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Ecology > 20: Nutrient Cycling & Biogeochemical Cycling > Flashcards

20: Nutrient Cycling & Biogeochemical Cycling Flashcards

1
Q

Pathway of an element or nutrients through an ecosystem

A

Nutrient cycling (at the ecosystem level)

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2
Q

The exchange and movement of elements or nutrients between the physical environment and living organisms. Much larger spatial scale the nutrient cycling.

A

Biogeochemical cycling (at the biosphere scale)

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3
Q

What controls the availability of essential elements and minerals?

A

Their inputs, transformations, and outputs.

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4
Q

What are the rates of inputs, transformations, and outputs related to?

A

The interactions among organisms and their interactions with the environment

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5
Q

What is the original source for all essential elements?

A

The physical environment (big bang)

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6
Q

What are the two types of biogeochemical cycles?

A

Gas and sedimentary

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7
Q

What does the gaseous biogeochemical cycle include?

A

The atmosphere and the ocean

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8
Q

What does the sedimentary biogeochemical cycle include?

A

Soils, rocks, and minerals move

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9
Q

Where the three primary elements required for life?

A

Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus

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10
Q

Major carbon pools

A

Atmosphere; marine and terrestrial soils; fossil fuels; autotrophs and heterotrophs

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11
Q

What represent to the largest CO2 pools?

A

The atmosphere and water (mostly Ocean)

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12
Q

What are the major processes that control the flux of carbon between the atmosphere and the living environment?

A

Photosynthesis and respiration

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13
Q

The movement of nutrients between one nutrient pool and another

A

Flux

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14
Q

What moves carbon from the atmosphere to autotrophs (or from the water to aquatic autotrophs)?

A

Photosynthesis

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15
Q

What does photosynthesis do?

A

Transforms CO2 into organic carbon

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16
Q

What moves carbon from autotrophs or heterotrophs to the atmosphere?

A

Respiration

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17
Q

What does respiration do?

A

Transformed organic carbon into CO2

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18
Q

What controls how much carbon will be stored in primary producers?

A

Gross primary production

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19
Q

Which abiotic factors influence the rate of gross primary production and thus the flux of CO2 from the atmosphere to the living environment?

A

Nutrients, temperature, and precipitation

20
Q

What controls how much carbon will move up the food chain?

A

Consumption rates and production efficiency of consumers

21
Q

What controls how much carbon will be returned to the atmosphere or water as CO2?

A

Respiration rates

22
Q

Based on production efficiencies alone which taxa allows for more organic carbon to be cycled up the food web? Invertebrates (30-40%), ectothermic vertebrates (~ 10%), or endothermic vertebrates (1 to 2%)

A

Invertebrates

23
Q

What is the major control over returning organic carbon in fossil fuels to the atmosphere as CO2

A

The rate of fossil fuel use by humans

24
Q

Major nitrogen pools

A

Atmosphere (largest), soils, water, and organisms

25
Q

Convert N2 gas to nitrate + nitrate or ammonia, which are usable forms to plants

A

Nitrogen fixtures (Nitrification)

26
Q

List three nitrogen fixers

A

Cyanobacteria, Free living bacteria, root associated bacteria

27
Q

Generates enough high-pressure and energy to perform nitrogen fixation

A

Lightening

28
Q

What gets nitrogen into the food web?

A

Nitrification and Ammonification

29
Q

Transforms nitrate back to N2 gas

A

Denitrification (done by bacteria)

30
Q

How have humans altered the N cycle?

A

Haber-Bosch process (artificial N fixation for fertilizer)

31
Q

Major pools of phosphorus

A

Largest pools occur in mineral deposits and marine sediments

32
Q

What is the major way in which phosphorus is released from minerals?

A

Weathering. Once released into soils a can be taken up by plants

33
Q

A fungus that grows on plants roots. it has a symbiotic relationship with plants that help plants absorb nutrients

A

Mycorrhizae fungi

34
Q

Phosphorus can enter the food web once it has been?

A

taken-up by plants

35
Q

What are the major processes for P to enter the food web?

A

1-Weathering. 2-Mycorrhizae fungi transfer nutrients to plants. 3-Herbivory enters phosphorus into the heterotrophic food web

36
Q

not evenly distributed across the world, but we can make more available by mining it from rock

A

phosphorus

37
Q

How have humans altered the P cycle?

A

China, Morocco, and Western Sahara largest producers of mined phosphate. 80% US production comes from 10 mines in Florida and 1 mine (world largest) in North Carolina

38
Q

breakdown of chemical bonds that were formed during the constructions of plant and animal tissue

A

decomposition

39
Q

converts organic compounds into inorganic nutrients that can be taken up by plants

A

decomposition

40
Q

involves high rates of respiration that convert organic C to CO2 releasing it back to the atmosphere

A

decomposition

41
Q

Processes of Decomposition

A

Leaching, Fragmentation, Ingestion, and Excretion of Waste

42
Q

removal of soluble nutrients from a substance through the percolation of water

A

leaching

43
Q

breaking down of smaller parts. increases surface area allowing more bacteria to colonize , increasing rate of decomposition

A

fragmentation

44
Q

Major controls on decomposition

A

temperature and precipitation

45
Q

Which biome is the largest source of CO2 to the atmosphere due to high rates of decomposition? tundra, tropics, desert, or boreal forest

A

Tropics

46
Q

can be a major source of new nutrients

A

decomposition

Ecology (15 decks)

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