Chap 3 Flashcards
are nutrient circuits involving both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems
material or biogeochemical cycles
carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen have gaseous forms, thus their cycles are ____ in character and the _____ serves aas a reservior
global, atmosphere
elements like phosphorous, potassium, calcium, and trace elements have ____ as their reseervior
soil
movement of water around, over, and through the Earth is called the ______ also known as the______
hydrologic cycle, water cycle
Hydrologic Cycle
is the condensed water vapor that falls to the Earth’s surface.
precipitation
is the precipitation that is intercepted by plant foliage and eventually evaporated back to the atmosphere rather than falling to the ground
canopy interception
includes the variety of ways which water moves across the land. this includes both ______ and ______
runoff, surface and channel runoff
is the flow of water from the surface into the ground. Once done, the water becomes _______ or _______
infiltration, soil moisture, groundwater
is the flow of water underground, in vadose zone and aquifers. It may return to the ssurface or eventually seep into ocean.
Subsurface flow
is the transformation of water from liquid to gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of water into the overlaying atmosphere. Its source is primarily ______
Evaporation, solar radiation
90% from _____ and 10% from ______
evaporation, transpiration
is the state change directly from solid water (snow or ice) to water vapor
sublimation
is the movement of water–in solid, liquid, or vapor states–through the atmosphere.
Advection
is the transformation of water vapor to liquid water droplets in the air, producing ____ and _____
condensation, clouds, fog
Ways by which human activities affect the water cycle
Withdrawal of large quantities
Clearing of vegetation
Reduced infiltration
Addition of Nutrients
Life’s chemical backbone
Carbon (Carbon Cycle)
biogeochemical cycle that describes the transformations of nitrogen and nitrogen-containing compound in nature
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Gas
-stable gas
-strong triple covalent bond
not readily available
Enumerate the nitrogen cycle
- Nitrogen Fixation
- Nitrification
- Assimilation
- Ammonification
- Denitrification
enumerate the nitrogen fixation
- biological fixation
- lightning
- Industrial N-fixation
- combustion of fossil fuels
some symbiotic bacteria and some free-living bacteria are able to fix nitrogen and assimilate it as organic nitrogen
biological fixation
in the Haber-Bosch process, N2 is converted together with hydrogen gas into ammonia fertilizer and explosive
Industrial N-fixation
a conversion of ammonia to nitrates performed primarily by soil-living bacteria and other nitrifying bacteria.
Nitrification
_____ converts ammonia to nitrites
_____ converts nitrites to nitrate
Nitrosomonas
Nitrobacter
plants can absorb nitrate or ammonium ions from the soil via their root hairs. If nitrate is absorbed, it is first reduced to nitrate ions and then ammonium ions for incorporation into amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll
Assimilation
Amino Acid for _____
Nucleic acid for _____
Protein
DNA
when a plant or animal dies, the initial form or nitrogen is organic. Bacteria converts the organic nitrogen within the remains back into ammonia, a process called _____ or _____
Ammonification or mineralzation
the reduction of nitrites back into the largely inert nitrogen gas, completing the nitrogen cycle
Denitrification
circulates through water, the earth’s crust, and living organisms.
Phosphorus, Phosphorus cycle
the most common form of phosphorous used by biological organisms is ______
phosphate
