Populations & Ecosystems Test - 3

Decomposition is the process that involves the breakdown of complex organic matter or biomass from the body of dead plants and animals with the help of decomposers into inorganic raw materials such as carbon dioxide, water, and other nutrients.

The various processes involved in decomposition are as follows:
➢ Fragmentation  

• It is the first step in the process of decomposition.
• It involves the breakdown of detritus into smaller pieces by the action of detritivores such as earthworms.

➢ Leaching

• It is a process where the water soluble nutrients go down into the soil layers and get locked as unavailable salts.

➢ Catabolism

• It is a process in which bacteria and fungi degrade detritus through various enzymes into smaller pieces.

➢ Humification

• The next step is humification which leads to the formation of a dark-coloured colloidal substance called humus, which acts as reservoir of nutrients for plants.

➢ Mineralization

• The humus is further degraded by the action of microbes, which finally leads to the release of inorganic nutrients into the soil.
• This process of releasing inorganic nutrients from the humus is known as mineralization.

The nutrient cycle in which reservoir is located in earth crust is called sedimentary nutrient cycle. So, soil and rock based nutrient cycles are example of sedimentary nutrient cycle.

The pyramid of biomass in an aquatic system is always inverted. A sharp  decrease in biomass results in inverted pyramids.

Option A: Mineralization is the process in which humus is further degraded by some microbes and release of inorganic nutrients occur.

Option B:  The degradation of the detritus into simple inorganic substances, by bacterial and fungal enzymes, is known as catabolism.

Option C:  If the breakdown of the detritus by detrivores is called fragmentation.

Option D: Leaching is the process by which the water-insoluble  inorganic nutrients go down into soil horizon and get precipitated as unavailable salts.

Hence,option B is correct.

• At a constant temperature, soil moisture content shows a parabolic affect on decomposition rates with a maximum rate at intermediate levels of moisture.
• High moisture content limits soil gas exchange leading to low oxygen concentrations and potentially anaerobic conditions.
• At low moisture content, the lack of water limits microbial metabolism; however, many microorganisms can remain active to much lower soil water potentials (at -3.0 MPa) than plants (at -1.5 MPa).

In a food chain, energy stored at the producer level is called as primary productivity (PP). Net primary productivity (NPP) is the rate of storage of organic matter except which is utilized for the respiration by plants.

In detritus food chain, speed of decomposition will be fast if detritus is rich in simple sugar that can be easily decomposed into glucose by saprophytes that includes bacteria and fungi.

Primary productivity is maximum in tropical rain forests due availability of sufficient food and water followed by temperate forests . Savannah grasslands have comparatively less productivity and arid regions have limited biotic component and water.

Succession will occur in a short time in heavily overgrazed pasture .
If organic compounds are already available in the place new organisms will develop faster as compared to bare land without organic matter.

Phosphorus is not present in amino acids. It polymerases to form protein.
Nucleic acids, ATP, and Teeth contain phosphorus.

Ecological succession on bare land proceeds towards increasing wetness. Availability of water help in faster growth of organism including plants.

• Humus is a dark brown amorphous gummy substance formed by partial decomposition of plant and animal matter. 
• It is not good for plant growth.
• Humus is quite resistant to microbial action.
• It is a reservoir of nutrients and is helpful in  the maintenance  of soil moisture as well as aeration.

Hence, None of these statements is correct about Humus.

Ecosystem services include all activities performed by natur e to benefits human beings.

The most important ecological service includes soil formation. Soil is essential for the growth of plants that provide food to all living forms.

Robert Constanza and his colleagues have recently put price tag of US$ 33 trillion a year for nature ’s life support services for fundamental services.

• Forests helps in  producing rainfall. More are the  trees, the more water gets absorbed into clouds and the more it helps in  rain falls. 
• The roots of a tree make gaps in the soil so that when it rains the water can sink in before being absorbed by the soil.
• These spaces also allow air and water to reach the roots of the plants.  
• If the forests disappear, there will be less rain resulting in dryer conditions, that eventually lead to drought.
• Once this happens, the damage is extensive making it difficult to plant more trees or plants later because the soil is so hard and dry. When trees removed using heavy machinery, the soil is pushed down and the gaps fill in.
• Because all plants and trees need that water and air to reach roots, the conditions become unfriendly for new growth.