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The rate of decomposition is governed by three sets of factors: the physical environment (temperature, moisture and soil properties), the quantity and quality of the dead material available to decomposers, and the nature of the microbial community itself. [64] Decomposition rates are low under very wet or very dry conditions.
Decomposition rates vary among ecosystems. [21] The rate of decomposition is governed by three sets of factors—the physical environment (temperature, moisture, and soil properties), the quantity and quality of the dead material available to decomposers, and the nature of the microbial community itself.
Carbon is cycled throughout the ecosystem as various factors continue to uptake or release the carbon in different circumstances. Ecosystems take in carbon through photosynthesis, decomposition, and ocean uptake. [4] Ecosystems return this carbon through animal respiration, and plant respiration. [4]
Rate of transpiration can be influenced by factors including plant type, soil type, weather conditions and water content, and also cultivation practices. [6]: Ch. 1, "Transpiration" Evapotranspiration is typically measured in millimeters of water (i.e. volume of water moved per unit area of the Earth's surface) in a set unit of time. [6]:
The underlying cause of the intensifying water cycle is the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which lead to a warmer atmosphere through the greenhouse effect. [24] Fundamental laws of physics explain how the saturation vapor pressure in the atmosphere increases by 7% when temperature rises by 1 °C. [ 25 ]
In the water cycle, the universal solvent water evaporates from land and oceans to form clouds in the atmosphere, and then precipitates back to different parts of the planet. Precipitation can seep into the ground and become part of groundwater systems used by plants and other organisms, or can runoff the surface to form lakes and rivers.
The latter covers reactions to water, atmospheric gases and biologically produced chemicals with rocks and soils. Water is the principal agent behind both kinds, [1] though atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide and the activities of biological organisms are also important. [2] Biological chemical weathering is also called biological weathering. [3]
Water vapor thus has a scale height a fraction of that of the bulk atmosphere, [21] [22] [23] as the water condenses and exits, primarily in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. [24] Carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) and methane , being well-mixed in the atmosphere, tend to rise above water vapour.