energy from the sun into chemical energy, or food. During this process, green plants pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, incorporate the carbon into their biomass and split water molecules to release the oxygen we need to breathe. Plants obtain the water used in photosynthesis from the soil. Some of this water is lost to the air through small openings on the leaf surface, which are open while plants are actively capturing carbon dioxide.
Soil Nutrients
In agricultural systems, farmers add nutrients to the soil through the application of fertilizer. In natural systems without active management, nutrients are added to the soil through the decomposition of plant and animal tissues, with the majority coming from plants. In Temperate Zone ecosystems, plants seasonally lose some or all of their foliage at the end of the growing season when the temperature starts to drop. Microorganisms in the soil then decompose this plant biomass, returning nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, to the soil where they are available for other plants and soil microbes. More nutrients in the soil enable more plants to survive. More plants in a given location mean more nutrients will be added to the soil in a continuing cycle of life.
Soil Stability
The loss of soil from an ecosystem through erosion can have detrimental effects on the system losing the soil, as well as the system that receives the soil. Soil lost from an ecosystem removes nutrients essential for plant growth and also minimizes the amount of substrate available for plant colonization. Similarly, the addition of excess soil can be detrimental. Incoming soil can cover smaller plants, thereby inhibiting photosynthesis and stunting growth. If the soil makes its way into aquatic systems, it can cloud the water, making it more difficult for aquatic plants to photosynthesize and for aquatic animals to breath. Vegetation stabilizes soil, thereby helping to minimize how much soil is lost from an ecosystem.
Coastal Habitat
Vegetation is critical for providing habitat and food for many forms of life. In coastal wetlands, marshes are often dominated by cordgrass, a plant that serves as a food source for many scavenging aquatic invertebrates. When marshes are flooded during high tide, fish and other smaller aquatic animals use the marsh for foraging and breeding. Additionally, coastal wetlands intercept sediment and nutrients coming from land and prevent them from entering estuaries and the ocean. Vegetation slows the movement of soil and water while simultaneously incorporating excess nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, into their biomass.
Sustainability
Environmental conservation and restoration can go a long way toward maintaining and restoring ecosystem functions provided by vegetation. Organizations such as The Nature Conservancy strive to protect natural habitats and restore degraded ones to a pre-disturbance condition. Individuals can volunteer with similar organizations to maintain protected areas, plant trees and keep nature in pristine condition.
Read more: How Vegetation Affects the Function of an Ecosystem | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6566583_vegetation-affects-function-ecosystem.html#ixzz0wuGzWb8b
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