Transcript 3-3 Cycles of Matter I. Biogeochemical cycle

3-3 Cycles of Matter
I. Biogeochemical cycle –
A. Process where abiotic (non-living things)
material are recycled and reused. Biotic
represents living things.
1. Examples - carbon, nitrogen, water,
phosphorus .
C. Minerals and elements travel from the
abiotic portion of the environment, into
biotic (living things) portion and back again
1. The same molecules are passed around
and around the biosphere.
2. Water Cycle
A. Movement of water between various
reservoirs.
1. Examples – lakes, streams, river, oceans.
2. Also found in the soil and underground.
B. 3 processes in cycle
1. Evaporation and transpiration– lose of
water through heat.
2. Condensation – cool air rises and
condenses into droplets that form clouds.
3. Precipitation – water leaving the
atmosphere – returns as snow or rain.
a. On land much of the water returns
through streams and rivers to the
oceans.
3. Carbon cycle – carbon is a key ingredient in
living tissue, found in bones, and several kinds
of rocks
A. During photosynthesis and cellular
respiration plants and other autotrophs use
carbon dioxide, water and solar energy to
make carbohydrates.
B. . Oxygen is used to break carbo’s down
during cellular respiration.
C. Decomposers also release carbon dioxide
when they break down organic compounds.
D. Humans have contributed to the release of carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere.
1. Burning of fossil fuels for energy.
4. Nitrogen Cycle
A. Complex pathway that nitrogen follows within an
ecosystem.
B. All organisms need nitrogen to make amino acids
in turn form proteins and nucleic acids.
C. Nitrogen is used in the form of usable ammonia.
1. Process of converting nitrogen gas from the
air to suitable ammonia is called nitrogen
fixation.
2. Organisms that convert nitrogen into
usable inorganic compounds for plants
(ammonia) are called nitrogen-fixing
bacteria. (mainly found in roots of plants)
Recycling nitrogen
D. Another type of conversion is taking the
nitrogen found in corpses and waste and return
it to the environment in the form of usable
ammonia. This is call Ammonification.
E. Another bacteria converts nitrates back into
nitrogen gas to return to the atmosphere. This
process is know as Dentrification.
F. Bacteria in the soil take up the ammonia and
oxidize it into nitrites and than into nitrates
which is called Nitrification.
• Nitrates – Chemical that is found naturally
in the environment and needed by plants to
grow, found in most fertilizers.
• Nitrites – Chemical that is found naturally
in the environment such as the air, surface
water, ground water and soil. Used in
preserving foods.
F. By having plants absorbing
ammonia and animals eating
plants, nitrogen enters the
food chain and humans can
receive nitrogen by eating
plants and animals.
Nitrogen Cycle
5. Phosphorous cycle
A. Essential to living organisms because it is
part of DNA and RNA.
B. It is not common in the biosphere.
C. Remains mostly in rocks, soil and ocean
sediment.
D. Phosphates wash into the ocean where it is
used by marine organisms.
E. Plants obtain phosphorous through their
roots and when they are eaten the phosphorus
is transferred through the food chain.
limitation – Primary productivity.
a. The rate at which matter is created by
producers.
1. Available nutrients may be in
short supply which can limit and organisms
growth.
2. When a nutrient is either very
limited or cycles back real slow this substance
is called limiting nutrients. (Fertilizers)
6. Nutrient
• 3. These limiting nutrients such as
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
will make plants and crops grow much
faster.
• 4. When an aquatic ecosystem receives
more nutrients than usual, (run off
from heavily fertilized fields) an
increase of algae will grow causing
Algal Bloom. If there are not enough
to eat the algae it will cover the
surface, causing disruption in the
equilibrium of an ecosystem.
Carbon
Cycle
Nitrogen
Cycle
Water
Cycle