Questions for Lecture 12 Ecosystems: Carbon Cycle and 
        Climate; Future of the Biosphere

•  By the end of your preparation for this topic, you should be able to:

    ©  1. Identify the major pools (reservoirs) and fluxes of the global carbon cycle.

    ©  2. Discuss the uncertainties in the balance of the global carbon cycle.

    ©  3. Describe the greenhouse effect and provide a physical explanation for the same.

    ©  4. Relate leaf biomass to net primary productivity (NPP), NPP to leaf area index (LAI), as 
                measured by remote sensing of chlorophyll.

    ©  5. Discuss the potential effects of climate and other environmental changes
                (for example, increased CO2 concentration, increased temperature) on vegetation and
                humans.

    ©  6. Define and, or describe the following concepts and terms: beta factor;
               ENSO events; gigaton; greehouse gases; leaf area index; organic matter;
               photosynthesis; radiation; respiration; remote sensing; short and
               longwavelengths; soil; source/sink.
 
 • Outline of presentation :
            For outline of presentation and for the legends of figures, see  the Handbook for the course "Biology 121 Notes, Spring, 1998, University of Illinois, Plant Biology: Ecology and Organismic Plant Biology" by Govindjee, Stipes  Publishing, Champaign,IL.
 
    © Slides used in the class are to be found elsewhere on these Web pages.