1. How would you characterize the elements of ecosystem structure? What do you notice about the ecosystem? How would you describe it to someone else? Primarily, the vegetation. Since this determines what animals are present, they would be secondary. The quote I read from David Tilman suggested that one of the puzzles of modern ecology is that vegetation structure is apparently similar among similar climate zones world-wide. There is convergence in form even though the similar plants are unrelated.

2. Some ways to quantify ecosystem structure:

a. height of vegetation

b. root distribution

c. total above-ground biomass

3. The above methods all do a great job of differentiating woody from herbaceous vegetation.

4. How would you characterize ecosystem processes? How would you describe what is happening in the ecosystem? Specifically, how might you measure what is happening?

5. Some ways to quantify ecosystem function

a. net primary production

b. net nitrogen usage

c. actual evapotranspiration

6. A brief foray into soil structure and horizons

O - organic

A - upper mineral and organic matter (OM)

E - zone of eluviation (leached zone)

B - zone of illuviation (zone of deposition)

C - unweathered parent material

7. Description of some ecologically important soil processes

a. podzolization - leaching of Fe, Al, OM. Produces light gray to whitish E layer. High silicon, cool, moist, acidic, temperate.

b. laterization - leaching of silicon. Fe, Al, clays remain. Red clay soils of the Se US and tropics. Leaves color.

c. melanization - A layer stained dark brown or black by OM and clays leach to subsurface.

d. calcification - arid regions where rainfall is slight, what precipitation there is leaches CaCO3, NaCl, Kcl down to B horizon to form hardpan or caliche layer.