THE CYCLE

Hydrologic (Watwe) Cycle

The movement of water through the biosphere

• Transpiration- The process where plants release water from their leaves into the atmosphere.

• Evapotranspiration- The combined amount of evaporation and transpiration.

• Runoff- When water moves across the land surface into streams and rivers, eventually reaching the ocean.

Carbon Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

• Nitrogen fixation: the process of creating ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen

• assimilation: the formation of organic nitrogen compounds like amino acids from inorganic nitrogen compounds present in the environment

• Ammonification: the process of converting organic nitrogen into ammonia

• Nitrification: the process that converts ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate

• Denitrification: the process that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas, thus removing bioavailable nitrogen and returning it to the atmosphere