Energy is being transferred continuously in our ecosystem. What are the special features of this energy transfer ?
The special features of energy transfer in the biosphere are :
(i) Energy is converted from one form to another. The green plants trap the solar energy of the Sun and convert it into ’ chemical energy of food during photosynthesis.
(if) Energy is transferred continuously from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level in a food chain.
(in) Energy is used by various organisms at each trophic level for their various metabolic activities like respiration and growth.
(iv) Some of the energy remains unutilised at each trophic level and lost as heat to the environment. The total amount of energy which remains unutilised at all the trophic : levels and lost as heat at each trophic level is in considerable amount.
(v) Energy is lost at each trophic level in the food chain. The transfer of energy in a food chain follows the ten percent law which states that, “the energy available at each successive trophic level is 10% of the previous trophic level”.