GEO 131 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Autotroph, Rhizobium, Nitrobacter
5 Sep 2013
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Document Summary
Nutrients are chemicals required the proper functioning of organisms. Two types: inorganic chemicals required by autotrophic organisms for the use of photosynthetic reactions an metabolism organic compounds ingested by heterotrophic organism. Macronutrients are required by plants in large quantities. Micronutrients are required by plants in small quantities. Heterotrophs obtain nutrients they require by eating plants and/r other heterotrophs. Nutrient cycling refers to the transfers, chemical transformations, and recycling of nutrients in ecosystems. Nutrient budget is a quantitative estimate of the rates of input and output of nutrients to and from some designated ecosystem. Watershed a terrestrial basin from which water drains into a stream or a lake. Fluxes transfers of materials between compartments, rate functions measured in terms of mass per area per time ex. 4 major components: atmosphere, rocks and soil, nutrients, and the organic compartment in which nutrients are present in living and dead matter.
