biogeochemical cycles

biogeochemical cycle

route that nutrients takes through the biosphere

• biotic and abiotic parts

nutrient resevoirs

places where substances are temporarily stored during biochemical cycles

what are some examples of nutrient resevoirs?

soil, water, and air

what do autotrophs need water for?

energy, cell structure

what does recycling matter give all organisms access to?

obtaining nutrients

rapid cycle

substances that cycle quickly from nutrient resevoir to nutrient resevoir

slow cycling

substances accumulate and are stored

what happens to elements like carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur?

readily transported via air and water, enter atmosphere (biogeochemical cycles!)

what happens to elements like phosphorus and iron?

found in soil and water, do NOT enter atmosphere

where does carbon dioxide that releases into the atmosphere come from?

forest fires, decomposition

carbon sink

absorbs and stores more carbon than what is emitted

what types of organisms are natural carbon sinks?

plants, trees, forests, plankton, algae

what happens to carbon if a tree combusts or decomposes?

it is released

what happens to plankton and algae since they reproduce so often?

they create a lot of biomass

how do plankton and algae qualify as carbon sinks?

incorporate carbon into their structures

what happens to the plankton and algae

• most is consumed

• some float down to the ocean floor, incorporating into rock + creating fossil fuels

how do oceans store carbon as a carbon sink?

• most are stored as dissolved CO2 in water

• less is stored on ocean floor as methane hydrate (CH4-H2O)

how is limestone formed?

from shells of organic organisms

is limestone a carbon source or a sink?

source

what happens to limestone as it weathers?

releases carbon into soil, water, and air

would human activity be a carbon source or a sink?

source

what happens to fossil fuels?

releases carbon into atmosphere rapidly

what are some examples of rapid cycling of carbon and oxygen?

• combustion

• respiration

• evaporation

• photosynthesis

is nitrogen gas (N2) usable by organisms?

no

what is the cycle for nitrogen?

nitrogen gas → ammonium → nitrite → nitrate → nitrogen gas

what are the two main ways that ammonium is produced?

• nitrogen fixation by plant bacteria

• ammonification

nitrogen fixation

bacteria in plants that attach to nitrogen in the atmosphere

how do plants and bacteria have a symbiotic relationship with each other

• some plant bacteria (lumpy nodules and clover) convert nitrogen → ammonium, which allows these plants to intake them for nutrients

• meanwhile the plant provides the bacteria with sugars via photosynthesis

ammonification

the production of ammonium via decomposers breaking down organic matter

what do some bacteria in soil do?

• one bacteria converts from NH4 → No2

• second bacteria converts from NO2 → NO3

what do plants use the nitrate for

energy

what role does denitrifying bacteria have in this process?

converts nitrate back to nitrogen gas that is returned back to the atmosphere

what types of energy acquisition does the carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles have?

energy storage AND release

what types of energy acquisition does the phosphorus cycles have?

energy release

does phosphorus cycle?

no

what are the main sources for phosphorus intake?

• soil

• water

• food consumption

what spirals the growth of algal bloom out of control?

presence of excess phosphorus

why is more phosphorus in water bad for the environment?

• Increase in organic material that needs to be decomposed

• decomposers need oxygen, so more oxygen is used

• blocks sunlight and deprives organisms of oxygen, kills them

how do producers gain phosphorus?

phosphate (PO4) since it is water soluble