APES Unit 1 Vocab Pt 2 Flashcards

Front

How is excess phosphorus added to aquatic ecosystems?

Back

Runoff of animal wastes, fertilizer, discharge of sewage; limiting factor in freshwater ecosystems; excess P leads to eutrophication.

Front

What is leaching?

Back

Removal of dissolved materials from soil by water moving downwards.

Front

What is the phosphorus cycle?

Back

Movement of atoms and molecules containing the element P between sources and sinks.

Front

What are the major reservoirs of phosphorus?

Back

Rock and sediments/sedimentary rocks that contain phosphates phosphorus-bearing minerals; is never a gas.

Front

What is the main limiting factor in biological systems?

Back

Phosphorus because it’s naturally scarce in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems since it does not circulate as easily as nitrogen.

Front

What is resilience in ecosystems?

Back

When an area/community recovers from disruptions more easily because it has a larger number of species.

Front

What are the characteristics of a watershed?

Back

Total area, length, slope, soil, & vegetation types.

Front

What is climate change?

Back

Has occurred many times over geological time for many reasons.

Front

How is stratospheric ozone formed?

Back

When a monatomic oxygen atom encounters an oxygen molecule OR when N2O5 decays.

Front

Where is the ozone layer located?

Back

In the stratosphere.