Introduction Although nutrient transfer from host to parasitic mistletoe has been thoroughly quantified, were these nutrients go afterward and the consequences of this parasitic relationship on the ecology of the ecosystem remains poorly known. Indeed, it has been suggested that parasitism alters nutrient cycling since nutrients from the host accumulate in the parasite’s tissues and remain concentrated following abscission. Moreover, mistletoe has a higher leaf turnover than its host, which results in a greater input of nutrients to the ecosystem when mistletoe is present. Studies on the root hemiparasite Bartsia alpina demonstrated that, when enriched litter is allowed to decompose on the ground, there is a peak in nitrogen and phosphorous return to the ecosystem. Only these two nutrients were quantified in this experiment, yet the same phenomenon possibly occurs with other nutrients accumulating in the parasite’s tissues. In addition, nutrients accumulate to a greater extent in non-infected hosts. This signifies that nutrient input from infected host litter is reduced relative to non-infected hosts. Therefore, nutrient inputs to the ecosystem, from the host or from mistletoe, are largely affected by the presence of the parasite. The aim of this experiment was to assess, by looking at leaf litter, the return of 13 nutrients in an Australian …show more content…
They obtained 0.5g from each vial and used a LECO analyser to perform high temperature combustion; they analysed the total carbon and nitrogen in each sample. Another 0.5g sample was digested with nitric acid and analysed for phosphorous, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, aluminum, boron, cupper, iron and zinc using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICPOES). This method relies on the fact that, when excited, elements emit electromagnetic radiations at characteristic
Based the data collected, the identity of the unknown #42 is lithium chloride. Because the unknown compound produced a bright red pinkish flame, shown in Table 1, the possible cations based on the CRC Handbook were lithium or strontium 1.The known 1M lithium chloride also produced the same colored flame as the unknown, suggesting that the unknown compound has lithium. Since lithium produces no precipitate with the compounds in Table 2 and strontium produces a precipitate with the same compounds, the observations in Table 2 indicate that the unknown’s cation is lithium 4. Using the solubility table, process of elimination, and the results in Table 3 the possible anions for the unknown compound were chloride and bromide4. The production of precipitate
We repeated this for a total of 6 known substances and 3 unknown substances. We also made a table for each element showing the color of the flame that we saw,
Eleven mystery test tubes labeled from K-1 to K-11 contained: 6M H2SO4, 6M NH3, 6M HCl, 6M NaOH, 1M NaCl, 1M Fe(NO3)3, 1M NiSO4, 1M AgNO3, 1M KSCN, 1M Ba(NO3)2, 1M Cu(NO3)2 respectively. The contents of the test tubes were determined by chemical experiments. Solution K-1 contained NiSO4 because when solution K-9, ammonia which was identified by its pungent odor, was added, an inky dark blue color was made. Iron (Fe (NO3)3) was determined to be in test tube K-2. KSCN was found in test tube K-11 since Fe (NO3)3 and KSCN makes a bloody color when mixed together. Flame tests were conducted in which K-8
In the article, “Loss of Dung Beetles Puts Ecosystems in Deep Doo-Doo”, the author discusses the effects dung beetles have on an ecosystem, and how these beetles cohabitate in their surrounding areas. The study was conducted to determine how dung beetles function in their environment, and what happens to them as a result. Additionally, researchers wanted to figure out if there was any loss of biodiversity or destruction of the ecosystem within the beetle population. Researchers placed a population of beetles in two different areas to observe their behaviors. One of the areas was a hydroelectric dam in a tropical forest of Venezuela, and the other was a much smaller island. The results indicated that the larger bees left the smaller islands
Since organisms living in communities form interdependent relationships, a change in the abundance of one species will not only affect the physical and more direct interactions, but could indirectly affect the number of other species within the community as a consequence (Wootton 1993). These indirect affects rise because the interactions between pairs of species are not independent of other species, such as increasing the density of vegetation may increase the survival rate of the prey, reducing the intensity of the interaction between the predator and prey (Wootton 1993, 1994). An
Bioremediators need to be able to grow in order to remediate the soil of pollutants. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the presence of Stropharia rugoso-annulata in the soil will support and accelerate the growth of ryegrass in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. If the growth of the ryegrass is accelerated and supported, the combination of the two bioremediators could potentially accelerate the degradation of PAHs in the soil. Techniques such as soil washing, soil flushing, vitrification, etc., exist to remediate contaminated soil. Although, these techniques are effective, they also disturb the natural environment to some degree. Bioremediation is often accomplished in situ resulting in minimal environmental disturbance. This study is being performed because healthy soil is a limited resource that needs to be preserved and replenished. The state of soil can impact the health of humans, animals, and ecosystems, therefore, it’s important to be able to monitor and control the pollutants in
