Environmental systems revision notes

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Environmental system final guide!!!

Measuring NPP: that means GROWTH! Remember remember the little lab procedure with 4 plants for 2 species. The formula for meassuing NPP is the following:

(Difference in Dry mass)                       10 000 cm^2    =    net productivity in:       g
                                             100 cm^2          1 M^2                                                      M^2/ time

Measuring NPP for acuatic system: use the light and dark bottles system with same amount of oxygen. Imagine it is like measuring the amount of oxygen they produce, more with more light.

Species diversity: number of different species in a certain area measured by abundance of organisms or biomass.  

Species richness: variety of species        
Species abundance: relative number of individuals of each specie.

Simpson Index:     0 is infinite. 1 is nothing.

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N= the total number of organisms of all species   n= the total number of organism of a particular species.

Measuring abiotic factors

Acuatic ecosystem: ph (water acidity, PH meter or litmus paper), salinity (hydrometer), Temperature (determines soluvility of oxygen, thermometer), dissolved oxygen (oxygen sensor), flow velosity (impellor measure), turbidity(cloudiness of water, nephelometric).

Terrestial ecosystem: temperature (thermometer), light intensity (footcandle meter), wind (anemometer), mineral content (important for soil water holding capacity), particle size, slope (use water in a bottle).

Using Biological Dichotomous keys

Biological keys: groups of organisms that have several characteristics (invertebrates).

Dichotomous keys: helps ...

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