biogeochemistry carbon cycle Flashcards
what do we call respiration When a plant does it
autotrophic respiration - happens in the dark
what is Heterotrophic respiration
Microbial respiration, decomposition, animal respiration
* Autotrophic + Heterotrophic respiration same equation
3 life forms
- Autotroph
- Heterotroph
- chemotroph
whats an autotroph
self feeding
- Uses energy (from sunlight) to FIX Carbon
- Primary Producers
whats a heterotroph
eats others
- obtains energy from eating plants (herbivore, secondary producer) or animals that have eaten plants, carnivore, tertiary producer)
how much energy is lost and transferred in a food web
10% energy transfer 90% energy loss
how does flux measurement of co2 concentration vary in the day vs the night
- day - goes down - plants take up co2
- night - goes up -no CO₂ is being absorbed by photosynthesis but they still respire
generally how much plant biomass is above ground compared to below ground
50/50
how do roots contribute organic matter to the soil
Root Sloughing
- As plant roots grow, they naturally lose (or “slough off”) older cells and tissues
- Roots grow into a sheath of Exo-polymeric substances (sticky stuff that help the plant)
what is gross primary production (GPP)
Total CO 2 uptake by plants
what is Net Primary Production (NPP)
GPP – Autotrophic Respiration = biomass growth
what is Net Ecosystem Production (NEP)
PP – autotrophic respiration – soil (heterotrophic respiration)
- surface of earth carbon input - describes the interaction of the surface of the earth with the atmosphere in terms of carbon
how to calculate the MEAN Residence time
Biomass reservoir (GT) / Rate of GPP (GT/year)
