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Related Concept Videos

The Soil Ecosystem02:23

The Soil Ecosystem

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Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:
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Atomic Structure01:17

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The Greek philosopher Democritus proposed that everything on Earth is made up of tiny particles called atomos, Greek for "indivisible," from which the modern term "atom" is derived. In the 19th century, John Dalton proposed the atomic theory that is still largely correct today. He put forth five postulates to explain how atoms made up the world around us. (1) All matter is composed of infinitely small particles or atoms. (2) All atoms of a given element are identical to one...
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A chemical symbol is an abbreviation used to indicate an element or an atom of an element. For example, the symbol for mercury is Hg. The same symbol is used to indicate one atom of mercury (microscopic domain) or to label a container of many atoms of the element mercury (macroscopic domain).
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Atoms — and the protons, neutrons, and electrons that compose them — are extremely small. For example, a carbon atom weighs less than 2 × 10−23 g. When describing the properties of tiny objects such as atoms, we use appropriately small units of measure, such as the atomic mass unit (amu). The amu was originally defined based on hydrogen, the lightest element, then later in terms of oxygen. Since 1961, it has been defined with regard to the most abundant isotope of carbon, atoms of which...
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Protons and neutrons have approximately the same mass, about 1.67 × 10-24 grams. Scientists arbitrarily define this amount of mass as one atomic mass unit (amu) or one Dalton. Electrons are much smaller in mass than protons, weighing only 9.11 × 10-28 grams, or about 1/1800 of an atomic mass unit. As a result, they do not contribute much to an element's overall atomic mass. This means that, when considering atomic mass, it is customary to ignore the mass of any electrons and...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 28, 2025

Soil Lysimeter Excavation for Coupled Hydrological, Geochemical, and Microbiological Investigations
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Soil element coupling is driven by ecological context and atomic mass.

Raúl Ochoa-Hueso1, César Plaza2, Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez3

  • 1Department of Biology, IVAGRO, University of Cádiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario (CeiA3), Campus del Rio San Pedro, Puerto Real, Cádiz, 11510, Spain.

Ecology Letters
|November 30, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Soil element coupling remains high over geological time, influenced by biodiversity and microbial structure. The unique coupling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus suggests a distinct fingerprint of life in terrestrial ecosystems.

Keywords:
Atomic propertiesbiotic controllerschronosequencescoupled biogeochemical cycleselemental cyclespedogenesis

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Geochemistry
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Biogeochemical cycles are crucial for Earth's ecosystems.
  • Understanding soil element interactions across geological timescales is vital for predicting ecosystem functions.

Discussion:

  • Topsoil element coupling, the correlation among 19 soil elements, is maintained globally across geological timescales (centuries to millions of years).
  • Factors like plant biodiversity, microbial structure, weathering, soil pH, texture, and organic matter content significantly influence multi-element coupling.
  • Heavier elements tend to be more spatially decoupled than lighter elements.

Key Insights:

  • Global soil element coupling is remarkably stable over geological time.
  • Biodiversity and soil properties are key drivers of element interactions.
  • The distinct coupling pattern of Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), and Phosphorus (P) suggests a unique biological signature in soils.

Outlook:

  • Further research can explore how climate change and anthropogenic activities impact these long-term element coupling patterns.
  • Investigating the precise mechanisms behind the C-N-P coupling anomaly can deepen our understanding of life's influence on Earth's elemental cycles.