Biogeochemical cycle
a process that recycles elements and other matter through the biosphere
Cycles rely on biological chemical, and geological _______
processes.
An example of a biological process might be
Photosynthesis
An example of a chemical process might be
evaporation
a geological process could be the
eruption of a volcano.
Types of Biogeochemical Cycles include:
Water cycle
Nutrient cycles
Nutrient cycles
chemical substances that an organism requires in order to live
Nutrient cycles include
Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle, and Phosphorus cycle. (The most important cycles for the process of life)
The first step in the Water cycle is Evaporation: Evaporating is when a liquid changes into a
gaseous form.
When the water evaporates, its going to
float up to the air
The second step in the Water cycle is Condensation:
the water molecule will condense with other molecules.
The third step is Precipitation. This means that
any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the earth
The forth step is Reservoirs which means
a component of the biosphere that serves as a long-time storage area for water on nutrients. This includes the Atmosphere, ice, snow, groundwater, lakes, ponds, oceans,
The fifth step is Transpiration which means
The process by which water enters the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants.
In Transpiration, the water will go up through the plants and be released
through the structures called stomata, into the air.
The carbon cycle starts with
photosynthesis
Let's refer to the carbon cycle. So if you're an atom in the atmosphere, you can end up being incorporated
as carbon dioxide into plants. Plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates.
Sugars link together,
form starches
Both sugars and starches are
carbohydrates
The sixth step is Respiration which is
how we're going to get that carbon dioxide back out in the atmosphere
Anything that lives breaks down sugars for energy. So plants and animals both
respire or carry out respiration. And they produce, as a waste product, carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere.
Decomposition is another way to help recycle
carbon dioxide through the biosphere. When plants or animals, which are primarily made of carbon, end up dying, their remains are actually decomposed-- that means broken down-- by other organisms in the biosphere.
There are reserves of the carbon cycle. By and large, most carbon is contained in the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Reserves of the carbon cycle, In the ocean it's
dissolved,
gas, oil, and coal are all
fossil fuels that are by and large made out of carbon. So there's your fossil fuels again. These end up being used by industry and a lot more carbon dioxide
Nitrogen gas is the most abundant
gas in the atmosphere. All living things need nitrogen to build proteins,
but most living things cannot get their nitrogen directly from the atmosphere.
- They rely on bacteria and a process called nitrogen fixation. In this process, bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia. So nitrogen gas occurs as N2. This diffuses into the soil.
And either free living soil bacteria or bacteria associated with root nodules of certain plants can take the N2 and convert that into
ammonia and ammonium. Some plants can use ammonia and ammonium directly.
Most plants rely on nitrification. In nitrification bacteria convert the ammonia and ammonium into
nitrates and nitrites
Plants can use these compounds in a process called
In assimilation, the nitrogen compounds are taken up through the plant's roots, broken down, and used to build plant proteins.
Animals then eat the plants and get their
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