Biogeoche

mical
Cycle

SCP-STE 7-EUCLID
CYNDY DIMAKILING
JADE LAGARDE

What is Biogeochemical
Cycle?
Abiogeochemical cycleorcycling of
substancesisapathwaybywhichachemical
substancemovesthroughbothbiotic(biosphere)
andabiotic(lithosphere,atmosphere,
andhydrosphere)compartmentsofEarth.
Manyelementscyclethroughecosystems,
organisms,air,water,andsoil.Theseelements
are:carbon,nitrogen,oxygen,hydrogen,sulfur,
andphosphoruswhicharecriticalcomponentsof
allbiologicallife.

Oxygen Cycle
Plantsarethemaincreatorsofoxygenintheatmospherethrough
theprocessofphotosynthesis.

Carbon Cycle
Weareallfamiliarwithhowtheatmosphereandvegetationexchange
carbon.PlantsabsorbCO2fromtheatmosphereduringphotosynthesisand
releaseCO2backintotheatmosphereduringrespirationofanimalsandhumans.
AnothermajorexchangeofCO2occursbetweentheoceansandtheatmosphere.
ThedissolvedCO2intheoceansisusedbymarinebiotainphotosynthesis.

Respirationistheprocessinwhich
carbohydratesareconvertedtowaterand
carbondioxide,sothatcarbonisreleased
againintotheair.So,duringthisprocess,both
animalsandplantsreturnthecarbondioxide
theyhadpreviouslyinhaledbacktothe
atmospheresothatthecarboncyclecan
continue.

Hydrogen Cycle
Thehydrologiccyclebeginswith
theevaporationofwaterfromthesurfaceofthe
ocean.Asmoistairislifted,itcoolsandwater
vaporcondensestoformclouds.Moisture
istransportedaroundtheglobeuntilitreturnsto
thesurfaceasprecipitation.Oncethewater
reachestheground,oneoftwoprocessesmay
occur;1)someofthewatermayevaporateback
intotheatmosphereor2)thewatermay
penetratethesurfaceandbecomegroundwater.

Groundwatereitherseepsitswaytothe
oceans,rivers,andstreams,orisreleased
backintotheatmosphere
throughtranspiration.Thebalanceofwater
thatremainsontheearth'ssurfaceisrunoff,
whichemptiesintolakes,riversand
streamsandiscarriedbacktotheoceans,
wherethecyclebeginsagain.

NITROGEN CYCLE
Thenitrogencycledescribeshownitrogenmovesbetween
plants,animals,bacteria,theatmosphere(theair),andsoilin
theground.Nitrogenisanimportantelementtoalllifeon
Earth.
Fixationisthefirststepintheprocessofmakingnitrogen
usablebyplants.Here,bacteriachangenitrogeninto
ammonium.Thisammoniumgetschangedintonitratesby
bacteriaorwithlightning.Nitratesarewhattheplantscanthen
absorb.Theyabsorbnitratesfromthesoilintotheirroots.

Thenthenitrogengetsusedinaminoacids,
nucleicacids,andchlorophyll.Thisispartofthe
decayingprocess.Whenaplantoranimaldies,
decomposerslikefungiandbacteriaturnthe
nitrogenbackintoammoniumsoitcanre-enter
thenitrogencycle.Extranitrogeninthesoilgets
putbackoutintotheair.Therearespecial
bacteriathatperformthistaskaswell.

SULFUR CYCLE
Thesulfurcyclecontainsbothatmospheric

andterrestrialprocesses.Withintheterrestrial
portion,thecyclebeginswiththeweatheringof
rocks,releasingthestoredsulfur.Thesulfurthen
comesintocontactwithairwhereitisconverted
intosulfate(SO4).Thesulfateistakenupby
plantsandmicroorganismsandisconvertedinto
organicforms;animalsthenconsumethese
organicformsthroughfoodstheyeat,thereby
movingthesulfurthroughthefoodchain.

Asorganismsdieanddecompose,someof
thesulfurisagainreleasedasasulfateand
someentersthetissuesofmicroorganisms.
Therearealsoavarietyofnaturalsources
thatemitsulfurdirectlyintotheatmosphere,
includingvolcaniceruptions,thebreakdown
oforganicmatterinswampsandtidalflats,
andtheevaporationofwater.

Phosphorous Cycle
Thelastimportantchemicalinan
ecosystemthatwewilltackleinthisunit
isphosphorous.Thisessentialchemicalis
usedbyorganismsasoneofthemain
componentsofDNA.Nitrogenandcarbon
arealsopartofDNA.Unlikecarbonand
nitrogen,mostofthephosphorousonEarth
isstoredinsoilandrocksintheformof
phosphate.

Phosphateisonemoleculeofphosphorous
surroundedbyfourmoleculesofoxygen.Plantscan
absorbphosphatedirectlythroughtheirroots.From
there,itmovesthroughthecommunityintraditional
fashionandbackintothegroundasanimalsdieand
decompose.Justincaseyourewondering,while
mostplantscantextractphosphatedirectlyfrom
rocks,thistypeofphosphateeventuallymakesits
wayintothesoilasrocksareweatheredand
eroded.