UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DEL ECUADOR

CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS Y AMBIENTALES

SISTEMAS ECOLOGICOS
Nombres: Micaela Cárdenas y Daysi Ganchala
What Are Ecosystems?

Like all living organisms, trees require energy to fuel their growth and acquire raw materials to build their structure. Trees obtain energy from
the Sun, while materials used to build the trees' leaves, limbs, and roots are drawn from the surrounding abiotic environment. How well a
tree grows is affected both by its environment and by its interaction with other organisms in the community (i.e., the biotic environment).
Together, this forest community and accompanying abiotic environment define the forest ecosystem within which the tree lives.
The term ecosystem was initially coined in 1935 by Arthur Tansley and is drawn from the Greek word "oikos" or "house" and the English
word "system". Tansley's definition of ecosystems emphasizes that organisms are constantly interacting with one another and with their
abiotic environment. Today, ecosystem ecologists continue to focus on how organisms interact with their environment, how energy flows
through the ecosystem, and how matter cycles within it.
Although all ecosystems contain both biotic and abiotic components, individual ecosystem boundaries are not objectively fixed but instead
are defined by the researcher. As such, the spatial scale of ecosystems can vary widely, ranging from the tiny "lakes" of rain-filled pitcher
plants to a New Hampshire forest to even the Earth as a whole.

Photosynthesis Powers Most Ecosystems

Regardless of an ecosystem's size, all energy flowing through it was initially captured by autotrophs, organisms that synthesize organic
molecules from inorganic building blocks through the process of primary production. While the vast bulk of primary production is performed
by plants and other photosynthetic organisms using sunlight, some autotrophs use chemoautotrophy, harnessing energy stored in inorganic
chemicals to power primary production. Because autotrophs are responsible for primary production, they are often called primary producers.
In order to do the work of life, plants may burn up to half the energy initially captured during photosynthesis, releasing it as heat
during respiration. The remaining energy is stored as biomass for later use.
See how photosynthesis and respiration interact to fuel growth and reproduction in a tree.

Q1 According to the animation, what is the best definition of gross primary production (GPP)?
The rate at which solar energy is reflected from the surface of the plant.
The rate at which solar energy is captured by photosynthesis.
The rate at which energy is lost as heat when the plant does work.
The difference between the rate at which energy is captured during photosynthesis and the rate at which energy is lost as heat.

Q2. According to the animation, what is the best definition of net primary production (NPP)?
The rate at which solar energy is reflected from the surface of the plant.
The rate at which solar energy is captured by photosynthesis.
The rate at which energy is lost as heat when the plant does work.
The difference between the rate at which energy is captured during photosynthesis and the rate at which energy is lost as heat.
 Diagrams Help Illustrate Energy Flows

Shortly after Tansley coined the term ecosystem, ecologists like Raymond Lindeman, Howard Odum, and his brother Eugene Odum began
investigating how energy flows through ecosystems. In a classic study, Howard Odum tracked the flow of energy through Silver Springs, a
stream ecosystem in central Florida. He emphasized that as energy flows through different compartments, it must obey the laws of
thermodynamics. Specifically, energy inputs must equal outputs and, because all spontaneous energy transfers are inefficient, each loses
some energy as heat.
Howard Odum used diagrams known as Sankey diagrams to illustrate how the laws of thermodynamics govern energy flow through
ecosystems. Sankey diagrams are flow charts that use arrows to represent energy or materials flowing through a system. The diagram on
the previous page is a Sankey diagram of energy flowing through a single tree. Arrow width indicates flow magnitude, and arrows may be
combined or split to illustrate different paths the flow can follow.
We can modify our Sankey diagram of energy flow through a single tree to show energy flow through all the primary producers in a forest.
As with the one-tree diagram, this new diagram emphasizes that energy is lost at each step on its path. For
example, nearly half the solar energy that strikes the forest is never absorbed by plants but instead is
reflected away. Of the energy plants do absorb, most simply warms them and is later re-radiated during
cooling. Of course, a fraction of the energy absorbed by the plant is captured by its photosynthetic machinery
and begins to flow through the ecosystem.

Q3. According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Which of the following statements describes how the Sankey diagram illustrates this law?
The sum of the widths of arrows flowing into plants equals the sum of the widths of arrows flowing out.
Each process loses energy as heat.
Some solar energy is never absorbed by plants.

