Final answer:
As the spatial scale for the observed process of nitrogen cycling increases, you would expect a slowdown of the N transfer.
Step-by-step explanation:
As the spatial scale for the observed process of nitrogen cycling increases, you would expect a slowdown of the N transfer (option c). This is because as the spatial scale increases, the distance between the sources and sinks of nitrogen increases, leading to a slower movement of nitrogen between different compartments. For example, if the observed process is the nitrogen cycling in a small pond, as the scale increases to include a larger ecosystem like a lake, the transfer of nitrogen between different compartments would be slower.