Final answer:
The scientific question guiding the investigation is 'How does ammonia impact plant nutrients in polluted and non-polluted coniferous forests?' Ammonia's metabolism into plant nutrients through nitrification is key to ecosystem health, and pollution can disrupt this process, causing eutrophication and hypoxia.
Step-by-step explanation:
The scientific question that would guide the scientist's specific investigation is: How does ammonia impact plant nutrients in polluted and non-polluted coniferous forests? This question directly relates to the objective of measuring ammonia concentrations in leaf tissue and connects to the concept of the effects of pollution on ecosystems and the management of ammonia as a nutrient by plants.
Ammonia is a toxic compound that can be metabolized by plants and other organisms if absorbed. In the ecosystem, ammonia can be converted into plant nutrients by soil bacteria through a process known as nitrification, where ammonia is first turned into nitrites and then into nitrates, which are more readily taken up by plants for growth. However, when there is pollution, such as runoff from nearby factories, the balance of ammonia and other nutrients in an ecosystem can be disturbed, leading to problems like eutrophication and hypoxia in aquatic systems.
By examining different coniferous forest locations with varying levels of pollution, the scientist can understand the impact of pollution on the ammonia levels within plant tissue and infer the implications for plant growth and ecosystem health. This research is paramount in understanding how pollutants influence nutrient cycles and affect both terrestrial and aquatic organisms.