NPP Supports Higher Trophic Levels

Earlier in this section we posed the question: Where does the energy in wood come from? As you have seen, this energy is supplied by the
Sun and captured by autotrophs during gross primary production (GPP). Much of this energy is immediately lost during autotrophic
respiration (Ra). The remainder, called the net primary production (NPP), is available to fuel the tree's growth and reproduction. The
relationship between gross primary production, plant respiration, and net primary production can be summarized as follows:
GPP−Ra=NPP
Although some of the forest's net primary production is used to power human activities, most is consumed by herbivores or, after the plants
die, by decomposers, and used to fuel their own growth and reproduction. In turn, some of the energy and matter in the herbivores and
decomposers is passed on up the food chain when they are eaten by predators. In this way, primary producers provide all of the energy and
matter needed to support the growth and reproduction of the ecosystem's higher trophic levels.

Q4. . Which of the following formulas provides the proper definition of net primary production?
NPP = GPP + R
NPP = GPP – R
NPP = R – GPP
NPP = GPP/R

Q5. . Which of the following statements about ecosystems are true?

Check all that apply:
An ecosystem is a dynamic, interacting, interrelated set of biotic and abiotic components found in a particular location.
Energy flows through ecosystems while materials tend to cycle within them.
Ecosystems can be very large or very small.

Measuring Net Primary Production

All else being equal, plants that grow rapidly (i.e., have high rates of primary production) make better feedstocks for biofuel than those that
grow slowly. As crops grow, they convert solar energy to sugar, which is then stored as biomass. Thus primary production can be expressed
as the rate of change of either energy or biomass, both of which indicate how quickly plants grow. Here we'll measure biomass (in kg) per
area per year.
Q6. Suppose you measure the rate at which the biomass of a corn field changes over time. What have you estimated?
Gross primary productivity Net primary productivity Plant respiration
The easiest way to estimate plant growth rate is to measure the change in above-ground biomass over time. By harvesting plant samples at
two points in time, ecologists estimate net primary productivity (NPP) as:
NPP=m2−m1t2−t1, where m1 and m2 represent plant biomass density at times t1 and t2, respectively. Because plants contain a lot of water,
samples are typically dried and then weighed, and NPP is reported as dry organic matter per unit area per unit time.

Photosynthesis and Respiration

Although ecologists often use the change in above-ground biomass over time to estimate net primary productivity, this approach has
important limitations. First, it tends to underestimate NPP because biomass in below-ground structures (such as roots) is ignored, as is
biomass lost when plants die or are eaten by other organisms. Ideally all of those would be included, but in reality roots and dead or eaten
parts are often too difficult to measure.
Second, this approach can be used to estimate only NPP. While farmers raising feedstocks for biofuels are primarily interested in how
quickly their crops grow (above-ground NPP), ecologists often want to tease apart the relative importance of gross primary production and
respiration. They also want to know what's happening below ground, because this can determine whether or not an ecosystem is a net
source or sink for carbon. Disentangling these rates requires techniques that rely on a better understanding of the relationship between
photosynthesis and respiration The next several pages describe ways of doing that in a variety of ecosystems.

Gross Primary Production

During photosynthesis, green plants and other primary producers use a series of endothermic reactions to combine atmospheric carbon
dioxide and water to create simple sugars and oxygen. Endothermic reactions do not occur spontaneously; they require energy input, in this
case from sunlight.

As with all endothermic reactions, the products of photosynthesis store more energy than
the reactants did. In this case, simple sugars, generally denoted as C6H12O6, contain much
more energy than either CO2 or H2O. Gross primary productivity is simply the rate at which
plants capture solar energy and store it as chemical energy in sugar.

Respiration
Some sugar synthesized during primary production is burned as plants respire. Unlike
photosynthesis, respiration is an exothermic reaction that proceeds spontaneously and
yields energy that may be used to do work.

