Ecosystems in South West Australia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ecosystems in South West Australia - Assignment Example Climate change directly influences the rate of NPP and carbon storage. Drier and warmer climate results in undesirable parameters such as UV radiation, tropospheric and biotic factors that result in reduction in carbon storage in plant parts. Shifts in precipitation and temperature result in the conversion of soil carbon to CO2; therefore, carbon storage is decreased. Shifts in the disturbance regime also influence carbon availability in the ecosystem. Disturbances from wildfires, back beetles, and wind reduce carbon availability and t6he net primary production of other nutrients (Bernard, Leadley and Hungate, 2005). Question Two Mineralization is an important process in the long-term manufacture of nutrients required by plants for growth. Elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere stimulate biomass production, increased litter fall, and rhizodeposition. The delivery of labile organic matter increases and in turn, influences the deposition of soil microorganisms that enhance nutrient availability and carbon storage. An increase in the net carbon input in the soil causes decreased nitrogen mineralization, and subsequently increases temporarily immobilized nitrogen as well as carbon sequestration. The result of mineralization is the long-term immobilization of atmospheric nitrogen (Bernard, Leadley, and Hungate, 2005). Nutrient cycling is a highly localized process that involves exchanges between plants and soil in ecosystems.