Transcript 3-3 Cycles of matter - Sonoma Valley High School

3-3 Cycles of matter
Recycling in the Biosphere
• Unlike the one-way
flow of energy,
MATTER is recycled
•
within and between
ecosystems
Biogeochemical cycles
connect
biology
geology
& chemistry
P/S: what does ‘biogeochemical’ mean?
Water
cycle
• Water is essential to all life
• Fresh water from the oceans moves into the atmosphere
by
– Evaporation
– Transpiration (leaves)
condensation
precipitation
Nutrient cycles
• Chemicals
needed by living
things to build
tissues, carry
out essential life
functions
circulate
through the
ecosystem
Whiteboard: List the elements found in the diagram above
Carbon
cycle
• Carbon is essential to life
• CO2 moves from the air into plants
• CO2 returns to the air with respiration, decomposition,
and burning fuels
Nitrogen Cycle
N2 in
Atmosphere
Synthetic
Synthetic fertilizer
fertilizer
manufacture
manufacturer
Uptake by
producers
Bacterial
nitrogen fixation
Decomposition
Reuse by
consumers
Decomposition
excretion
NH3
Atmospheric
nitrogen fixation
Uptake by
producers
Reuse by
consumers
Decomposition
excretion
NO3 and
NO2
Nitrogen cycle
• N in the air is changed by
•
•
•
soil bacteria into
ammonia
Taken up by roots
Animals eat their N when
they eat plants
Decay, feces return N
back to the soil
P/S: how are the C and N cycle similar? Different?
Phosphorus
Cycle
• P is needed for
•
•
DNA & RNA
It is rare in the
biosphere
Most P is stored
in rocks and
ocean sediments
Organisms
Land
Ocean
Sediments
Limiting nutrients
Pygmy forest, Mendocino, CA
• If a nutrient is scarce, it will limit growth in an ecosystem
• Fertilizers add N, P, & K to crops to promote growth
• TOO MUCH of a nutrient can alsoupset the balance: fertilizer
runoff forms algal blooms in rivers and lakes
Whiteboard: what caused the algal
blooms you see here?
Clear Lake, CA
Human
impact
Human activity (burning fossil fuels, deforestation)
has greatly impacted natural nutrient cycles, causing
air, water, and soil pollution.
Summary
Today’s lecture was on nutrient _____________
I learned about ___________________________
I knew already that ______________________
I wonder about________________________________