As the diagram illustrates, respiration is essentially the reverse of photosynthesis. Sugar is

burned to provide the metabolic energy and carbon that organisms need to live and grow. These activities take a lot of energy, which is why
NPP is always much less than GPP. The diagram also suggests that energy constantly flows through Earth's ecosystems. Energy enters as
sunlight, powers photosynthesis, is stored as chemical energy, is released through respiration to do work, and ultimately exits the system as
heat. Earth's ecosystems are open systems that obey the laws of thermodynamics.
Tracking any one of the molecules in these reactions can give us insight into what is happening with production and respiration. For
example, when plants grow rapidly and NPP is high, sugars accumulate quickly. You would see this as an increase in the plant biomass over
time.
Q7. What can you conclude if CO2 in the air around a plant is accumulating over time (that is, net CO 2 is increasing)?
Photosynthesis is proceeding rapidly (i.e. GPP is high).
Respiration is proceeding slowly (i.e. R is low).
NPP is positive (i.e. GPP > R).
NPP is negative (i.e. GPP < R).
Q8. If you were to track how the concentration of CO2 in an actively growing forest changes over the course of 24 hours, when
would you expect concentrations to rise? When would you expect them to decrease?
CO2 will increase during the day and decrease at night.
CO2 will decrease during the day and increase at night.
CO2 will increase during both day and night.
CO2 will decrease during both day and night.
 How Do Ecologists Estimate GPP?

As you just saw, when respiration is greater than primary production, CO2 increases, and when primary production is greater than
respiration, CO2 decreases. This means that simply by tracking how quickly a plant absorbs or releases CO2, ecologists can determine its
NPP. However, if ecologists want to know how quickly the plant is photosynthesizing (its GPP), they must also estimate Ra.
One technique ecologists have developed for estimating NPP and Ra involves placing leaves, branches or even entire trees inside clear
chambers and then measuring how CO2 inside the chamber changes over the course of a day. Plants respire whenever they grow or
maintain their cells—in other words, almost continuously. Photosynthesis, though, can only occur during the day when there is sunlight. Thus
at night, plants are only respiring. If you assume respiration rates are constant, you can estimate plant respiration by measuring how quickly
CO2 increases at night. You can then estimate NPP by measuring CO2 changes throughout 24 hours. Finally, from those two numbers you
can calculate average daily GPP as:
GPP=NPP+Ra

While chamber techniques work well for estimating GPP and Ra of individual trees, it is difficult to "scale up" to the entire ecosystem, partly
because developing accurate estimates requires sampling many trees, which is expensive. Additionally, by enclosing plants in chambers,
ecologists alter the plant's abiotic environment and therefore how quickly it photosynthesizes and respires.
As a result, ecologists often use a second approach, known as the eddy-covariance technique, that avoids these problems. This technique
uses towers, like the one pictured to the right, to measure CO2, temperature, wind speed, and precipitation at various heights above the
forest floor. Ecologists then combine these measurements to estimate the net movement, or flux, of CO2 into and out of the forest
ecosystem.

What processes is the eddy covariance technique actually measuring? The diagram to the right illustrates a forest ecosystem with a defined
top, bottom and sides. Let's assume that the exchange of carbon with adjacent ecosystems is negligible. Under these conditions, gross
primary production is the only process that decreases CO2 inside the box.

In contrast, CO2 increases whenever plants, animals, fungi, and microbes respire. The eddy covariance technique cannot distinguish
between CO2 from respiring plants and CO2 from respiring heterotrophs. To get around this, ecologists lump together autotrophic respiration
(Ra) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) as ecosystem respiration (Re), where Re = Ra + Rh.
We then estimate net ecosystem production (NEP) as the difference between gross primary production and ecosystem respiration:
NEP=GPP−Re

As you may have noticed, NEP and NPP are conceptually parallel.
Despite the limitation of only measuring Re, the eddy covariance technique has two important advantages. Because a tower surveys large
spatial scales, estimates of ecosystem rates are better than from chambers surrounding only a single plant. Measuring Re rather than Ra
can also be an advantage for certain applications, as it allows an ecologist to construct a carbon budget for the entire forest ecosystem. This
is the only way to determine whether an ecosystem is acting as a net carbon source or sink and thus whether the ecosystem will add to or
reduce anthropogenic climate change
 Q9. Do you expect to observe the lowest CO2 concentrations during the day or at
night? Do you expect to see them near the soil surface, or evenly distributed between
the forest floor and the top of the canopy?
During the day, near the soil surface
During the night, near the soil surface
During the day, throughout the canopy
During the night, throughout the canopy

Q10. Do you expect to observe the highest CO2 concentrations during the day or at
night? Do you expect to see them near the soil surface, or evenly distributed between
the forest floor and the top of the canopy?
During the day, near the soil surface
During the night, near the soil surface
During the day, throughout the canopy
During the night, throughout the canopy

Test your predictions with a simulation based on an experiment in a 60-year-old forest stand
of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin that is dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum), basswood (Tilia
americana), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). In 1999, a team of researchers erected a 30-meter tall flux tower so that they could
estimate NEP in this forest. The tower is taller than any of the forest trees and enables researchers to track CO2 as well as other
meteorological variables at 7 different heights above the forest floor.

