ABSTRACT
Energy is the lifeblood of ecosystems and of the biosphere as a whole. At the most fundamental level, what ecosystems do is capture and transform energy.
Energy is constantly flowing through ecosystems in one direction. It enters as solar energy and is converted by photosynthesizing organisms (plants and algae) into potential energy, which is stored in the chemical bonds of organic molecules, or biomass. Whenever this potential energy is harvested by organisms to do work (e.g., grow, move, reproduce), much of it is transformed into heat energy that is no longer available for further work or transformation — it is lost from the ecosystem.
