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108 Cards in this Set
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conservation biology
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applying the principles of ecology to evaluating the loss, maintenance, and restoration of biodiversity
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ecosystem services
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natural processes that support human activities
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taxonomic homogenization
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reduction of biodiversity by spread of nonnatives and generalists and the decline of native specialists
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habitat degradation
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changes that reduce the quality of the habitat for many (but not all) species
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habitat fragmentation
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breaking up of continuous habitat into habitat patches amid human dominated landscapes
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habitat loss
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conversion of an ecosystem to another use
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invasive species
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non-native introduced species that thrive and have a large effect on native communities
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biocontrol agents
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specialist herbivores used to control the spread of invasive plant species
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overexploitation
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hunting, fishing, wood cutting
can be maintained by regulating how much can be taken |
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pollution
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cause direct toxicity to organisms, alters growth, changes community consumption
emissions of industrial wastes, overapplication of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides , ozone, acid rain |
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extinction vortex
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as populations shrink in size they become more susceptible to extinction (usually started by a disturbance)
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population viability analysis
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a population demographic model
finds the probability of population persistence under various scenarios |
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captive breeding
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process of removing some or all individuals in populations to optimal conditions (zoo) to increase pop size
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surrogate species
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conservation strategy of protecting surrogate species because it also protects other species in imperiled habitat (overlaps) especially when info for some is unknown
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flagship species
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conservation strategy of charismatic organism that people will want to protect (panda)
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umbrella species
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conservation strategy of protecting species (usually predators) with large home ranges requiring substantial habitat therefore protecting other species with similar habitat
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focal species
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one of a group of species whose ecological requirements differ from other species therefore ensuring as many diff species as possible get protection
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biogeography
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study of variation in species composition and diversity among geographic locations
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regional scale
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geographic area where climate is roughly uniform and species dispersal is bound to that region
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local scale
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a community
particular biotic/abiotic habitats for species |
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alpha diversity
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local scale species diversity
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gamma diversity
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regional scale
regional species pool (all species within a region) tropics have higher gamma diversity |
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beta diversity
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turnover of species at regional scale as species move between communities
connects local and regional scales |
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landscape diversity
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topographic and environmental features of a region influences the relationship between levels of diversity
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continental drift
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plates of earth's crust move or drift through action of currents deep within molten rock mantle
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vicariance
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evolutionary separation of species due to a barrier (such as continental drift)
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vicariance
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evolutionary separation of species due to a barrier (such as continental drift)
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endemic species
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species that occur nowhere else on earth
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saturation point
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limit on diversity because of species interactions and physical conditions
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hot spots
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areas of high species richness according to longitudes (despite latitudes)
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3 reasons speciation and extinction rates are different at diff latitudes
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greater land mass, evolutionary history hypothesis, productivity hypothesis
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evolutionary history hypothesis
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tropics more climatically stable so have longer histories and longer time for evolution to occur
higher latitudes have larger disturbances (ice age) |
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productivity hypothesis
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species diversity higher in tropics because productivity (energy) is higher
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species-area relationship
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species richness increases with increase in size of area samples
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theory of island biogeography
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island species richness depends on immigration and extinction
larger islands have lower extinction rates islands closer to the mainland have higher immigration |
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turnover
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replacement of species by another over time
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primary production
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chemical energy generated by autotrophs derived from light from sun and fixation of CO2 in photosynthesis and chemosynthesis
measured by carbon |
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primary productivity
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rate of primary production
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GPP
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gross primary productivity
total amount of carbon fixed by autotrophs in an ecosystem |
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LAI
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leaf area index
leaf area per unit of ground area influences GPP varies among biomes (higher in tropics low in tundra) |
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NPP
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net primary production
ultimate source of energy for all organisms in an ecosystem energy fixed by plants available for growth, defense, and reproduction, and energy available for consumption by herbivores and detrivores NPP=GPP-plant respiration |
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NEE
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Net ecosystem exchange
CO2 exchange through repiration used to estimate NPP |
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eddy covariance
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modeling to measure NPP
intensive measurements of CO2 and microclimate in and through plant communities measures NEE including heterotrophic respiration |
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remote sensing
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measures NPP
reflectance of specific solar wavelengths from aircraft or satellite |
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autochthonous
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energy is produced within the ecosystem
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allochthonous
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energy comes from outside of the system
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dead zones
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large amounts of N (from agriculture) trigger blooms of NPP is estuaries followed by decomposition and consumption of oxygen (high fish/zooplankton mortality)
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secondary production
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energy derived from consumption of organic compounds that were produced by other organisms
heterotrophic production |
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herbivores
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consume plant and algae
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carnivores
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consume other live animals
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detritivores
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consume dead organic matter (detritus)
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omnivores
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consume both plants and animals and sometime detritus
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net secondary production
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ingestion-respiration-egestion(urine and feces)
depends on 'quality' of heterotroph's food (digestibility and nutrient content) and physiology |
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trophic levels
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feeding category based on the number of feeding steps by which it is separated from autotrophs
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detritus
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dead organic matter
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decomposition
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process of detritivores (bacteria and fungi) consume detritus
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trophic efficiency
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measure of transfer of energy between trophic levels
how much energy occurs at one level / energy at the level immediately below it |
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consumption efficiency
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proportion of available energy that is consumed.
