Term
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Definition
| sum of all the organisms living within its boundaries and all the abiotic factors with which they interact |
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Term
| what is Ecosystem Ecology |
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Definition
| study of energy flow and chemical nutrient cycling within the environment and how this affects the distribution and abundance of organisms over time (and how it changes over time) |
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Term
| diff. b/w and Ecosystem and a Biome |
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Definition
Ecosystem = biotic community + abiotic factors (ex: saharan desert)
Biome = collection of many globally "similar" ecosystems |
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Term
| what are the ecosystems that have the most NPP per unit of area? |
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Definition
| rainforests, swamps, wetlands, estuaries. |
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Term
| what factors limit NPP in aquatic ecosystems? |
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Definition
| light, nutrients, eutrophication |
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Term
| what are factors that limit NPP of terrestrial ecosystems? |
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Definition
| temperature and moisture, actual evapotranspiration, mineral nutrients |
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Term
| what sets the upper limit on ecosystem complexity? |
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Definition
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Term
| How is efficiency of an organism's energy transformation measured? |
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Definition
| Production efficiency = Net secondary production / Assimilation of NPP |
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Term
| What is the efficiency of energy transfer b/w trophic levels? |
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Definition
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Term
| define Biogeochemical cycle |
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Definition
| chemical cycle which involves both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems |
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Term
| what chemicals are considered when determining the global biogeochemical cycle? |
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Definition
| gaseous forms of carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, in atmosphere |
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Term
| what chemicals are considerd when determining the local biogeochemical cycle? |
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Definition
| phosphorous, potassium, calcium (too heavy) |
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Term
| what can be done to increase the amount of nitrogen in soil |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants w/o damaging ecosystem integrity |
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