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TASEnvironmental ScienceQuick questions
Ecological Processes
Quick questions on Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycling - TCE Environmental Science (Tasmania)
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the carbon cycle?Show answer
Carbon moves between the atmosphere, living things, oceans and rocks. Photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the air and fixes it into organic compounds; respiration by all organisms returns it. Decomposition releases carbon from dead matter, while combustion of fossil fuels and bushfires add carbon dioxide rapidly. Tasmania's vast forests and the Southern Ocean act as important carbon sinks, storing carbon that would otherwise warm the atmosphere.
What is the nitrogen cycle?Show answer
Nitrogen is needed for proteins and DNA, but the nitrogen gas that makes up most of the atmosphere cannot be used directly by plants. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert it into ammonia, nitrification turns ammonia into nitrates that plants absorb, and consumers gain nitrogen by eating plants. Decomposers release nitrogen back into the soil through ammonification, and denitrifying bacteria return nitrogen gas to the air. Excess nitrogen from fertiliser running into Tasmanian waterways can cause eutrophication.
What is the water cycle?Show answer
Water cycles through evaporation, transpiration from plants, condensation, precipitation and runoff. Tasmania's high rainfall and forested catchments, such as those feeding hydro-electric storages, depend on this cycle, and forest cover influences how much water is held and slowly released.
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