| Nutritional Requirements of Plants |
| 1. |
Describe the ecological role of plants in transforming inorganic molecules into organic compounds. |
| 2. |
Define the term essential nutrient. |
| 3. |
Explain how hydroponic culture is used to determine which minerals are essential nutrients. |
| 4. |
Distinguish between macronutrient and micronutrient. |
| 5. |
Name the nine macronutrients required by plants. |
| 6. |
List the eight micronutrients required by plants and explain why plants need only minute quantities of these elements. |
| 7. |
Explain how a nutrient’s role and mobility determine the symptoms of a mineral deficiency. |
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The Role of Soil in Plant Nutrition |
| 8. |
Define soil texture and soil composition. |
| 9. |
Explain how soil is formed. |
| 10. |
Name the components of topsoil. |
| 11. |
Describe the composition of loams and explain why they are the most fertile soils. |
| 12. |
Explain how humus contributes to the texture and composition of soils. |
| 13. |
Explain why plants cannot extract all of the water in soil. |
| 14. |
Explain how the presence of clay in soil helps prevent the leaching of mineral cations. |
| 15. |
Define cation exchange, explain why it is necessary for plant nutrition, and describe how plants can stimulate the process. |
| 16. |
Explain why soil management is necessary in agricultural systems but not in natural ecosystems such as forests and grasslands. Describe an example of human mismanagement of soil. |
| 17. |
List the three mineral elements that are most commonly deficient in agricultural soils. |
| 18. |
Explain how soil pH determines the effectiveness of fertilizers and a plant’s ability to absorb specific mineral nutrients. |
| 19. |
Describe problems resulting from farm irrigation in arid regions. |
| 20. |
Describe actions that can reduce loss of topsoil due to erosion. |
| 21. |
Explain how phytoremediation can help detoxify polluted soil. |
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The Special Case of Nitrogen as a Plant Nutrient |
| 22. |
Define nitrogen fixation and write an overall equation representing the conversion of gaseous nitrogen to ammonia. |
| 23. |
Explain the importance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria to life on Earth. |
| 24. |
Summarize the ecological role of each of the following groups of bacteria.
a. ammonifying bacteria
b. denitrifying bacteria
c. nitrogen-fixing bacteria
d. nitrifying bacteria |
| 25. |
Explain why improving the protein yield of crops is a major goal of agricultural research. |
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Nutritional Adaptations: Symbiosis of Plants and Soil Microbes |
| 26. |
Describe the development of a root nodule in a legume. |
| 27. |
Explain how a legume protects its nitrogen-fixing bacteria from free oxygen, and explain why this protection is necessary. |
| 28. |
Describe the basis for crop rotation. |
| 29. |
Explain why a symbiosis between a legume and its nitrogen-fixing bacteria is considered to be mutualistic. |
| 30. |
Explain why a symbiosis between a plant and a mycorrhizal fungus is considered to be mutualistic. |
| 31. |
Distinguish between ectomycorrhizae and endomycorrhizae. |
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Nutritional Adaptations: Parasitism and Predation by Plants |
| 32. |
Name one modification for nutrition in each of the following groups of plants:
a. epiphytes
b. parasitic plants
c. carnivorous plants |
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