In terms of nutrient cycling, why does timber harvesting in a temperate forest cause less ecological devastation than timber harvesting in tropical rain forests?
A) Trees are generally less numerous in temperate forests, so fewer nutrients will be removed from the temperate forest ecosystem during a harvest.
B) Temperate forest tree species require fewer nutrients to survive than their tropical counterpart species, so a harvest removes fewer nutrients from the temperate ecosystem.
C) The warmer temperatures in the tropics influence rain forest species to assimilate nutrients more slowly, so tropical nutrient absorption is much slower than in temperate forests.
D) There are far fewer decomposers in tropical rain forests, so turning organic matter into usable nutrients is a slower process than in temperate forest ecosystems.
E) Typical harvests remove up to 75% of the nutrients in the woody trunks of tropical rain forest trees, leaving nutrient-impoverished soils behind.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Tropical rain forests rely heavily on the rapid recycling of nutrients, which are mostly stored in the biomass (e.g., trees) rather than in the soil. When trees are harvested, a significant portion of the ecosystem's nutrients are removed. This contrasts with temperate forests, where nutrients are more evenly distributed between the biomass and the soil, making nutrient loss due to timber harvesting less severe.

In Terms of Nutrient Cycling, Why Does Timber Harvesting in a Temperate