Ecology – Biology 3500
COMMUNITIES and ECOSYSTEMS UNIT
Dr. Adams
Chapter 19: Nutrient Cycling and Retention
Nutrient Cycles
Energy makes one pass -- it flows through the ecosystem;
nutrients, however, are recycled
Cycles exist for ANY atom/mineral necessary
for survival by any organism, but three are
especially prominent in their
importance/effects: P, N, and C.
For each -- need to know basic uses in
organisms, basic components of the cycle (see Figs.
19.1 - 19.4), basic sources, pools
and sinks; basic entry/exit points into/from cycle.
Other important aspects:
P cycle: What do all organisms need P for?
No major
atmospheric pool, largest pools in rocks (available through weathering) and
dissolved
phosphate ions in water (more readily available); although lots in soil,
mycorrhizae
play major
role in uptake into organisms. In oceans, organisms, make use of dissolved ions
until some settle in sediments. To return to usable pool, must be uplift
and weathering again.
Estimates of residence time in the biosphere is on the order of 1000's of
years.
N cycle: What do all organisms need N for?
although large
atmospheric pool, only a few organisms (cyanobacteria, free living soil
bacteria, and
certain mutualistic root-associated bacteria) can break molecular N2
bonds,
and fix
nitrogen into NH3 (ammonia). Lightning, interestingly enough, can also break N2
bonds and fix nitrogen. Upon death of
organisms, their nitrogen is often released during
decomposition (of proteins/amino acids
particularly) as ammonia (a process called ammoni-
fication). Ammonium can be converted by
other bacteria to nitrates (nitrification). Both
ammonium and nitrates can be utilized by bacteria, fungi and plants. Nitrogen can exit the
organic
pool by bacterial denitrification,
releasing N2
back to atmosphere. Residence time
-- ±625 yrs.
C cycle: large
atmospheric pool, continuously replenished by cellular respiration and refixed
by
photosynthesis; dissolved carbonates may end up out of reach in sediment/rocks
(until
weathered).
Atmospheric C also influences climatic conditions.
Don't forget the H20
cycle (Chapter 3)!
Rates of Decomposition: Decomposition -- breakdown of organic matter (with CO2
release).
Mineralization -- conversion of organic forms of
nutrients into inorganic (during decomposition),
which makes these nutrients available
to be absorbed by the producers.
Influenced directly by temp., moisture, and surrounding
chemical environment.
Examples:
Terrestrial
Mediterranean woodlands in SW Spain:
wetter-- more decomposition (Fig. 19.5).
differences
between species of tree leaves:
best predictor of loss was the toughness/%N ratio (see equation page 409
& Fig. 19.6)
Temperate woodlands: compared
New Hampshire to North Carolina:
best
predictor was % lignin:% N ratio, with higher decomposition in general
for NC,
probably
because of higher temps (but also possibly higher N availability).
And, in general, where productivity
was measured to be higher (with higher AET), no surprise
that
decomposition higher in same areas (warm and moist) (see Fig. 19.8).
So, do tropical rain forests have higher decomposition rates than temperate??
So, does soil composition within
climatic areas influence decomposition rates? Indirectly, yes.
Since richer
soil typically means higher productivity, it also means higher rates of litter
fall and,
in turn,
higher decomposition rates. I would call this faster turnover, or
simply cycling, rate.
Aquatic -- influenced by temperature and
chemical surroundings
In aquatic systems, higher lignin
content slows, higher nitrate content increases, and, to a point,
higher
phosphorus concentration increases decomposition rates.
Nutrient cycling/retention and organisms
Aquatic -- Streams/rivers
In moving water, nutrient
spiraling occurs (very little cycling in place).
Spiraling
length and retentiveness of stream ecosystems -- effects of
organisms:
Example: stream invertebrates in Arizona's Sycamore Creek; mayflies and
chironomids.
Increasing percent available nitrogen consumed increases retentiveness.
