AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Although nitrogen is very abundant in the atmosphere as dinitrogen gas (N2), it is largely inaccessible in this form to most organisms, making nitrogen a scarce resource and often limiting primary productivity in many ecosystems.

Detailed explanation-2: -Phosphorus is usually considered the “limiting nutrient” in aquatic ecosystems, meaning that the available quantity of this nutrient controls the pace at which algae and aquatic plants are produced. In appropriate quantities, phosphorus can be used by vegetation and soil microbes for normal growth.

Detailed explanation-3: -Nutrients are chemical substances found in every living thing on Earth. They are necessary to the lives of people, plants, animals, and all other organisms. Nutrients help break down food to give organisms energy. They are used in every process of an organism’s body.

Detailed explanation-4: -The nutrient which is present in the least quantity in an ecosystem is termed a limiting nutrient in an ecosystem. The growth and reproduction of organisms living in an ecosystem are controlled by the limiting nutrient availability and concentration.

Detailed explanation-5: -Ecologists are often interested in an ecosystem’s primary productivity-the rate at which primary producers create organic material. If an essential nutrient is in short supply, primary productivity will be limited. The nutrient whose supply limits productivity is called the limiting nutrient.