You can estimate CO2 concentrations at different heights in the forest canopy by examining the vertical bar to the right of the tower. Blue
indicates low CO2, red is intermediate, and yellow indicates high CO2. Right now, the simulation shows CO2 concentrations at midnight on a
clear night in July.

Q 11. At midnight (hour 1), where are

CO2 concentrations highest?
Above the canopy (> 25 m)
Middle of the canopy (10-15 m)
Near the forest floor (< 3 m)

Q12. At noon, CO2 concentrations are

relatively low throughout the forest
canopy.
True False

Flux Data Document Seasonal Patterns

With a bit of clever math (to correct for wind moving CO2), ecologists can take data from plots
such as you just made and estimate daily GPP and Re. This is exactly what the researchers
working in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest of Wisconsin have been doing. Their
daily estimates of GPP and Re for 2005 are shown on the right.
As you can see, in July (day 190 or so), GPP was much larger than Re, just as in the simulated
July measurements you've been working with. In contrast, during the winter, without
photosynthesis, Re exceeded GPP. This is a typical pattern for temperate forests. In most
years, Re increases early in the spring when soil temperatures begin to increase. A little later,
when trees sprout leaves, GPP starts to climb, and by mid-summer it is much larger than Re.
In the fall, GPP drops quickly as trees shed leaves and photosynthesis stops. Respiration rates
also decline during the fall as soil temperatures decline.
Another strength of this approach is that daily estimates can be combined to produce an
estimate of annual NEP. The data on the right suggest that in 2005, NEP was 519 g C m -2 yr-1.
Q13. An NEP of 519 g C m-2 yr-1 suggests that the Willow Creek forest is actively
growing. This means that the ecosystem is acting as a carbon sink, incorporating more
C as new biomass each year than it releases as CO2 during respiration.
True False

Primary Production in Lakes and Oceans

Nearly one half of global NPP occurs in the oceans, suggesting that these ecosystems may be removing significant quantities of CO2 from
the water column and storing it as biomass. In other words, ocean ecosystems may be acting as important carbon sinks. Most of this
production occurs in open-water regions where tiny unicellular algae and photosynthetic bacteria, collectively called phytoplankton, are the
only primary producers. Area-specific rates of photosynthesis in these regions tend to be low, but because their extent is so vast they host
nearly 80% of the NPP occurring in oceans. In contrast, photosynthetic rates in nutrient-rich upwelling zones and near-shore areas, where
vascular plants and large algal seaweeds are numerous, can be much higher. However, these areas cover a mere 1.7% of the ocean's
surface area and collectively they host only 20% of oceanic NPP.
Lakes display similar patterns. Phytoplankton dominate primary production in deep, open waters while macrophytes and other bottom-
dwelling plants dominate production along shorelines and in shallow lakes.
Phytoplankton primary production and respiration are challenging to measure. Despite their importance to global NPP, the total standing
crop of phytoplankton is small, accounting for only 0.2% of primary producer biomass worldwide. Moreover, phytoplankton generally live only
2-6 days, making it difficult to estimate NPP by measuring change in biomass. Nevertheless, as with terrestrial systems, ecologists have
learned to estimate metabolic rates in aquatic ecosystems by tracking changes in carbon dioxide and by tracking how quickly sugars are
synthesized (using stable isotopes).

Light and Dark Bottles

One common way of measuring production and respiration in open water is called the light-dark bottle technique.12 The researcher makes
use of two bottles such as those shown on the right, one clear and the other covered so no light can get in. Each is filled with a sample of
water from the study location, which contains the organisms that photosynthesize and respire. The bottles are then incubated for a period of
time in the water. The chemical difference between these bottles yields estimates of NEP and Re, just as day- and night-time differences did
on land.
Because dissolved O2 (abbreviated DO) is easier to measure in water than is CO2, ecologists often estimate production in the bottles by
measuring DO rather than CO2. If you look back at the photosynthesisand respiration equations, you'll see that when CO2 increases,
O2decreases, and vice versa. In other words, oxygen is released when plants photosynthesize and is removed when plants and other
organisms respire.