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assimilation efficiency
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proportion of ingested food that is assimilated
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production efficiency
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proportion of assimilated food that goes into new consumer biomass
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trophic cascade
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series of trophic interactions that result in change in species composition and indirect change in NPP
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bioaccumulation
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chemical compounds become more concentrated over organism's lifetime because they don't get metabolized or excreted
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biomagnification
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occurs when chemical concentrations increase in animals at higher trophic levels
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food webs
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diagrams that show E flow in ecosystems by showing connection between organisms and the food they consume
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interaction strength
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measure of the effect of one species population on the size of another species population
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indirect "trampoline" effect
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competition, facilitation
add to the net interaction among species |
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nutrients
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specific chemical elements for metabolism and growth
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biogeochemistry
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study of physical, chemical, and biological factors that influence the movements and transformations of elements
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minerals
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solid substances with characteristic chemical properties
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rocks
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collection of different minerals
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mechanical weathering
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physical breakdown of rocks into smaller particles
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chemical weathering
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chemical breakdown of soil into nutrients and other elements
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soil
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mix of mineral particles, solid organic matter, water containing organic matter, minerals, gases, and organisms
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soil solution
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water containing organic matter, minerals, and gases
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sand
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coarse particles
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silt
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medium sized particles
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clay
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fine particles
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soil texture
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size of soil particles (sand, silt, clay)
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cation exchange capacity
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ability of a soil to hold and exchange cations, determined by the clay content of the soil
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water holding capacity
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how much water soil holds depending on its texture (clay impenetrable, sand water flows through)
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parent material
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rock or mineral material that was broken down by weathering to form a soil (bedrock, loess, till)
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bedrock
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underlying rock that is weathered into soil
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loess
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sediment from glaciers
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till
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sediment from wind
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horizons
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layers of soil distinguished by color, texture, and permeability.
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nitrogen fixation
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process of converting N2 into a biologically useful form
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nitrogenase
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enzyme that only occurs in certain bacteria that fixes nitrogen
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nodules
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special root structures that provide N-fixing bacteria with a habitat
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aerosols
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fine dust, suspended soil, liquid, and gaseous particles in atmosphere.
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atmospheric deposition
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when particulate matter falls to earth by gravity or with precipitation
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decomposition
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breakdown of complex organic matter from detritus by detritivores for energy and nutrient consumption
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litter
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undecomposed organic matter on soil surface
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fragmentation
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progressive breakup of detritus into smaller bits associated with consumption of litter by detritivores
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mineralization
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conversion of organic forms of nutrients to inorganic forms
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microbial immobilization
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uptake of nutrients following mineralization
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nitrification
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NH4+ converted to NO3- by chemoautotrophic bacteria
aerobic conditions (terrestrial) |
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denitrification
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some bacteria use NO3- as an electron acceptor to convert it into N2 and N2O in anoxic conditions
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nutrient cycling
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movement of nutrients within ecosystems as they undergo biological, chemical, and physical transformations
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mean residence time
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aka turnover rate
amount of time a molecule of an element spends in a pool (plant or soil) |
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occlusion
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soluble P combines with iron, calcium, or aluminum to form insoluble compounds that are unavailable as nutrients
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catchments
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aka watershed
terrestrial area that is drained by a single stream |
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nutrient spiraling
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cyclic movement of nutrients between organisms and the physical environment
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oligotrophic
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nutrient poor lake
low primary productivity (alpine lakes) |
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Eutrophic
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nutrient rich lakes
high primary productivity |
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mesotrophic
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lakes with intermediate nutrient levels
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eutrophication
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ecosystem changes from nutrient poor to nutrient rich
in lakes due to accumulation of sediments |
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flux
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rate of movements of elements between pools
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pools
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where elements occur
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