Title: Explain the role of water in ecosystems.
Course: Ecology and Environmental Management (18003-18) > Section: Protecting the Environment – Water

Explanation should include

- definition of water (the key element for sustaining life and the foundational building block supporting the biochemistry of all life on the planet)
- the water cycle

  - evaporation
  - transpiration
  - sublimation
  - condensation
  - transportation
  - precipitation
  - deposition
  - infiltration
  - surface flow
  - plant uptake

- water’s unique properties (e.g., capillary action, surface tension)
- photosynthesis
- plant growth and development
- organisms living within aquatic habitats

  - animalia
  - archaebacteria
  - eubacteria
  - protista
  - fungi
  - plantae
- water as a breeding environment

- the role it plays in weather and climate
- the role of frozen water in Earth’s systems (glaciers and ice caps as a long-term storage system).

Process/Skill Questions:

- Why is water necessary for life processes?
- How do plants use water in photosynthesis and respiration?
- Why do plants need water in photosynthesis?
- How long does water remain in this reservoir of the water cycle?
- What factors may or may not be contributing to water remaining for longer or shorter periods of time in this reservoir of the water cycle?
- What are the implications of the decrease in ice caps and glaciers?

Teacher Resource:

Virginia FFA Guide