Sphagnum Bogs

The Carbon Cycle is a process necessary to all life forms as carbon is used for photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and is found in all living organisms. This process occurs naturally from cellular respiration, decomposition, and volcanic eruptions. However from burning fossil fuels and cutting down trees at a rapid pace carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere at an artificial rate. The overabundance of atmospheric carbon dioxide is causing for global warming. This global warming is causing extreme havoc to the Earth and all of its life forms. However this damage, although cannot be reversed, can be changed for the better.

In the last 100 years, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, causing the Earth to warm by an average of 0.6 degrees celsius, largely a result of burning fossil fuels for energy, transportation, and land use changes increased for food production. The basic science is straightforward and climate researchers have shown that gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and others can trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Human activities such as industry, transport, energy generation and deforestation all produce these greenhouse gases. In the last 20 years, concern has grown that global warming is inevitable and now considered most probably caused by man-made increases in

Chapter Six depicts the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the air due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, which has resulted in the production of carbonic acid in oceans, the drop in pH of those oceans, and the death of marine life, including the Castello Aragonese.

The River Red gum has prevailed to this by allowing its seeds to be taken to higher ground and distributed. Seeds of the River Red gums (see image 7) have spongy tissue with air spaces (Aerenchyma) that allow it lose water. This is handy when the seed is immersed in water during the flooding season.

Our lives involve the emission of theses dangerous greenhouse gases (Bushnell 25). Carbon dioxide has increased to

Duckweed are flowering aquatic plants which float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands (Sheh-May 2004). Botanists classify them as a separate family, Lemnaceae. These plants are simple in structure by lacking a visible stem or leaves. The larger part of each plant is a small prearranged "thallus" or "frond" structure that is only a few cells thick. These contain air pockets made of a spongey tissue called aerenchyma that allows the plant to float on top of or just beneath the surface of the water (Sculthorpe 1984). Reproduction is done primarily by asexual budding. This occurs at the base of the frond where the meristem is enclosed.

Nature’s article argue that the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere and consequently has been soaked up by the oceans increasing its acidity will cause to phytoplankton releases less sulfur compounds into the atmosphere, which have participation in the cooling process of the planet by creating aerosols seeds that are responsible for creating clouds that reflect the sunlight. Even though, back in the 1980s some scientists had proposed that the earth is capable of regulating itself and if warming increases plankton productivity the more sulfur compounds would be released and help to cool the Earth, currently earth feedback could happen in another direction due to the acidification of the ocean leading to less emission of sulfur compounds.

Ecosystems in the approximate northern part of our planet are subject to profound changes, such as amplified rise in air temperature following the rapid loss of millions of square kilometers in the Arctic sea ice (Lawrence et al., 2008; Serreze and Barry, 2011; Screen et al., 2012; Bhatt et al., 2014). This sea ice induced warming feedback extends from the marine to the terrestrial domain and may consequently increase the emission of strenuous greenhouse gas methane from high latitude wetland soils (Parmentier, 2013). An increase in terrestrial methane emissions possible therefore can be accessible to the sea ice changes occurring easily off within the Arctic Ocean, when sea ice melts and gives way to an unblocked ocean, an immense lowering

When monosilicic acid and water travel throughout a plant’s root system and into the plant, the acid collects inside tissues. Developing microscopic inorganic silica molds; called phytoliths. Phytoliths are produced in almost every environment in the world, consisting of silicon dioxide, water, organic carbon, and trace elements of aluminum, iron, magnesium, and several others. The transparent molds can be one to over one-hundred micrometers in size. Phytoliths can serve the plant and us in several ways. It permits some plants to stand stiff and allows for sun exposure. It also assists the plant in trapping dangerous elements that could harm the plant. Fields including paleontology, archaeology, primatology, and environmental science greatly appreciate the existence of phytoliths. Phytoliths live long after the plant dies; they exist for tens of millions of years, and in extreme temperatures. Ecofacts such as phytoliths are tremendously beneficial when finding a plant’s family, genus, species,

The staghorn fern which is also known as the elk horn fern or the elephant ears plant, has two very different types of leaves or fronds on the same plant. One type of leaf found is the foliar leaf, this leaf gives the plant its name as it resembles the antlers of a deer. The other type of leaf that grows on this plant is the basal leaf that grows on the lower part of the plant. This leaf is very broad and is the reason the staghorn is sometimes referred to as the elephant ears plant. The spore producing structures on the fern are found in large patches on each lower side of the elongated leaves.

Anthropogenic activity has led to greatly increased emissions of greenhouses gases. Increased temperatures, acidification and stratification are all affected by increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. These symptoms of climate change have direct and indirect effects on to marine ecosystems, all of which start at the major primary producers of the oceans: phytoplankton.

Spanish moss is a vascular epiphyte that belongs to the genus known as Tillandsia. Epiphytes do not typically harm the tree species that it resides on. Epiphytes such as Spanish moss(TillansiaUaneoides) is not dependent on the tree for nutrients; however, it uses the tree for mechanical support. It produces seeds that are transported by the wind which causes it to be found in various locations; however, spanish moss may not survive living on some tree hosts and be found more frequently on certain tree species than others. This is largely due to the fact that biotic factors and abiotic factors contribute to the distribution of Spanish moss found in certain environments.

The microbial organisms living in Peatlands, they love carbon; and they play a major role in “global carbon cycling”; therefore, peatlands are called “carbon reservoir.” Peatland microbes work well in the cool temperature, but the global temperature is increasing because of human activities such as farming, burning of fuel and disposing of industrial gas. The authors focused their study on the influences of human activities causing natural changes on the living and activities of “peatland microorganisms” especially fungi. Different types of fungi were observed on different peatland soils; moreover, statistical, analytical and graphical skills were successfully applied in this study. Finally, the article’s authors concluded that the microbial

An issue that is felt throughout the world is Anthropogenic Climate Change formally known as Global Warming. This word wide problem is one that needs to be addressed immediately as well as long term. Anthropogenic Climate Change is the rise of the earth’s temperature caused by human activities. The continuing rise in the earth’s temperature will cause extreme change in our earth’s ecosystems. The predetermined course to our ecosystems relies on climate change and its effects on ecosystems and life as we know it is at a vulnerable state. Anthropogenic Climate Change shifts relations with human life and presents severe biodiversity in

In addition, human activities like deforestation may increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is because forests help in carbon sequestration, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. It follows then that clearing such tress will increase the amount of carbon dioxide since carbon sequestration will not occur (3). The man-made theory of climate change also explains that when these harmful gasses reach the atmosphere, they form a blanket, which traps heat in the atmosphere. This trapping of in the atmosphere is the phenomenon that causes the planet to get warmer, hence the term global warming (Sharma, 4).