Phosphorus

Biogeochemical Cycle

http://mac122.icu.ac.jp/gen-ed/ecosystem-jpgs/phosphorus-
cycle.jpg
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is a vital nutrient necessary for plants
and animals in the form of PO
4
3-
and HPO
4
2-
.
Phosphorus is the building block of important parts
of the body such as bones and teeth.
About 80% of the worlds phosphorus is used in
fertilizers and soft drinks.
Phosphorus does not entre the atmosphere it stays
in rocks and soil minerals.
Phosphorus
Unlike other cycles of matter compounds,
phosphorus cannot be found in atmosphere as a
gas.
It usually cycles through water, soil, and
sediments.
Phosphorous Cycle
First phosphorus is eroded off of rocks and deposited in
the soil.
Now in the soil, phosphorus is absorbed into the clay and
other organic material within the soil.
Next plants dissolve the ionized phosphates in the soil.
Then the phosphates are absorbed by herbivores when
they consume the plants and then into carnivores when
they eat the herbivores.
Finally phosphorus is deposited back into the soil when
plants and animals decay or through animal waste.
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/images/page-spec//phoscycle2.gif
Human Effects
The mining of phosphate ores for fertilizer affects
the time cycle of the phosphorus cycle.
Mining results in the premature release of
phosphates into the cycle which can cause an
abundance of algae to form and cause hypoxia.
Normal levels of Phosphorus in surface water .01
to .03 mg/l
Work cited
Ophardt, Charles E. "Phosphorus Cycle." Virtual Chembook. 2003. Elmhurst College. 17 Nov. 2008
<http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/308phosphorus.html>.
"Phosphorus Cycle." Environmental Impacts of Agriculture. Princeton. 17 Nov. 2008
<http://www.princeton.edu/~chm333/2003/agriculture/phosphoruscycle.htm>.
"Phosphorus Cycle." Science Online. 25 Oct. 2006. 17 Nov. 2008
<http://www.scionline.org/index.php/phosphorus_cycle>.
"Phosphorus Cycle." The Environmental Literacy Council. 2 Mar. 2008. The Environmental Literacy
Council. 17 Nov. 2008 <http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/480.html>.
"Phosphorus." Water Shedss. 1976. University of North Carolina. 17 Nov. 2008
<http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/phos.html>.
Winstead, Ray L. "Phosphorus Biogeochemical Cycle." Dr. Ray L Winstead. 3 Aug. 2005. 17 Nov.
2008 <http://nsm1.nsm.iup.edu/rwinstea/phosphorus.shtm>.