Q14. How can you calculate daily ecosystem respiration? (Assume that light and dark bottle DO is measured AFTER an
incubation of exactly 24 hours.)
Re = (light bottle DO) - (initial DO)
Re = (initial DO) - (dark bottle DO)
Re = (light bottle DO) - (dark bottle DO)

Q15. How can you calculate daily net ecosystem production?

NEP = (light bottle DO) - (initial DO)
NEP = (initial DO) - (dark bottle DO)
NEP = (light bottle DO) - (dark bottle DO)

light-dark bottle technique

The light-dark bottle technique is used to estimate net ecosystem production (NEP), ecosystem respiration(Re), and gross primary
production (GPP) in the water column of lakes and oceans. Ecologists measure changes in dissolved oxygen in water samples that are
incubated in clear ("light") versus opaque ("dark") bottles. Because photosynthesis requires light and thus only occurs in the light bottle while
respiration occurs in both bottles, the light bottle gives an estimate of NEP while the dark gives an estimate of Re.
Why does this technique produce estimates of NEP and Re instead of NPP (net primary production) and Ra (autotrophic respiration)? The
answer relates to the organisms in the samples, which include phytoplankton,zooplankton, and heterotrophic bacteria. There is extensive
overlap in the size of these organisms, which makes it impossible for ecologists to filter out the heterotrophic species from samples. Because
water samples incubated in the bottles include heterotrophic species as well as phytoplankton, changes in dissolved oxygen relate to NEP
and Re and not NPP and Ra. With a little algebra, GPP can be estimated.
This approach assumes that the contribution to ecosystem respiration by heterotrophic species like fish are relatively unimportant and can
be ignored—an assumption that is usually reasonable.

In the simulation to the right, light and dark bottles are being used to estimate the NEP, Re, and GPP of the plankton community in the
Northern Atlantic ecosystem. As described on the previous page, water was collected just before dawn, placed in a light bottle and a dark
bottle, and then hung at a depth of 40 m.
The DO (dissolved oxygen) concentration for the initial bottle is reported on the right above the water's surface. DO for the light bottle and
the dark bottle are reported in the bar graphs on the right during the simulation.
 Q16. What was daily ecosystem respiration?
__0.1_____ mg O2 L-1 d-1

Q17. What was daily net ecosystem production?

__0.2_____ mg O2 L-1 d-1

Q18. What was daily gross primary production?

__0.3____ mg O2 L-1 d-1

Aquatic Primary Production Estimates

How Do Rates Vary With Depth?

Light availability declines with depth—often quite quickly—so aquatic ecologists typically suspend paired light and dark bottles at a variety of
depths when measuring plankton productivity (just as the flux towers make measurements at a variety of heights in the tree canopy).
On the right, light and dark bottles have been suspended at 6 different depths through the photic zone—the region near the surface of a
body of water that receives enough sunlight to support photosynthesis. For simplicity, all bottles were filled with samples collected at the
same depth, so the O2 concentration and plankton are initially the same in each one. On the right panel, results of the simulation are
presented, you can estimate Re, NEP, or GPP for any given depth as on the previous page. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

Q19. How did ecosystem respiration (Re) in the photic

zone vary with depth?
Respiration increased as depth beneath the surface increased.
Respiration first increased and then rapidly decreased as
depth below the surface increased.
Respiration decreased as depth beneath the surface
increased.
Respiration in the photic zone was relatively constant with
depth.

Q20. How does GPP in the photic zone vary with depth?
GPP increased as depth beneath the surface increased.
GPP first increased and then rapidly decreased as depth
below the surface increased.
GPP decreased as depth beneath the surface increased.
GPP in the photic zone is relatively constant with depth.

Clearly, Light Matters!

