Terrestrial Carbon Cycle

Terrestrial Carbon Cycle

The terrestrial carbon is the carbon that is stored in the vegetation and soils of the Earth’s land surface. Also the carbon cycle describes the flow of carbon between reservoirs in the Earth system and the largest pools of carbon are fossil carbon, Deep Ocean and reactive sediments. Processes of photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, accurse in the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle.   Also most of the things are made of carbon, and the fuels that people use for energy as well.

The carbon in the terrestrial biosphere is stored in the forest. For some reason the the carbon is stored in the plants and then they transform it into oxygen that is what we need to still alive. Approximately a tree is made of 86% of carbon and the soil about 73%, and it is happen because the photosynthesis. When the plants die or some trees start to lose their leaves, all of this organic material starts to decompose in the ground and with help of the decomposer organisms and it helps to the soil to have a better duality, and be much more good soil to plant some plants.

The animal’ role is to eat the plants and at the same time they are eating carbon because all the materials are made of carbon so the animals eat them and then they store the food  and some become manure. The carbon is in the atmosphere until the plants absorbed the CO2 by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis and respiration impart distinct isotopic signatures to the atmosphere.

Lab # 5

Part1

The propose of the lab is to know and prove if our hypothesis was wrong or right. Two different ways how the lab was doing. To prove the hypothesis is necessary to leave the planting seeds in two different environments so, the first one was in on environment where the seeds can receive sun light so that the plants can do photosynthesis. The other one was in a dark place.

Hypothesis

The seeds cannot germinate in dark places. It was wrong because when the different trays were open the one that was in the dark germinate but not the same and different color as the one that was outside. The tray that was outside germinate better and the plants were color green, and the one that was in the dark germinate but most of the plants were almost dead and the color yellow.

Start to count the germinate plants was the next step. Each group planted 4 seeds per cup in 36 cups for every example. The data of the plants that were planted in the dark place were 50 germinate plants.

Then started measuring all the seeds that were germinated and the average was 15cm.

Part 2

1.    What was the control for this experiment?

The control for this experiment was the following: first put two trays in different places so, one has to be in a dark place and the second one has to be somewhere that has enough sun light. Then take care about the one that is outside like watering and see if the plants have their needs.

2.    What is the percent germination for the light treatment and for the dark treatment?  

The percent germinate of this was 50/144*100=34.72%

The percent germinate of this was 69/144*100=47.9%

Part 2 GPP and NPP

Step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4

Once you have measured the seedlings and gathered the data for part 1 carefully pull out each seedling gently from the soil. Then once you have all the seedlings with the roots separated from the soil weight the plants on the scale. Place all the sprouts on a piece of aluminum to weight the mass. Once it is done then put the plants in the oven so de plants can get dry and then weight the mass after try them.

Weight before 8.9g

Weight after 1.9g

Then calculate the GPP and NPP.

NPP+R=GPP

2.0g  +  1.9g  =  3.9g

·         Different between dark treatment and light treatment.

The different between both treatments is because the one that was in dark place the plants germinate but with different color (yellow), and most of them start to die because of the lack of sunlight and water. The treatment that was outside was more alive because most of the plants were color green and almost most of them germinate and grow as a plant. Also the percent of germination was higher.

·         Explain why that growth may have take place even though light was not present.

Because even though the treatment that was in the dark did not receive sunlight was present water, and so many nutrients from the soil, so that is sufficient to permit the plants germinate but not with the same characteristics as the one that was outside receiving sunlight and water.

·         Using the calculations of the class’ data make 3 graphs showing the different in respiration, net primary productivity, and gross primary productivity. 

Lab # 4

Dam Removal and Sediment Transport in the Sandy River Basin, Oregon

The Sandy River is a 56-mile (90 km) tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Measured by a United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauge downstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Bull Run River, 18.4 miles (29.6 km) from the mouth, the river's average discharge is 2,300 cubic feet per second (65 m³/s). The maximum daily recorded flow is 84,400 cubic feet per second (2,390 m³/s), and the minimum is 45 cubic feet per second (1.3 m³/s).^[6] The Sandy joins the Columbia about 14 miles (23 km) upstream of Portland. (Brinckman, Jonathan (October 12, 2002).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_River_(Oregon)

 

Dam Removal

The dam was removal in 2007. The dam was a barrier for some wildlife such as fish because with pressure of that dam the fish can’t go back and forth. Also was less genetic diversity and store the fish. Some of the benefits were free flow and the fish can have a free environment to live without barriers. Now naturally flowing without dams from its water source at Mount Hood, the river flows to the mighty Columbia River. The Sandy River offers paddlers and other excellent opportunities just minutes from the greater Portland area.

After the dam was destroyed the people who manage the river start to find different strategies to keep the river clean and preserve the vegetation and wildlife that we can find there. Some of the strategies have been doing are for example to reforest the area near where the dam, connect a corridor with different path for the wildlife, all the activities they have done were with volunteers. The whole area is secondary succession because the soil already exist, but in areas the soil is been compact because the human’s activities.

 Some of the big reforestation projects were in 2010. In 2007 they did an experiment to see which kind of vegetation can grow in this area and after that they start to have reforestation projects. When the dam was destroyed, it does not affect too much the wildlife because it was so rapidly. In some part where the dam was now is present a little bit of soil erosion but that is okay because it is natural.

In this area we can find two different type of forest because one of them looks like there are just young trees, no too much woody debris, and the soil has not too much nutrients but still been a nice forest. The other part is a total different forest because we found that in this area is present lots of woody debris, and the soil has lots of nutrients and as a result this area has more vegetation.

In the 1930s, the Oregon Game Commission redirected the main branch of the Sandy River, also known as the East Channel, in an attempt to improve fish runs. A 750-foot long dam was constructed on the East Channel to direct water flow toward the West Channel of the Sandy River. (http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Missions).