Exam Review Session

Tuesday, April 21 4-6pm

521 Carr Hall
Exam 3
April 22
regular scheduled class time
40 multiple choice questions
Extinctions will not be covered

Please fill out a faculty evaluation by

April 24
https://evaluations.ufl.edu/

Complete Post-test in Launchpad

April 19-22

Gross vs. Net Primary Production

Respiration (R):
Some carbon used by
plant cells

Photosynthesis

Gross Primary Production (GPP):

Total carbon produced during
photosynthesis

Net Primary Production

(NPP):
Rest of carbon can be
used to make biomass

Calculating NPP:

NPP = GPP - R

Controls on NPP
NPP in terrestrial systems is often limited by climatic factors:
Precipitation
Temperature

Controls on NPP
Is NPP limited by nutrients?

Controls on NPP
NPP in terrestrial systems may also be
limited by nutrients

Controls on NPP
NPP in aquatic systems is limited by
light & nutrients
Added Iron

Lakes and coastline: N and P limited

Open ocean: Iron limited

Why do nutrients limit

plant productivity?
Photosynthesis uses a lot of N
50% of N in leaves tied up in Rubisco and
other photosynthetic enzymes
Nitrogen is often hard to come by
availability dependent on form of N
Phosphorus needed to make DNA and ATP
Phosphorus is also hard to come by
availability dependent on form of P

Where does nitrogen

and phosphorus come from?

Atmosphere

Plants
Soils

Ocean

Rock

Which pool stores the most Nitrogen?

a)Soils
b)Ocean
c)Rock
d)Atmosphere
e)Plants

Units = 1015 g

Nitrogen (N)
Atmosphere
78% N2
Largest pool of N
But form of N very important!

Plants cannot take up N2!

How do plants get the N they need?

Atmospheric N2 must be fixed into compounds
that plants can use:

Inorganic

NH4+ (ammonium)
NO3- (nitrate)
DON (dissolved organic nitrogen)

Inorganic compound = NOT associated with CARBON molecules

How is N2 fixed?
Abiotic fixation
-lightening
Biotic fixation
-free living bacteria
-symbiotic bacteria
Use the enzyme nitrogenase

Symbiotic Biological N fixation

Bacteria form a mutualistic symbiotic
relationship with plant roots

N2 NH4+, NO3 Legumes (Rhizobiaceae)

Some woody plants (Frankia)
Fern Azoalla and cynobacteria
Plants give bacteria carbohydrates
and get N in return

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2xC_WMvo5g

If N2 can be fixed,
why is N in short supply to plants?

N2 is triple bonded
Requires a lot of energy to break the bonds
Consumes 25% of energy made from
photosynthesis
Cost-benefit analysis

Once N2 is fixed
Most of N used in ecosystems is recycled
internally and stays in the system
Litterfall

Fixation
Decomposition
Root uptake

Mineralization

Once N2 is fixed
Some N is lost from the system and
returned to the atmosphere or leached
Ammonium
volatilization
Litterfall
Denitrification

Fixation
Decomposition

Leaching

Root uptake

Mineralization

Decomposition
Detritivores breakdown dead organic matter

Organic N DON (soluble)

Rate of decomposition influenced by

temperature, moisture, litter quality/quantity,
microbial community

Mineralization
Chemical conversion of organic matter into
inorganic nutrients

DON NH4+
Done by microbes
Rate of mineralization influenced by
temperature, moisture, litter quality/quantity,
microbial community

Nitrification
Conversion of ammonium to nitrate

NH4+ NO2- NO3 Done by nitrifying bacteria:

Nitrosolobus and Nitrobacter
(chemoautotrophs)
Rate of nitrification depends on
availability of NH4+ and O2

Denitrification
Conversion of nitrate to dinitrogen gas

NO3- NO2- NO N2O N2

Done by microbes

NO2- = nitrite
NO = nitric oxide
N2O = nitrous oxide

Occurs when:
concentrations of NO3- are high
O2 concentrations are low
adequate supply of organic C

Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycle

Atmosphere
(N2)

N deposition
(NH4+ , NOx)

Fixation
(N2 NH4+)

Denitrification
(NO3- N2)

Fixation
(N2 NH4+, NO3-)

Plants
(Organic N)

Decomposition
(Organic N DON)
Mineralization/Nitrification
(DON NH4+ NO2- NO3-)

Soil
(Organic N, NH4+, NO3-)

Nitrogen Cycle
1. Nitrogen changes forms due to enzymatic
(biological) oxidation-reduction reactions.
2. This occurs because it is a source of energy for
some microbes, and a source of N for plants and
microbes.
3. Different forms of N can move to different pools within
and outside ecosystems

4. Most terrestrial ecosystems (outside of tropics) are

N limited (most limiting nutrient resource)

Nitrogen Cycle
1. Oxidation/reduction forms of inorganic nitrogen
N2 (nitrogen gas)
NH3/NH4+ (ammonia/ammonium)
NO2-2 (nitrite)
NO3- (nitrate)
NO (nitric oxide)
N2O (nitrous oxide)
2. NO3- and NH4+ are used by plants and
microbes for protein synthesis

3. NO, N2O, N2 are gases that are lost from ecosystems

to the atmosphere

Phosphorus
P enters ecosystems by weathering of rocks

P does not have a gas form and is not

found in the atmosphere

Once P enters the system

Most of P used in ecosystems is recycled
internally and stays in the system
Litterfall

Weathering
Decomposition

Porg

Root uptake

PO43-

Bound to soil

Pbound

Once P enters the system

Some P is lost from the system through
leaching
Litterfall

Weathering
Decomposition

Porg

Root uptake
Leaching

PO43-

Bound to soil

Pbound

Once P enters the system

Some P enters the system through
windblown dust

Dust

Litterfall

Weathering
Decomposition

Porg

Root uptake
Leaching

PO43-

Bound to soil

Pbound

Terrestrial P Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle
1. phosphate (PO43-) does not undergo oxidationreduction reactions under most conditions
2. no gas forms of P

3. P can be bound tightly to minerals in soils

4. Aquatic systems (lakes) are often limited by P
Old tropical soils can be limited by P (most limiting
nutrient resource)

Walker and Syers Model (1976)

Available to plants

Experimental test of the

Walker and Syers Model
Forest in Hawaii
Chronosequence of
soil age
Treatments:
-control
-N addition
-P addition
-N + P addition
Measured diameter
growth of the tree
Metrosideros
polymorpha
Crews et al. 1995, Ecology
Vitousek and Farrington (1997) Biogeochemistry

Which site/s are limited by P availability?

300 yr

20,000 yr

4,100,000 yr

Vitousek and Farrington (1997) Biogeochemistry

Walker and Syers Model (1976)

Available to plants

Which site/s are limited by N availability?

300 yr

20,000 yr

4,100,000 yr

Vitousek and Farrington (1997) Biogeochemistry

Nitrogen accumulates over primary succession

Experimental test of the

Walker and Syers Model
300 yr

20,000 yr

4,100,000 yr

Vitousek and Farrington (1997) Biogeochemistry

P more
available in
younger soils

N more
available in
older soils

Other variables that can alter nutrient

availability to plants:
Soil type
Disturbances
Vegetation type

All of these variables can limit fluxes of

nutrients among different pools!
The degree of limitation various across regions.

Changing Nitrogen Cycle

Humans have doubled the
N fixation rates over natural levels
Fritz Haber

Carl Bosch

Haber-Bosch Process
3CH4 + 6H2O --> 3CO2 + 12H2

4N2+12H2 --> 8NH3 (high T, pressure, Fe)

Bread AND Bombs

Changing Nitrogen Cycle

About 1/2 of human
additions come from
fertilizer production

About a 1/4 from

increasing amount of
biological N fixation

The other 1/4

inadvertently from fossil
fuel combustion

Global Carbon Cycle

POOLS
Petagram (1Pg = 1015 g)
FLUXES
Pg per year