Aquatic ecologists typically plot the data you just collected as shown on the right, which again illustrates how photosynthesis generally
declines with depth as light intensity drops (a phenomenon that also produces theocean's blue color). The exception to this pattern occurs
near the surface where light can be so intense that it inhibits photosynthesis, a phenomenon known as photoinhibition.
Depth-integrated primary production represents the sum of production occurring at all depths and is reported on a per-area basis. Depth-
integrated production tends to increase as the amount of light striking the sea surface increases. Because temperature affects metabolic
rates, it also affects primary production rates, though the relationship between temperature and production is not as straightforward as that
between light and production.
 In contrast, ecosystem respiration in aquatic systems is typically unaffected by light intensity.
Instead, it declines as temperatures drop or as food for heterotrophs becomes scarce.
Researchers often assume that because the photic zone is typically well mixed, its temperature is
relatively constant and community respiration does not vary with depth, as shown in the figure to
the right. Near the surface where light is abundant and photosynthesis is rapid, GPP > Re. In
deeper waters where light is scarce, Re > GPP. The transition between these two regions occurs
at the compensation depth—the point at which GPP = Re and NEP = 0.

Q21. According to the graph to the right, what is the compensation depth in this simulated
ocean experiment? __70___ m

What Limits Aquatic Primary Production?

In highly productive systems with dense populations of phytoplankton, light decreases quickly with depth, and the compensation depth is
close to the surface. In less productive waters, light decreases more slowly and the compensation depth may be more than 100 m below the
surface. This variation begs the question: What limits primary production in aquatic ecosystems?
Before addressing this question, it is useful to think about what plants need in order to grow. From the photosynthetic equation, we know that
solar energy is used to synthesize sugars (C6H12O6) from H2O and CO2, so clearly these three things are needed. However, in order to grow,
autotrophs must also convert sugars into more complex molecules like amino acids (requiring nitrogen, N), ribosomal RNA (requiring
phosphorus, P), and photosynthetic-specific proteins (requiring trace amounts of iron, Fe, for example). Some plants have more unusual
requirements. For example, diatoms, like those pictured to the right, are an important algal group that build elaborate cell walls
called frustulesout of silica (Si).

In order to grow, phytoplankton must obtain sufficient quantities of these and other nutrients from their environment, and primary production
can be slowed if any required nutrient is in short supply. Because nutrients limit ocean phytoplankton, the most productive ocean regions are
near river mouths and upwelling zones where key nutrients are plentiful.

What Limits Terrestrial Primary Production?

As in aquatic ecosystems, the availability of both light and nutrients—particularly nitrogen and
phosphorus—can influence NPP in terrestrial systems. In deciduous forests of eastern North
America, for example, NPP is correlated with the length of the growing season. Farmers have
long known the value of nutrients and have been adding manure and bones to their fields for
centuries to help maintain soil fertility. In fact, it is only through the application of synthetic
fertilizers that modern agriculture is able to feed today's global population of 7 billion people
While light and nutrient availability are critically important at both local and regional scales, the
two most important drivers of terrestrial NPP at larger scales are temperature and precipitation.
As shown on the right (lower panel), NPP tends to increase as temperature increases. The top
panel shows that NPP also increases as mean annual precipitation increases, but only to a point.
Once annual precipitation exceeds about 2500 mm/year, NPP begins to decline. We can use
these data to create mathematical models that estimate NPP in different climates
Global Patterns of Terrestrial Primary Production
Historically, large-scale estimates of terrestrial primary production were based on
climate measurements at a local scale. Current vegetation models still rely on
measurements of sunlight (photosynthetically active radiation, or PAR), temperature,
and water availability to estimate GPP and NPP, but they often modify these
estimates based on CO2 concentrations and the dominant vegetation class or biome.
Nevertheless, until recently, we lacked the data needed to estimate how primary
production varied on a truly global scale. This changed with the dawn of the Space
Age.
Today, numerous satellites orbit the Earth and collect a wealth of climatological and
ecological data. For ecologists, the most important of these is the NASA Earth
Observing System Terra satellite. Launched in 1999, the Terra satellite surveys the
entire globe at least once each day and collects data that include how much solar
radiation is absorbed by terrestrial plants in each of nearly 150 million 1 km × 1 km
cells. By combining these data with other measurements such as average
temperatures and precipitation, and adjusting for biome, ecologists can use
productivity models to estimate daily primary production for each cell. To ensure the
estimates are reasonable, ecologists compare them with data from flux towers,
changes in plant biomass, and other field-based measurements—a process known
as model validation.

