nutient Cycling

Question 1

what decompose and how does it effect nutirent cycling?

Answer 1

Bacteria and Fungi break down orgo mats into simpler molecules to be uptaken by the plants

Question 2

is the rate of C cycling different in a temerate zone to a tropic zone?

Answer 2

yes C cycling occurs faster due to :
- faster nutirent cycling in general,
- lack of seasonality
- accelerated decom
- rich biodiversity and high productivity

Question 3

rainforest litter vs temperate

Answer 3

• Rainforest: thin litter layer w/ patches of bare ground
• Dry forest: thicker few patches

Question 4

Decomp time rainforest vs Temperate forest?

Answer 4

2-1 years rainforest
5-10 years temerate forest

Question 5

How do epiphytes help in decomp?

Answer 5

portions of dead fallen leaves are entrapped and recirculated into the environment

Question 6

why type of ecosystem are tropical rainforests

Answer 6

closed

Question 7

What is effect of using forest for pasture on nitrogen?

Answer 7

nepleats nitorgen from soil, nitrogen mineralize due to loss of N fixers

Question 8

Factors effecting nutrient cycling

Answer 8

• inherent size of nutient pools
• nutrient fluxes
• nutrient gain and losses
• environmental vairables

Question 9

Nutirent leaching?

Answer 9

• rainfall wases essential nutirents from veg
• ## leaching problamaticv where there is large rainfall

Question 10

types of nutrient leaching(Veg)?

Answer 10

Stemflow & throughfall

Question 11

soil leaching

Answer 11

• latierization, minerals eahed to lower horizons, Al & Fe pools
• more porus soils = higher leaching
• ions with same chage as colliods are leached

Question 12

Termites in nutirent cycling

Answer 12

• span accros the tropics
• work mutualisticly with protozoa and bactieria to ingest and digest wood
• 20-50% of fallen leaves decomposed by termites
• abandoned nests have high soil nutiernts and plant productivity

Question 13

Mycorrhizae nutirent cycling

Answer 13

• work mutrualisticly with tree toots
• 80% of pants have mutualistic association
• facilitiat uptake of litter nutrients form forest litter
• planmts also provide food
• large SA, maximize nutirent and water uptake
• essiencial in p uptake
• ingested bu small rodents which poop them out liek seeds for more fungi to grow

Question 14

N fixation

Answer 14

• bact convert gas N into bioavailable N
• high levels of iN fixation in tropics
• legumes also N@ fix

Question 15

P in the environment

Answer 15

• limiting nutirent
• p is key to litter decomp
• low [p] or p avalability
• pod plants or leguminous requier high P availability

Question 16

Coping with low p in soils

Answer 16

• mroe effiecnt crops that use less p
• fertilizers or animal manure
  traditional
• slash and mulch agriculture, use of Mexian sunflower
• high folair p content
• rapid release of P in plant available
• emchances microbial activity

Question 17

Productivity

Answer 17

• amount of solar rad converted into biomass via photosynthesis
• trpocal rainforests 2x more productive
• greater biomass productivity, 50% carbon

Question 18

Carbon cycle

Answer 18

the rate of the carbon passinf through ecosyste, and amount sotred
factors effecting sea flux
- soil
- animal and animal waste
- oceans
- industrial processes

Question 19

carbon sinks

Answer 19

take in more carbon than realese
mature forest C in = C out
young frorest C in > C out

Question 20

Tropical forests as carbon sinks

Answer 20

store 40% 0f terrestrial C
neotropics 0.71 t C/ha/yr
African 0.63 t C/ha/yr
mean 0.49 t C/ha/yr

Question 21

Biomass increase causiation?

Answer 21

• continental scale climare influenced by ENSO(el nino/southern Oscillation)
• Ecosystem recovering from major disturbance
• climatic change as a result to CO2 enrichment

Question 22

Climate change trends?

Answer 22

• temp increased by 0.2-0.5C/ decade
• chloroflurocarbons not natty
• Grenhousegasses in cycle
• increasing grean house effect via:
• fossil fuel burning
• wetland destruction
• biomass burining
• deforestation

Question 23

Effects of climate change on tropical forests

Answer 23

• loss of biomass effects reflection of earth
• higher absorption of solar radiation
• dark parches of land
• precip patterns and bio cycles will be disrupted
• increase in GHG emmission
• positivlt feesing back
• deforest>GHG emissioms>solar radiation absorbtion>drying>hotter suface> gore decomp> higher GHG>

Question 24

Climate change on costarican forest

Answer 24

• regional temperature inclreass lift cloud leve;
• area becomes drier
• reduced mist more difficult for fauna to survuive

Question 25

other biota dissapering in tropics due to climate change

Answer 25

• orchids
• amphibians
• bats
• birds

Question 26

Climate change on trees

Answer 26

• trees become carbon sources , organic C decreases
• slower growth during warmer nights(signe of climate change in tropics)
• some trees grow faster in general
• trees have grater mortality rates
• suseptable to pathogens
• ## migration of trees southward

Question 27

increasing productivity of lianas due to climate change

Answer 27

• amazonaian lowlands have had inrease in lianas for 1980s
• 40% of liana biomass leaves, freating deaply shaded area
• increased leans will increase tree mortality fucking up the carbon sink balance going on