Transcript Cycles of Matter PP

Cycling of Matter
Recycling in the Biosphere
 In most organisms 95% of the body is made up of
just four elements.




Oxygen
Carbon
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
The Cycle of Matter
 Matter
changes
form, but it
does not
disappear. It
can be used
over and
over again in
a continuous
cycle.
The Water Cycle
The Water Cycle
 All living things need
water to survive.
 Water moves between the
ocean, atmosphere, and
land.
The Water Cycle
 Water molecules enter the
atmosphere as water vapor
(a gas), when they evaporate
from the ocean or other
bodies of water.
 Evaporation

The process by which water
changes from liquid form to an
atmospheric gas.
The Water Cycle
 Transpiration
 Water can enter the
atmosphere by
evaporating from the
leaves of plants.
The Water Cycle
 Sun heats the
atmosphere.
Warm, moist air rises, and
cools.
 Water vapor condenses
into droplets that form
clouds.
 As droplets become large
enough, they return to the
Earth’s surface in the form
of precipitation.

The Water Cycle
 Most precipitation runs
along the surface of the
earth until it enters a
river or stream that
carries the runoff back
to a lake or ocean.

Rain also seeps into the
soil, some deeply enough
to become ground water.
The Water Cycle
Nutrient Cycles
Nutrient Cycles
 Nutrients
 All the chemical substances that an organism
needs to sustain life.
 Every living organism needs nutrients
to build tissues and carry out essential
life functions.

Nutrients are passed between organisms and
the environment through biogeochemical
cycles.
Elements essential for life also cycle through
ecosystems.
 Biogeochemical
cycles

A biogeochemical cycle is
the movement of a
particular chemical
through the biological and
geological, or living and
non-living, parts of an
ecosystem.

Many substances will
change states, from solid,
to liquid, to gas, as they
move through their cycles.
The Oxygen Cycle
 Plant, animals, and
most other organisms
need oxygen for cellular
respiration.
The Oxygen Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
 Carbon is a key ingredient of living
tissue.
 Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an
important component of animal
skeletons, and is found in several kinds
of rocks.
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important
part of the atmosphere.

CO2 is taken up by plants during
photosynthesis, and given off by both plants
and animals during cellular respiration.
The Carbon Cycle
 Biological processes, such as photosynthesis,
respiration, and decomposition, take up and release
carbon and oxygen.
The Carbon Cycle
 Geochemical processes, such as erosion and volcanic
activity, release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere
and oceans.
The Carbon Cycle
 Mixed biogeochemical processes, such as the burial
and decomposition of dead organisms and their
conversion under pressure into coal and petroleum
(fossil fuels), store carbon underground.
The Carbon Cycle
 Human activities, such as mining, cutting and
burning forests, and burning fossil fuels, release
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
The Carbon Cycle
 Plants take in CO2 and use carbon to build
carbohydrates during photosynthesis.

The carbohydrates are passed along food webs to animals and
other consumers.
The Carbon Cycle
 In the ocean, carbon is found
along with calcium and
oxygen in the form of
calcium carbonate.
Calcium carbonate is formed by
marine organisms.
 This accumulates in marine
sediments and in the bones and
shells of organisms.

The Carbon Cycle
 Not all carbon molecules
move freely thorough the
cycle.
 Areas that store carbon
over a long period of time
are called carbon sinks.
 Example: Forest land,
where large amounts of
carbon are stored in the
cellulose of wood.
The Carbon Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
 All organisms require nitrogen to make amino acids,
which in turn are used to make proteins.

Many different forms of nitrogen are found in the biosphere.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up 78% of Earth’s
atmosphere.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Ammonia (NH3),
nitrate (NO3-), nitrite
(NO2-), are found in
wastes produced by
many organisms and in
dead and decaying
organic matter.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Nitrogen exists in several forms in the ocean and
other large bodies of water.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Human activity adds nitrogen to the biosphere in the
form of nitrate—a major component of plant
fertilizers.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Although nitrogen gas is the
most abundant form of
nitrogen on Earth, only
certain types of bacteria can
use this form directly.
These bacteria live in the soil
and on the roots of legumes,
convert nitrogen gas into
ammonia.
 The process is called
NITROGEN FIXATION.

The Nitrogen Cycle
 Now, other bacteria can
convert the ammonia
into nitrates and
nitrites.

Producers (plants) can use
nitrates and nitrites to
make proteins.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Consumers then eat the producers and reuse the
nitrogen to make their own proteins.
The Nitrogen Cycle
 When the consumers
die, decomposers
return nitrogen to the
soil as ammonia.

This process is called
DENITRIFICATION.
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Phosphorus Cycle
 Phosphorous is essential to
living organisms because it
forms part of important lifesustaining molecules such as
DNA and RNA.

Phosphorous is not very common
in the biosphere.
The Phosphorous Cycle
 Phosphorous is found
mainly on land in rocks
and soil minerals, and in
ocean sediments.

As the rocks and sediments
wear down, phosphate is
released.
The Phosphorous Cycle
 On land, some of the phosphate washes into rivers
and streams, where it dissolves.

The phosphate eventually makes its way to the ocean, where it
is used by marine organisms.
The Phosphate Cycle
 Some phosphate stays on
land and cycles between
organisms and the soil.

When plants absorb
phosphate from the soil or
from water, the plants bind
the phosphate into organic
compounds.
The Phosphate Cycle
Nutrient Limitation
 Primary Productivity
 The rate at which organic
matter is created by
producers.
 One factor that controls
primary productivity of an
ecosystem is the amount of
available nutrients.
 If a nutrient is in short
supply, it will limit an
organisms growth.
Nutrient Limitation
 Limiting nutrient
 When an ecosystem is
limited by a single
nutrient that is scarce
or cycles very slowly.
 These ecosystems are
considered to be
nutrient-poor
environments.
Nutrient Limitation
 Oceans can be considered to be
nutrient-poor.
Sea water contains only .00005 %
nitrogen (1/10,000 of the amount
typically found in soil).
 In sea water and other saltwater
environments, nitrogen is often
the limiting nutrient.

 In streams, lakes, and
freshwater environments,
phosphorous is typically the
limiting nutrient.
Nutrient Limitation
 Farmers are aware of nutrient limitation and
apply fertilizer to their crops.

Fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and
potassium.
Nutrient Limitation
 As rain comes down on fertilized fields, runoff
will flow into the oceans and freshwater lakes
and ponds.

The results are ALGAL BLOOMS.