Recently, two researchers at the University of Montana, Maosheng Zhao and Steven
Running, used the Terra satellite data to produce an animation showing how GPP varies across the face of the globe from 2000-2009. In
their animation, bright green indicates areas with high GPP, while white areas indicate that plants are not actively photosynthesizing. They
used green to indicate active photosynthesis because GPP is well correlated with plant cell chlorophyll.
A version of Zhao and Running's animation (produced from NASA images) is reproduced on the right, beginning in January 2006.

Q22. Across the globe, GPP is highest during the summer, but summer occurs at the opposite time of the year in the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres. In the North, summer is from June to August while in the South summer is from December to February.
This difference is what drives the seasonal swings seen in this animation.
What else can you say about the global patterns of GPP?
Seasonal swings in GPP are higher in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere.
Seasonal swings in GPP are of similar magnitudes in both hemispheres.
Seasonal swings in GPP are higher in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere.

Q23. Based on seasonal variations in GPP, how do you predict average global CO 2 will change over the course of a year?
Despite seasonal swings in GPP, CO2 will remain relatively constant over the course of a year.
CO2 will rise and fall over the course of the year, peaking in August or September, shortly after the Northern Hemisphere's summer.
CO2 will rise and fall over the course of the year, peaking in April or May, shortly after the Northern Hemisphere's winter.
In 1958, Charles Keeling began making highly accurate measurements of
CO2 concentrations at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. The resulting data set,
popularly known as the Keeling Curve, has provided valuable insights into how Earth's
climate functions and the biosphere's role in driving atmospheric
CO2 concentration.12 Today, scientists have established numerous permanent sampling
sites across the globe. By combining data from these sites, ecologists have tracked monthly
changes in globally averaged CO2 concentrations for more than 30 years.3

Spatial Variation in CO2 Fluctuations

The graph on the right shows monthly variation in globally averaged CO2concentrations
between 2000 and 2010. You can test your predictions by comparing the global average to
CO2 concentrations observed at 6 sites across the globe. Four sites are in the Northern
Hemisphere while two are in the Southern Hemisphere.

Q24. Which of the following statements is supported by the data?

Check all that apply:
Seasonal fluctuations in CO2 concentrations are greater in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere.
Seasonal fluctuations in CO2 concentrations were greater in the Southern Hemisphere than ins the Northern Hemisphere.
Monthly CO2 concentrations in Barrow, Alaska, rose and fell at the same time as global average CO2.
Monthly CO2 concentrations at the South Pole rose and fell at the same time as global average CO 2.

Fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 are driven by a variety of factors including variation in terrestrial NEP, ocean uptake of CO 2, land cover
changes, and fossil fuel combustion. Burning fossil fuels releases CO2that was previously stored in plant biomass.134

Q25. Based on the observations in the above question, is the following hypothesis supported: seasonal variation in global
CO2concentrations are driven primarily by the Northern Hemisphere?
Yes No

To measure primary production of algae in a stream, you place two sealed chambers in the stream, each enclosing the sediments
as well as the water above them. One chamber is covered with black tape (blocking all light) while the other is transparent to
light. You measure dissolved oxygen (DO) before and after a 24-hour incubation. The initial DO concentration qi 15 mg/m2. DO in
the light chamber increases by 30 mg/m2 while DO in the dark chamber decreased by 10 mg/m2.
Q26What is the estimated Re for the stream? __10___ mg O2 m-2 day-1
Q27 What is the stream's estimated NEP? __30____ mg O2 m-2 day-1

Q28. Based on these data, what was the stream's GPP? __40___ mg O2 m-2 day-1

The position of Earth's continents has shifted dramatically over its history. Imagine that all of Earth's land mass was bunched together with
approximately equal areas above and below the Equator. Assume that seasonal patterns of growth and respiration are otherwise similar,
with the Northern Hemisphere's summer occurring June-August and the Southern Hemisphere's summer occurring December-February.
Q29. How will this new configuration affect seasonal swings in average global CO 2?Seasonal swings would be larger, but
CO2 would still peak in late April.
Seasonal swings would be similar, but CO2 would now peak in late August.
Seasonal swings would be larger, but CO2 would now peak in late August.
Seasonal swings would be much smaller, perhaps even undetectable.

REFERENCIA BIBLIOGRAFICA
W. John Roach, Eli Meir. 2012. Ecosystem Ecology. In SimUText Ecology. Simbio.com.