Ch 37 Soil and Plant Nutrition

These flashcards cover key terminology, definitions, and concepts related to plant biology and soil management, including autotrophs, their mechanisms of energy acquisition, and the relationships between plants and soil.

Autotrophs

Organisms that can make their own food, including photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs.

Photoautotrophs

Autotrophs that use light energy to produce organic molecules, including plants and some prokaryotes.

Chemoautotrophs

Organisms, unique to prokaryotes, that oxidize inorganic chemicals to generate energy.

Riftia pachyptila

A type of organism that houses chemosynthetic symbionts to convert energy into food.

Kleptoplasty

The ability to steal chloroplasts, allowing some organisms to undergo photosynthesis.

Chloroplasts

Organelles required for autotrophs to make sugar through photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis equation

The process that converts carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen using sunlight: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O + ext{sunlight} <br /> ightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$.

Chlorophyll

The green pigment in chloroplasts that absorbs light for photosynthesis.

Stem function?

Bring water to plant

Leaves function?

Photosynthesize and gas exchange, stomata location

Flower function?

Reproduction

Root system function?

Absorbs nutrients and water with hyphae, anchors plant

Why is pure sand not fertile?

Soil particles are too big and cannot retain water or nutrients

Why is pure clay not fertile?

The soil particles are too compact and retains too many nutrients

Most soils particles are ___ aka “______”

Negative charged, anions

Humus

Non-living organic material from plant and animal decomposition

How does human impact soil?

Irrigation, fertilization, soil pH, erosion

Irrigation

When ground water is drained for agriculture, can cause sinkholes

Fertilization

Adds minerals and nutrients to system

Organic fertilizers are _____ release

Slow

Inorganic fertilizers are _____ acting

Fast

Fertilizer Runoff

When fertilizer is washed into water bodies that causes eutrophication which causes hypoxic zones

Erosion

Reduces wind sweeping on top layer

The macronutrients of plants:

Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen

Chlorosis

Yellowing of leaves

Mutualism

Relationship between two different species which both benefit

parasitism

relationship between two different species where one benefits and one is harmed

Rhizobacteria

Root associated bacteria that can stimulate plant growth

Rhizosphere

Type of rhizobacteria that is a thin layer of soil that closely surrounds the plant’s roots

Plants can absorb nitrogen as___ and ___

Nitrate and ammonium

Plants ______ use atmospheric nitrogen (N2)

Cannot

Nitrofication

Where soil nitrate is formed when ammonia is formed to nitrite then oxidize nitrile to nitrate

Legumes

Planting these help crop growth and do so by planting after corn to keep ground moist

Ectomychorrhizae

Hyphae that grounds roots, not in cells

Endomychorrhizae

Layer of hyphae that penetrate cells, 85% of plant species

Epiphytes

Grow on other plants, not parasites

Parasitic plant

No stem or leaves, only flower that intertwines their roots with host roots, taps INTO host plant

Soil Horizons

Layers in soil, including topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock, each with different mineral compositions.

Loam

A type of soil that is fertile and consists of equal parts sand, silt, and clay.

NPK

A standard abbreviation for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, essential nutrients for plant growth.

Eutrophication

The over-enrichment of water bodies with nutrients, often leading to hypoxic conditions.

Hypoxia

A condition in which there is insufficient oxygen in a water body, often due to eutrophication.

Mycorrhizae

Mutualistic associations between fungi and plant roots that enhance nutrient uptake.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that plants can assimilate, such as ammonium.

Symbiosis

The interaction between two different species, which can be mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic.

Carnivorous plants

Plants that trap and consume animals or protozoans to supplement nutrient intake in low-nutrient environments.

Parasitic plants

Plants that derive some or all of their nutritional requirements from another living plant.

Phytoremediation

The use of plants to remove contaminants from polluted soil.

Salinization

The accumulation of salts in soil, often resulting from irrigation practices.