4 ms·
It really depends on the bacterial flora present in the container. Bacteria are incredibly diverse, and just as one decomposer may be a methanogen [1], a differ
by nmjohn 12y ago
It really depends on the bacterial flora present in the container. Bacteria are incredibly diverse, and just as one decomposer may be a methanogen [1], a different species of bacteria present may be a methanotroph [2]. So given the right bacterial "mixture," a self-sustaining CH4 cycle is not unreasonable.
Additionally, CO is a metabolite for some methanogenic bacteria, specifically in production of acetyl CoA [3].
My point is, as long as enough diversity has survived in the ecosystem, it is quite possible that not only CO2/H20/O2 are able to maintain a balance, but _most_ common molecules would be able to remain at nontoxic levels for the plant.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanogen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanogen
[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanotroph http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanotroph
[3]: http://textbookofbacteriology.net/metabolism_7.html http://textbookofbacteriology.net/metabolism_7.html
- TTPrograms 12y agoIt would also make sense that bacteria would tend towards stable equilibrium populations - ie a lack of a particular nutrient would result in a limited population in the species that require that nutrient. By that logic if you had sufficient biodiversity to start there would be some limiting nutrient that would fix the stable state biomass of the whole system.
- nmjohn 12y agoAs long as there was a metabolic pathway to reach it, absolutely. To me, metabolism is one of the most interesting biological topics. It is fascinating how intricate of a system has evolved and it shows how difficult it truly is to know the end consequences of changing literally any chemical concentration in the body. Here is one of the more intricate maps for solely human metabolism: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~turk/bio_sim/articles/metabolic_pathways.png http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~turk/bio_sim/articles/metabolic_pa.... Crazy stuff.
- Pitarou 12y agoIn other words, the secret to having a viable sealed terrarium is in the compost. Get the right compost, with the right population of bacteria, and the whole thing will run forever.
- DanBC 12y agoI am interested in the idea of synthetic soils. Arriving on Mars and creating the right mix of sand, silt, and clay is easy enough. But it's the organic matter and biomass that makes soil what it is. Research on this might also have impacts on some parts of developing world where soil quity can be very poor. (Although that's often because anything that could go into the ground to improve soil has other uses).
- zokier 12y agoOne idea I've toyed with is building a "terrarium" (marsium?) with Mars imitation soil and atmosphere, and attempt to bootstrap some life in there.
- tachyonbeam 12y agoI would imagine that some amount of adaptation will happen automatically. You have many kinds of bacteria in your compost, and the proportions will automatically adjust after the sealed ecosystem has been running for a while. Some strains might completely die off if they can't get the chemicals they need.