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Ecology > #21-Nutrient Supply And Cycling > Flashcards

#21-Nutrient Supply And Cycling Flashcards

1
Q

What are nutrients?

A

Chemical elements required for metabolism and growth

- has to be in certain forms for uptake

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2
Q

Do animals or plants have a higher C:N ratio?

A

Animals have lower ratios

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3
Q

How do plants take up nutrients?

A

In simple soluble forms

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4
Q

How do animals take up nutrients ?

A

As large complex molecules that are broken down through digestion
-some can just be absorbed

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5
Q

What are minerals?

A

Solid substances with characteristic chemical properties

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6
Q

What is mechanical weathering?

A

The physical breakdown of rocks

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7
Q

What is chemical weathering?

A

Chemical reactions release soluble forms of the mineral element

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8
Q

What is soil?

A

A mix of organic matter and mineral particles water and organisms

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9
Q

What is a soil solution?

A

Water contains dissolved organic matter morals and gases

-plant roots absorb this solution

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10
Q

What is sand?

A

The coarsest particles

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11
Q

What is clay?

A

The smallest particles

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12
Q

What is the cation exchange capacity?

A

The ability of s soil to hold and exchange cations

- related to the amount and type of clay present

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13
Q

What happens to soil with a high portion of sand?

A

Can’t hold water well, all drains through

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14
Q

What is parent material?

A

The Rock and mineral material that was broken down by weathering to form soil

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15
Q

What does the structure of the parent material determine?

A

Rate of weathering
Amount of chemical released
- can influence abundance, growth and diversity of plants

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16
Q

Where is soil development the fastest?

A

Warm and wet conditions

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17
Q

Can nutrients be reused and recycled?

A

Yes

18
Q

What is litter?

A

Fresh undecomposed organic matter on the soil surface

19
Q

What is mineralization?

A

Chemical conversions or organic matter into inorganic nutrients

20
Q

What controls decomposition?

A

Abiotic and biotic

21
Q

What does mineralization determine?

A

Nutrient availability

22
Q

What inhibits detrivores in soil?

A

Low O2 concentration in wet soils

23
Q

What is lignin?

A

Strengthens plant cell walls

- can affect how well it can be broken down by detrivores

24
Q

What is Nitrification?

A

NH3 and 4 –> NO3-

By bacteria in anaerobic conditions

25
Q

What is denitrification?

A

NO3- –> N2

Under anoxic conditions

26
Q

How do you estimate soil fertility?

A

Concentration of inorganic forms of Nitrogen

27
Q

How can plants avoid competition of nitrogen?

A

Can take up different forms of it

28
Q

What is nutrient cycling?

A

Movement of nutrients in ecosystems as they undergo biological and chemical and physical transformations

29
Q

What are pools?

A

Total amount of nutrients in a component of the ecosystem

30
Q

What is the mean residence time?

A

Turnover rate

- amount of time on average that a molecules lens in the pool

31
Q

How are nutrients lost from an ecosystem?

A

Leach out of the root zone into ground water and streams
Lost as gases
Converted to chemical forms

32
Q

What is a watershed?

A

The land area that is drained by a single stream is often used

33
Q

How do nutrients get into a watershed?

A

Atmospheric deposition and nitrogen fixations

34
Q

How are nutrients transferred through ecosystems?

A

Herbivory
Predation
Decomposition
Weathering

35
Q

How does an ecosystem lose nutrients?

A

Streams
Atmosphere
Organisms moving

36
Q

What is atmospheric deposition?

A

Elements in precipitation or aerosols and fine dust

37
Q

Equation for the total amount of element entering the watershed

A

Concentration of element x volume of precipitation in watershed

38
Q

What’s harder to measure, dry or wet deposition?

A

Dry

- done less often

39
Q

What is primary succession?

A

Little organic matter in soil and little N

40
Q

Where does P originate?

A

From weathering of the mineral apatite

41
Q

What is occlusion?

A

Soluble P may combine with iron, calcium or aluminum to form insoluble compounds that are unavailable as nutrients

42
Q

What is biogeochemistry?

A

The study of physical chemical and biological factors that influence the movement and transformation of elements

Ecology (12 decks)

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