Patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of nutrients through soils, groundwater and surface waters
What is it? Inorganic matter is all the parts of the
biosphere that are
not living things nor products of living things. Inorganic matter includes
water, gasses, salts, acids, bases, as well as inorganic forms of nutrients
such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Inorganic matter moves through
the ecosystem when plants and animals decompose, and by disturbances such
as fire and flood.
Why study it? In natural quantities the nutrients
that come from inorganic matter are essential for life. But in excessive
quantities nitrogen and other nutrients can have far-reaching and
harmful effects on the environment. |
How is it studied? Inorganic matter is measured by
taking air, soil, or water samples and analyzing their chemistry to find
out which type and the amount of the chemicals that are present. Once
these baseline levels are determined, manipulative experimentation can
begin, such as adding excess nitrogen to a stream and examining the effects
on the plant and animal life.
Inorganic Matter Research in LTER
| Scientists at Coweeta LTER have organized a team to study inorganic
nitrogen at 10 different stream sites across the United States. |
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Their hypothesis
is that the amount and the movement of inorganic material in the stream
determines the nature and the health of the plant and animal life that
can inhabit the stream. The researchers are conducting the same exact
experiment at all ten sites to see how quickly inorganic nitrogen is absorbed
in the streams by plants and animals. Scientists then take samples of
the plant and animal life to find out how nitrogen moves through the food
web in different biomes.
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Scientists from the Coweeta LTER collect water samples to determine
the amount of inorganic matter in a stream in North Carolina. |
| To study the movement and absorption of nitrogen in stream ecosystems,
researchers release a measurable form of nitrogen from containers
like the one shown in this picture. Then they measure the nitrogen
concentration downstream, and take samples of plants and animals for
nitrogen analysis. |
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Human and livestock waste releases nitrogen, phosphorus and other
nutrients in the ecosystem in amounts many times greater than normal.
LTER scientists study the effects of these excess nutrients on the
plants and animals. |
This study is conducted at 10 stream sites across the U.S. Is there one
near you?
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