Different vertebrates (fish) have different nutrient requirements and may
increase retention
for specific nutrients (see Fig. 19.15)
Terrestrial -- gophers, prairie
dogs, ground squirrels (burrowing mammals)
Remember increase in
plant diversity? These organisms:
Alter the N
cycle -- bring nitrogen poor soil to surface
Increase
light penetration to the surface of the ground
At colonies,
reduce overall plant biomass, but increase nitrogen content of younger leaves
(may explain why bison like feeding close to prairie dog colonies)
In general, grazing
speeds the rate of nutrient cycling in these ecosystems (DUH!)
Plants
In Hawaii, Myrica trees
(from islands near the Iberian peninsula) have similarly increased
nitrogen availability in invaded Hawaiian ecosystems.
Disturbance and Nutrients
Not surprisingly, clear cutting of forested plots
increases nutrient loss from the ecosystem
For example, loss of nitrates may
increase as much as 10X (see Fig 19.23) upon clear-cutting
Nitrogen losses are greatest from
altered forests where warm temps and high precipitation
promote
faster decomposition. *On the flip side, in these ecosystems, rapid
regrowth of
plants may
help to reestablish control of nitrogen loss following the original disturbance.
From stream ecosystems, significant nutrient loss
is typically episodic, associated with periodic
flooding. For example, in years
of high stream flow (in Bear Brook, NH), streams lose more
phosphorus than erodes into the
stream; in years of low stream flow, more of the phosphorus
"stays put". Inputs are
in the form of dissolved phosphorus, and phosphorus in fine/coarse
particulate matter (including
decaying organics) that "move" into the stream in relatively equal
amounts; exports are any
phosphorus that gets removed with the flow, and seems to be
dominated by fine particulates,
suggesting that physical and biological processes increase P in
fine particulate form. When the
details were analyzed more carefully, major losses were
associated with specific events
(strong storms/spring snow melt), and major inputs were during
autumn leaf fall.
Chapter 20 -- Succession and Stability
Know definitions of: Succession, including
primary/secondary succession; pioneer and
climax communities
Community Change during Succession -- Species/guild changes
through succession
Examples: Primary succession (starting from newly exposed bare soil)
Glacier Bay, Alaska (subarctic
zone; see Figs. 20.1 and 20.2); requires millenia
Subarctic Glacier Bay is a
good natural study area due to retreating glaciers. Species diversity
rose rapidly
for first couple hundred years, then begins to level off. Taller shrubs
don't reach
maturity
until after about 3 decades, and tree species don't appear as a significant
component
for nearly
100 years. Even then, low shrub/herb diversity continues increasing
through the
first
millenium, with just a few tree/tall shrub species remaining, though in large
numbers.
Note that the rate of
change is a lot slower than in tropical ecosystems, and that number of tree
species would
be MUCH higher in the tropics.
Secondary Succession
Temperate Forests -- SE
U.S. (a couple of centuries)
Virtually all of the
deciduous forest in the piedmont/montane areas of the SE were cleared at
some point,
so ideal area for studying secondary succession. Please READ the
description
of piedmont
succession, second paragraph, first column, pg. 427. General trends are
weedy
species
initially, followed by rapid growing pine seedlings and more trees later, with
woody
species nearly levelling
off at a century and a half into the succession. Bird species follow a
similar trend.
(see Figs. 20.5 and 20.6).
Other Succession Examples
Intertidal communities --
example is 1 to 1.5 years
Remember the Sousa
disturbance studies from Chap 16? Succession on rocks stripped of
attached
organism cover; reaches maximum species diversity (of just 6 or 7)
quickly.
Stream communities --
algal/diatom succession taking a couple of months
Sycamore Creek, NE of
Phoenix. Flash floods can remove algal/diatom community and
initiate new
round of succession. Both diatoms and other algal organisms reach max
diversity
after about 20 days, and decreased after 50 days -- WHY??
Macroinvertebrate species diversity was dominated by one crane fly
species' aquatic
larva, though most species present before the flood remained present throughout the study.
Ecosystem Change during Succession --
Increases in overall biomass, production, nutrient
retention; and important soil changes
Examples:
The Hawaiian Island chain represents
a natural experimental example of 4 million years of
succession.
