This is a faceted energetic classification, not a single mutually exclusive tree. A living system simultaneously has an energy source, an electron source, a carbon source, an electron-disposal strategy, a transduction mechanism, a storage strategy, an energetic life-history state, and an ecological transfer role. The integrated framework is a synthesis, but its underlying metabolic, physiological, and ecological categories are established scientific concepts. The conventional trophic core already separates energy source, electron source, and carbon source; this layout preserves that core and extends it through the complete energetic life cycle. (PubMed Central (PMC))
Master causal flow
System boundary and state ↓ Environmental free-energy opportunity ↓ Acquisition interface ↓ Energy/electron/carbon identity ↓ Electron disposition ↓ Energy conversion and conservation ↓ Conserved energetic states ↓ Matter assimilation ↓ Organismal allocation and work ↓ Storage and temporal buffering ↓ Life-history state ↓ Biological and ecological transfer ↓ Dissipation, death, and material recycling
