hydrology nutrient cycle Flashcards
Distribution of water is not
static
water moves
among various reservoirs of
the hydrologic cycle.
Sun warms the ocean surface
and other surface water
causing liquid water to
evaporate
percolate
sink down
water moves along the surface
as runoff only when
the soil is saturated
terrestrial,
ecosystems in their natural
rain usually hits the
leaves and other surfaces of plants before it reaches the soil
If water is not taken up by plant roots, it may
percolate down into the subsoil and bedrock,
forming groundwater
Groundwater is water found in the
pores between particles in sand and gravel or in the
cracks in rocks
groundwater is
an important reservoir of
freshwater.
Aquifers
groundwater reservoirs
many aquifers are being used up
faster than
they’re renewed by water that moves down from
above
They hydrologic cycle can
help cycle elements
(nutrients)
through the
environment
hydrologic cycle
important in moving elements from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems
Nutrient cycling
use, transformation, movement, and reuse of nutrients.
Energy makes
one-way trip through
ecosystems.
The path atoms take from the living (biotic) to the non-living
(abiotic) world and back again is called a
biogeochemical
cycle
there are 50 - 70 elements
found in living organisms
Storage in
nutrient pools or compartments
Movement, or nutrient flux,
between pools in
an ecosystem
Nutrient sink
absorbs a nutrient faster than
releasing it.
Nutrient source
releases nutrient faster than it is absorbed
The carbon cycle
Rapid carbon exchange
between living organisms, Long-term cycling of carbon through geologic processes
how much of our body is carbon
~18%
Carbon exists in the air largely as
carbon dioxide
Cellular respiration converts the organic carbon
back into CO2 gas
Mineralization
Conversion from organic to inorganic form
mineralization occurs
primarily during decomposition
Geologic processes in the C cycle
happen much more slowly
Carbon-containing sediments in the
ocean floor are taken deep within the
Earth in a process called
subduction, in
which one tectonic plate moves under
another
Increased atmospheric CO2
is directly correlated with
increased annual mean
temperatures globally
Nitrogen is a key component
of the bodies of
living organisms.
nitrogen makes up
78% of atmosphere
Bacteria can convert N2 gas
into a useable
form
Phosphorus is often the
limiting nutrient in aquatic ecosystems
Eutrophication
a process by which
excess nutrients in aquatic ecosystems feed biological
productivity
Eutrophication
LOWERS OXYGEN IN WATER, MAKING DEAD ZONES
