Question

Based on patterns of community replacement during succession (discussed in lecture 18), what pattern of nutrient loss from a catchment would you hypothesize following a disturbance (e.g. fire) in a forest?

Answer 1

Both the macro nutrient and micro nutrient is lost from soil . The concentration of nitrogen and sulphur might decrease at faster rate than other nutrients . The soil and plants would loose nitrogen ,phosphorous , calcium ,magnesium ,boron etc and this would cause loss in soil stucture . There would be aggregation of clay particles and the humus is lost from the soil . The pattern it follow would be -- oxidation , volatilization ,ash transport /loss , leaching and erosion . These effect would be well marked . The whole community of plant and animal is lost and most importantly microorganisms are affected . The plants are lost and the biogeochemical cycle is disturbed . The soil in this region becomes more coarse and eradible making futthur sucession of species tough . This also impact water infilteration , causes runoff and erosion . Evaporation and transpiration rate is changed .