Decomposition, terrestrial

Predicting the effect of the terrestrial vegetation response to C02-induced climate change for a particular site involves explicit treatment of feedbacks. These are diagramed in Figure 3. The balance between decomposition + autotrophic respiration and gross primary production (GPP) determines the net storage and release of carbon to atmosphere. Climate meets each of these... 

Fig. 14-4 Schematic representation of the transport of P through the terrestrial system. The dominant processes indicated are (1) mechanical and chemical weathering of rocks, (2) incorporation of P into terrestrial biomass and its return to the soil system through decomposition, (3) exchange reactions between soil interstitial waters and soil particles, (4) cycling in freshwater lakes, and (5) transport through the estuaries to the oceans of both particulate and dissolved P.

Information on dioxins in the environment was acquired rapidly by using some simple, but safe and reliable techniques developed for chlorinated pesticdes. Based on results of these tests, one should be able to predict whether routes of entry into aquatic and terrestrial food chains are significant, the rate and products of decomposition mechanism, and their general longevity in the environment. 

Cleveland CL, Neff JC, Townsend AR, Hood E (2004) Composition, dynamics, and fate of leached dissolved organic matter in terrestrial ecosystems. Results from decomposition experiment. Ecosystems 7 275-285... 

The introduction of estrogens and progestogens into the environment is a function of the way several factors are combined. The manufactured quantity and the dosage applied (amount, frequency, and duration) combined with the excretion efficiency of the compound and its metabolites, the capability of adsorption and desorption on soil, and the metabolic decomposition in sewage treatment are examples of necessary factors to assess environmental exposure. In general the fate and effect of a substance in the environment is dependent on the distribution into the different natural systems, such as air, water, and solids (soil, particles, sediment, and biota). Information on the physical and chemical properties (Ku, Kd, and Kim vapor pressure) of a compound may help determine whether it is likely to concentrate in the aquatic, terrestrial, or atmospheric... 

Because of their often high biological productivity and low rates of decomposition under anoxia, wetlands are one of the largest terrestrial sinks for carbon. They account for about a third of the soil carbon globally (Table 1.4). However there are large differences between wetland types. Organic wetland soils tend... 

Acid rain and air pollution are very important problems that must be solved in the future because such pollution has major effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. At present, one of the most significant problems is removal of NOx, which are produced during high-temperature combustion and are an important group of air contaminants. In particular the decomposition or reduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) is a major target to be achieved. 

In a word, if when an oil burns it does not cause a sufficient decomposition of the alum and the vitriol, the flame ought not to be increased, for in our hypothesis the acid of the salt ought to leave its terrestrial matrix and carry its action on to the sulphurous vapor, and... 

Horner JD, Gosz JR, Cates RG. 1988. The role of carbon-based plant secondary metabolites in decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems. Am Nat 132 869-883. 

NOM is common in sediments, soils, and near ambient (<50 °C) water. The materials result from the partial decomposition of organisms. They contain a wide variety of organic compounds, including carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, phenols, amino acids, and humic substances (Drever, 1997, 107-119 Wang and Mulligan, 2006, 202). Humic substances are especially important in interacting with arsenic. They result from the partial microbial decomposition of aquatic and terrestrial plants. The major components of humic substances are humin, humic acids, and fulvic acids. By definition, humin is insoluble in water. While fulvic acids are water-soluble under all pH conditions, humic acids are only soluble in water at pH >2 (Drever, 1997, 113-114). 

Nixon, S.W., Oviatt, C.A. and Hale, S.S., 1976. Nitrogen regeneration and the metabolism of coastal marine bottom communities. In 3.M. Anderson and A. Macfadyen (eds). The Role of Terrestrial and Aquatic Organisms in Decomposition processes. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London, pp. 269-283. 

Because so much land area is subject to erosion, this watershed-increase in soil C scales to a large global C sink. Erosion by wind and water affects roughly 10 x 1012 m2 of land worldwide (Jacinthe and Lai, 2001) and moves 1-5 PgCy, with more than 70% deposited terrestrially (Stallard, 1998). As a result of the erosion effects on decomposition and NPP described above, recent studies have suggested that erosion results in a global terrestrial C sink of 0.25-1 PgCy 1 (Stallard, 1998 Smith et al., 2005 Berhe et al., 2007). 

Zhang, D., Hui, D., Luo, Y., and Zhou, G. (2008). Rates of litter decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems global patterns and controlling factors. I. Plant Ecol. 1(2), 85-93. 

UV absorption and fluorescence, leads to an enhancement of microbial decomposition and remineralization, whereas photodegradation of DOM with minimal CDOM has no net effect or reduces subsequent microbial decomposition and remineralization. Continental runoff is rich in CDOM, and photodegradation results in substrates that enhance microbial decomposition and the remineralization of terrestrial DOM (Miller and Moran, 1997 Smith and Benner, 2005). Very little CDOM in the open ocean appears to be of terrestrial origin (Hernes and Benner, 2006), and the photodegradation of surface water DOM results in a reduction in microbial decomposition, whereas photodegradation of deep water DOM results in an increase in microbial decomposition (Benner and Biddanda, 1998). 

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