After performing our experiment we came to the conclusion that the amount of woody litter mass did not have a statistically significant effect on the amount of soil invertebrate diversity of an area. In each of the different areas, the P-Values were above 0.05 meaning that there was no significant correlation between woody litter mass and soil invertebrate diversity. There were 36 total invertebrates found between all the areas we measured with 8 different species. We also found that species diversity between all the groups ended up being 1.27 which means the diversity in the environments was very low. The evenness was 0.71 which is closer to 1, so the communities
Soil erosion is proven to be the dominant sediment source within catchments, comprising up to 63% of the sediment flowing into rivers (McKergow, Prosser, Hughes, & Brodie, 2005, pp.200). It is estimated that by the end of the 20th century, agricultural purposes had caused the clearing of more than 50% of the natural vegetation in Queensland (Bowen & Bowen, 2002, pp. 407). In 1999, 90% of all land cleared in Australia was located within Queensland, an estimated 400,000 hectares (Bowen & Bowen, 2002, pp. 407). Cropping, particularly sugarcane, and beef grazing are the main sources of soil erosion, as well as cotton and minor urban development (Brodie et al., 2007). Use of nitrogen fertilization (De’ath & Fabricius, 2010) has also caused a flux of nutrients to make their way to the Great Barrier Reef, causing eutrophication in some areas (Brodie, Wolanski, Lewis, & Bainbridge, 2012, pp. 267). Degradation of land assigned for Pastoral purposes has been the main contemporary source of sediments, owing the impact they have to the sheer amount of cleared land that is designated to beef grazing (Neil, Orpin, Ridd, & Yu, 2002, pp. 733). Unlike agricultural practices which use highly fertilized soils, the exported nutrients from cattle grazing land are from natural, unfertilized soil that results from erosion inland (Brodie et al.,
The Asian gypsy moth is an extreme defoliator, however there are other disturbances that it causes to threaten biodiversity by affecting native population dynamics and carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling (Jankovic and Petrovskii, 2013). The gypsy moth is one of many invasive species that has assaulted the deciduous trees found in eastern North America (Vitousek et al., 1996). The gypsy moth has a wide plant host range, which can be abundantly found in the American forests (Vitousek et al., 1996). Certain species such as beech, dogwood, and super maple trees are on a severe decline while the American elm and beech trees have been almost completely eliminated from the eastern forests by the gypsy moth (Vitousek et al., 1996). Defoliation
The volume of carbon dioxide gas produced from a reaction was measured in order to determine what carbonate sample was used. A gas assembly apparatus was used to capture the gas from a reaction between an unknown carbonate and 6M hydrochloric acid; three trials were performed. The mass of the unknown carbonate was determined, and the reaction occurred in a test tube. The volume of gas produced by the reaction was measured, and the partial pressure of carbon dioxide was calculated after the partial pressure of water vapor was determined using Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures. The percent mass of carbon dioxide gas was then calculated, and the average mass percent was compared to the table of known carbonates. It was concluded that the unknown carbonate sample used in the reaction was magnesium carbonate.
Turmeric or curcuma longa originates from some tropical areas of Asia. It will grow to about three feet and its leaves are giant and green, and its flowers are pink. This plant adds interest and texture to garden beds. Turmeric are often grownup as a container plant also. Turmeric is sometimes grown for its flavourous, bright orange roots. Turmeric’s medicative properties are loved throughout history and today it's used as an anti-inflammatory drug and other people use it for treating numerous skin conditions and additionally to improve the gastrointestinal health.
* Small additions of Vermicompost decreased the incidence of various plant diseases and the numbers of plant parasitic nematodes were suppressed.
Also in the production of fertilisers there is corrosive and highly toxic therefore the pumps and pipes used need to be made of a resistant material to ensure longevity of the infrastructure. Furthermore the sealant need to properly selected to avoid toxic steam escaping and causing possibly lethal circumstances (Sulzer Pumps Ltd, 2010).
A review of soil carbon sequestration potential for Australian agriculture by Sanderman et al. (2010) concluded that: In general, grazing at appropriate stocking levels will maintain or enhance soil C [carbon] stocks (Conant et al. 2001) due to positive effects on vegetative growth (LeCain et al. 2000; McNaughton et al. 1996; Sims et al. 1978) and turnover of both above-ground shoots and below-ground roots (Nyborg et al. 1999; Schuman et al. 1999; Sims et al. 1978). However, many of the details are not well understood (Ingram et al. 2008; Parton et al. 2001) and mixed results are common (Derner et al. 2006; Pineiro et al. 2009).
Since the time of Darwin (1881), there has been a general perception that the earthworms are beneficial ecosystem engineers that significantly influence soil processes and ecosystem functioning. This has been shown in agricultural systems over the years, where earthworms increase nutrient transformation and plant nutrient uptake (Syers and Springett 1984; Edwards 2000). In addition, earthworms have been put to a use in organic waste management (Edwards 2000). Despite these beneficial effects in agriculture systems and probably in urban settings (Hendrix and Bohlen 2002), some other aspects of earthworm activities, in particularly those are from introduced invasive, are damaging to the natural ecosystems, as invasive earthworms alter plant community structure and diversity, change soil structure and microbial community, and indirectly impact other ground dwelling animals (Hendrix and Bohlen 2002; Bohlen et al. 2004; Hale et al. 2006; Mclean et al. 2006; Holdsworth et al. 2007; Loss et al. 2012).