Soil Ecology: Organisms, Environmental Factors, and Clay Minerals

Soil Ecology: Organisms and Their Roles

Nature Activities and Role in Metabolic Energy Transformation Processes

Environmental Parameter Relations

Relationships between microbial activity measured by the respiratory activity of soil CO2 flux.

Microfauna
  • Protozoa
  • Nematodes
Microflora
  • Actinomycetes
  • Fungi
  • Soil Algae
Monera (Prokaryotes)
  • Bacteria:
    • Streptomyces
    • Pseudomonas
    • Nitrobacter
    • Nitrosomonas
  • Anaerobic:
    • Clostridium
  • Aerobic Actinomycetes:
    • Streptomyces
    • Bacteria to hyphae – Nocardia (degrade humic substances)
Cyanobacteria
  • Nostoc
  • Anabaena

Synthesize

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Earth’s Dynamic Processes: Sea Level, Fossils, and Plate Tectonics

Changes in Sea Level

  • Change in volume of ocean water: The climate has changed many times throughout Earth’s history. During glaciations, ice sheets covered much larger areas than today. Much of the seawater evaporated, precipitated as snow on the continents, and the ice accumulated. This water did not return to the ocean, causing a decline in sea level.
  • Variation in the shape of ocean basins: Various internal processes can raise or sink the ocean bottom, changing its shape. This variation can cause
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Pyrenees: Geography, Climate, and Characteristics

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a major Alpine range in southern Europe, stretching approximately 440 km from the Bay of Biscay in the west to Cape Creus in the east. They form the isthmus connecting the Iberian Peninsula to the continent. The highest peaks mark the border between France and Spain in the central Pyrenees. The range is complex and divided into several units:

  • Central Pyrenean Axis: This sector contains the highest altitudes, exceeding 3000m.
  • Pre-Pyrenees: Organized into two mountain ranges
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Earth Science: Erosion, Soil, Rock and Carbon Cycles

Erosion

Erosion is the set of exogenous phenomena, outside the area, whose actions contribute to or modify the forms created by internal and endogenous processes.

Weathering

Weathering includes the disintegration and decomposition of rocks that originate in the same place that later became sediments. Weathering rates:

  • Oceanic: It consists in the destruction of rocks by physical processes.
  • Chemical: It consists in the destruction of rocks by the action of the solvent water.

Sea Modeling

Sea modeling results

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Understanding the Atmosphere: Composition, Layers, and Weather

Weather Elements

Atmospheric Temperature: The degree of heat that the air has at a specific time and place.

Atmospheric Pressure: The pressure exerted by the air at any point in the atmosphere.

Humidity: The presence of water in the air.

Condensation: The transition of water from its gaseous state to its liquid or solid state. This varies depending on the degree of heat in the atmosphere.

Formation of Clouds: A cloud is composed of millions of droplets (or ice crystals when temperatures are very low)

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Food Chain, Production, Preservation, and Additives

The Food Chain

The food chain is a representation of the action of eating in nature, in which matter and energy shift from one organism to another. It consists of:

  1. Producers: Plants and algae (autotrophs)
  2. Primary Consumers: Herbivores (heterotrophs)
  3. Secondary Consumers: Carnivores (heterotrophs)
  4. Decomposers: Some bacteria and fungi

Food Sources for Humans

An increasing population, caused by improved sanitary conditions and advancements in medicine, has led to an increased need for food. This is achieved

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