Carbon Cycle The Carbon Cycle is driven by six main processes: photosynthesis, respiration, exchange, sedimentation and burial,

extraction, and combustion. In the first part, producers convert the Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere into sugars and incorporate it into their tissues. A byproduct of this process is Oxygen which all consumers need for survival. In the second step of the process, some of this Carbon is returned to the atmosphere through respiration and when organisms die. When organisms die, decomposers will break down the body and return the Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere through respiration as well. The third part of the Carbon Cycle is about exchange. This is when carbon is exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean. The CO2 that gets dissolved into the ocean can either enter the food web through photosynthesis by algae, or by combining with calcium ions in the water to form calcium carbonate. This compound actually ends up forming limestone and dolomite rock through sedimentation and burial. Some organic carbon ends up getting buried and incorporated into ocean sediments before decomposing, so it then becomes fossilized. Through sedimentation and burial, these fossils may transform into fossil fuels over the course of millions of years. The fifth step of the cycle is called extraction. This is process began more recently because it involves humans extracting the fossil fuels so that they can be combusted. Extraction doesnt alter the carbon cycle itself, but it leads to combustion, the burning of fossil fuels, which puts too much CO2 into the atmosphere. The exchange of carbon between the Earths surface and atmosphere was in steady state up until the Industrial Revolution when we began relying on coal, oil, and natural gas as energy sources and, consequently, put CO2 into the air faster than producers could use it.

Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is very important to organisms because it is used to form amino acids for proteins and nucleic acids for DNA and RNA. Although nitrogen is the most abundant element in the atmosphere, humans can only get it into their systems through foods. The first part of the nitrogen cycle is called nitrogen fixation. In this process, nitrogen-fixing organisms convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere into ammonia. Cyanobacteria and certain bacteria that live within the roots of legumes are some of the nitrogen-fixing organisms. These organisms are able to fix nitrogen because they possess special enzymes that can actually break the strong N2 bond and add hydrogen ions to make ammonia. In addition to this biotic way to fix nitrogen, it can also be fixed through two distinct abiotic ways. First, N2 can be fixed in the atmosphere by lightning and combustion processes. They convert the nitrogen into nitrate which is usable by plants. Humans also have found ways to convert N2 into nitrate to be used in plant fertilizers. In step two, the producers take the fixed nitrogen and assimilate it into their tissues. Also, some nitrogen is assimilated into a primary consumers tissues when they feed on producers, but the rest is eliminated as waste. In the third step, ammonification, decomposers consume the waste and dead bodies and excrete ammonium. This leads to step four which is called nitrification. In step four, ammonium is converted into nitrite and then into nitrate by special nitrifying bacteria. Since nitrate ions and soil particles are both negatively charged, they dont bond with each other and the nitrate is transported through leaching. These nitrates will eventually settle at the bottom of bodies of water. In step 5, denitrification happens when denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate into nitrous oxide and then N2 which goes back into the atmosphere.

Phosphorous Cycle Phosphorous is very important to organisms because it is a component of DNA and RNA as well as ATP which is important for energy transfer in cells. The phosphorous cycle has no gaseous component, so there are only very small amounts of atmospheric phosphorous inputs which reach Earth through rainwater or sea spray. In the first part of the process, rocks, especially on mountains, go through weathering which puts phosphates into the land. Some of these phosphates go into the ocean. Phosphates can also reach the ocean when they are used in phosphate fertilizer. When this fertilizer is applied to fields, it can run off directly into streams or be absorbed by plants. A third way phosphates can reach the ocean is through the excretion and decomposition of animals and plants. When animals excrete and decompose, phosphates will be released into the land or water depending on where they are. The next step in the process happens when the phosphates have reached the ocean. Since phosphorous is not soluble in water, the dissolved phosphates will precipitate out of solution and then be mixed into ocean sediments. The sediments will convert into phosphate rocks, but it takes a very long time for that to happen. In the final step of the phosphorous cycle, geologic forces slowly lift phosphate rocks up out of ocean from the ocean floor. These rocks will serve the basis for mountains. Phosphorous is a limiting nutrient because it precipitates out of solution when entering water, leaving little dissolve phosphorous available in rivers and streams. Therefore, when even a little bit of phosphorous is leached into a system, it can greatly increase the growth of producers. This is the main cause of algal blooms. An algal bloom is the rapid growth of algae. These algae use up all the oxygen in a system through processes such as decomposition, so all the living organisms in that system die off. This is called a hypoxic dead zone. Increases in phosphorous concentrations can alter plant communities as well as cause algal blooms which is why it is important to keep it in steady state.