Dear Nikhil, As regards ecosystems, some 20% or so of bound energy is retained via cycling, but the primary function of cycling as conservator is with limiting elements. Often 70+% of necessary elements are retained via cycling within the system. This becomes very evident when one regards coral reefs, where nutrients within the reef are far richer than in the desert ocean that surrounds them.
The best, Bob > At level 1 (molecular self-organiztion)- solar energy is stored in the > high-energy reduced molecules. Do you see a possibility that living > systems could store energy in cycles involving less stable species at the > two other levels (level 2, and 3) as well? (When I speak of stored energy, > I am referring to stored-energy as introduced by Mclare, and discussed by > Ulanowicz and Ho [Sustainable Systems as Organisms?, BioSystems 82 (2005) > 39â51]. _______________________________________________ Fis mailing list Fis@listas.unizar.es http://listas.unizar.es/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fis