Chapter 2.2 Flashcards
How to autotrophs rely on heterotrophs?
They rely on heterotrophs to convert nutrients into usable forms
What common mixture provides accessible to nutrients for plants?
Fertilizer
What does the recycling of matter through the ecosystem allow?
All organisms to obtain essential nutrients
What are substances temporarily stored in the biogeochemical cycle?
Some nutrients are temporarily stored in nutrient reservoirs. Such as organisms, soil air or water
What do all biogeochemical cycles involve in terms of substances?
They involve substances that are being stored in reservoirs for various amounts of time
What is Rapid Cycling?
When substances cycle between nutrient reservoirs very quickly. ex. producer to consumer to decomposer
What is an example of nutrient reservoirs that have been there for many years?
Coal and oil deposits which are carbon reservoirs
What is Slow Cycling?
When substances accumulate and are unavailable to organisms
Where does much of the CO2 in the atmosphere come from?
Forest fires and the breakdown of organic matter by decomposers
How are plants and animals involved in the rapid cycling of oxygen and carbon?
Photosynthesis produces oxygen gas and cellular respiration produces carbon dioxide
How are organisms involved in the slow cycling of carbon?
Photosynthetic organisms remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporates carbon into organic matter. Ex. Trees act like carbon sinks and store large amounts of carbon until they decompose and die
What are Carbon Sinks?
Reservoirs that absorb more carbon than they emit
How is carbon uses in the ocean?
Organisms such as phytoplankton use carbon from the atmosphere and incorporate it into their structure
What is the largest carbon sink?
The ocean
How is some carbon trapped on the ocean floor?
In methane hydrates
How do humans affect carbon cycling?
Combustion of carbon products such as petroleum can return carbon to the atmosphere
Why do all organisms need sulfur?
Because it is an important part of proteins and vitamins
What happens to the sulfur when organisms that use it decompose?
They return much of the sulfur to the soil or atmosphere