Biogeochemical Cycles Flashcards
Biogeochemical cycles can be classed as gaseous
Reservior is the air or ocean (N, O2, C, H2O)
Biogeochemical Cycle can be classed as sedimentary
Reservior is Earth’s Crust (Fe Ca P S)
It is a nature’s way of recycling carbon atoms
Carbon Cycle
It is the foundation for all life on earth
Carbon
It helps to regulate the earth’s temperature that makes all life possible
Carbon
Key ingredient in the food that sustain us
Carbon
Provides major source of the energy to fuel pur global economy
Carbon
It is the term for carbon captured by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems
Blue carbon
Steps of Phosphorus Cycle
Weathering
Absorption by Plants and Animals
Return of Phosporus Back to Ecosystem by Decomposition
As weathering of rocks takes place by the action of
Rain or by acid-producing bacteria
Phosphorus carried down the mountains and slopes with the help of
Water
It also result in the release of phosphorus from the inside of the Earth of the Soil
Natural Landforms (Volcanoes)
The phosphorus in the weathering step is
Inorganic form
The inorganic phosphorus present in the soil is
Consumed by the plants
Get the required phosphorous frok the bottom of the oceans - deposited in the form of sediments in the soil
Aquatic Plants
the inorganic phosphorous is then converted to organic phosphorus
makes up their DNA
Help in the release of oxygen from the soil to the plants
Symbiotic organisms
It is used for the formation of biomolecules and bones
Phosphorous in Animals
Plants and animals die, the organic phosphorus is again converted to inorganic phosphorus
Return of phosphorous Back to Ecosystem by Decomposition
Carried out by specific bacteria, converts atm nitrogen into ammonia or ammonium
Nitrogen Fixation
Involves the decomposition of organic matter by bacteria releasing ammonium ions back into the soil
Ammonification
bacteria converts to nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate
Nitrification
Plants incorporate these nitrogen compounds into amino acids amd proteins
Assimilatiob
Performed by bacteria in low oxygen environments, converts nitrates back into atm nitrogen
Denitrification
They possess the enzyme nitrogenase whuch can break the strong triple bond of atm nitrogen and covert it into ammonia
Nitrogen Fixing bacteria (Genera Rhizobium)
Types of Nitrogen Fixation
- ATM
- INDUSTRIAL
- BIOLOGICAL
Lighgtning energy breaks the nitrogen into nitrogen oxide
Atm Fixation
Nh3 is formed fron the direct combination of N and H
Industrial Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrogen in the air is not directly taken by plants
Biological Nitrogen Fixation
When plants anf animals die and when waste products decompose, organic N compounsa are released
Ammonification
Break down nitrogen organic matetials and convert them into NH3
Decomposer microorganisms
2 steps in Nitrification
Ammonium Oxidation
Nitrite Oxidatiob
Plants take up ammonium and nitrate ions from the soil through their root
Assimilation
Process by which nitrate ions are converted back into nitrogen gas
Denitrificatiob
Denitrifying bacteria
Pseudomonas anf Paracoccus
Difference between Marine and terrestrial Nitrogen Cycla is that Marince Cycle
Marine bacteria and archea
The main source of nitrogen in marine ecosystem
Sediment Rocks
continous and natural process that circulate water
Hydrologic Cycle
Water from liquid to gas
Evaporation
Solid water directly to gas
Sublimation
Gas to liquid
Condensation
The temperature at which the condensation occurs
Dew point
Temp rises above 0 °C the vapors condense into water droplets
Precipitation
Rainwater is absorvbed into the ground
Infiltration
If rainwaters does not create acquifuers
Runoff