Organic carbon and nitrogen in the soils changes from young to old sites, and
N and C tied together; see Fig. 20.13. Total phosphorus remains unchanged, but
available
(weatherable) phosphorus is largely depleted after about 20,000 years, and
remains a
limiting factor to primary production at sites 20,000 + yrs. old.
In the
Sycamore Ck. example from above, overall algal biomass was beginning to level
off
after the
first month, as was primary production and invertebrate biomass. Nitrogen
retention
reaches a peak at 30 days, and then drops off significantly, possibly associated
with the transition
phase mentioned. By 90 days post-flood, biomass loss may be evident.
Possible Mechanisms of Succession -- note the word "possible;"
see Fig. 20.19
Facilitation -- early successional species in turn
modify the ecosystem conditions and in turn
facilitate their own replacement,
making the conditions better for other successional species.
These species in turn are replaced by
yet other species, until a point is reached where the
current residents no longer
facilitate colonization by others. This is the climax community.
Tolerance -- this model suggests that the entire suite
of colonizing species is largely there at the
start, and the species that dominate
later in succession are simply those that tolerate the early
conditions as well as whatever
changes take place along the way.
Inhibition -- like tolerance model, early on there are
a large number of species; in this case all
make establishment by other less
likely (inhibit recruitment). In turn, those that last are long-
lived, light disturbance-resistant
species.
All models partly to completely "reset" by major disturbance
EVIDENCE for particular mechanisms?
Aquatic: Intertidal
Sousa -- with isolation and removal
experiments, evidence suggests that the inhibition mech.
is at work
with successional species of algae in the intertidal. This also clarified
what
ultimately
causes early species to fail -- vulnerability to physical and biological factors
causing
mortality.
The dominant early Ulva gives way as the occasional exposure to drying
wind/
intense
sunlight, and herbivory allows more resistant species to succeed.
Turner -- her studies suggest
facilitation for some species; the later successional surfgrass
Phyllospadix produces hooked seeds which require mid-successional algae to
latch onto and
ultimately
germinate. Remove the alga and the Phyllospadix doesn't grow.
Terrestrial: Old Field/Forests
Keever -- Again, both inhibition and
facilitation seem to be involved, even with the same species.
A Crabgrass (Digitaria) facilitates growth of Horseweed (Erigeron), which in turn inibits the
crabgrass as well as
inhibiting growth of the later successional Aster, but not enough to prevent
being replaced eventually by it. Then Aster stimulates growth of the climax grass Andropogon.
Chapin -- following deglaciation.
Both inhibition and facilitation appears to take place through
much of the
successional stages seen, with a lot of inhibition taking place at the climax
stage
(see figure online on my website).
Should NOT be surprising that different mechanisms are
functioning for different species.
Important question: What
keep grasslands/prairies as a "climax" community?
Community and Ecosystem Stability
Definitions: Stability, resistance, resilience
Stability can occur because of
lack of disturbance; however, some communities may remain
relatively
stable in the face of some significant "disturbance", due to resistance
or resilience.
Are some communities more
resistant, and, if so, why? more resilient?
The Park Grass experiment: a meadow at
Rothamsted Exper. Station, in England, that has been
constantly monitored since 1862.
Changes that have been seen have been almost completely
involving changes in abundance of
species already there; virtually no new colonizers have been
recorded. When plots were
modified with fertilizers of different composition, proportions of
legumes/other species increased, the
% increase depending on the fertilizer used. Although
biomass remained quite consistent
throughout the study periods and percentages of groups
overall, individual populations of
particular species changed substantially. So, are communities
stable in nature? Probably
depends on how you define "stable" -- what you measure in the
community. In forest community,
studies require a great amount of time and are difficult to
replicate (!).
Sycamore Creek, AZ (the return to) -- replicate
studies following disturbance easier.
Algal recovery higher in upwelling
zones, where nitrogen is made more available from the
underlying
sediment. The algal "community" is, therefore, more resilient in upwelling
areas.
The regions
of upwelling/stationary/downwelling zones also remain quite stable even after
many flood
events; the stability lies in the underlying geomorphology of the streambed --
upwelling
occurs where bedrock is near the "surface". Why does this make sense?