Nutrient Cycling

A set of flashcards designed to help students review key concepts and terminology related to nutrient cycling, including the nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon cycles, their reservoirs, processes, and human impacts.

Nutrient cycling

The movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter.

Nitrogen cycle

The series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms.

Major reservoirs in the Nitrogen cycle

Atmosphere, soil, and living organisms are key reservoirs where nitrogen is stored.

Dead zones

Areas in aquatic environments where oxygen levels are so low that most marine life cannot survive.

Nutrient loading

The process of excessive nutrients entering a water body, often due to runoff from agriculture, resulting in adverse ecological effects.

Phosphorus cycle

The movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, primarily through weathering and biological uptake.

Local cycle

A cycle, such as the phosphorus cycle, that does not involve a gaseous phase and is thus confined to a specific area.

Peak phosphorus

The point at which the maximum global phosphorus production is reached, after which production will decline.

Carbon cycle

The process by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Global climate change

Long-term alterations in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other elements of the Earth's climate system.

Carbon footprint

The total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly or indirectly by human activities, expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.