EnviSci Reviewer: Biogeochemical Cycles

Biogeochemical Cycles
- are pathways for the transport and transformation of matter within four categorical areas that
make up planet Earth (biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and the atmosphere)
- transfer of matter involves biological, geological and chemical processes; hence the name
biogeochemical cycles derives
Referred to as cycles of nature because they link together all organisms and abiotic features on
earth.
Matter is continually recycled among biotic and abiotic elements on earth.
Biogeochemical cycles facilitate the transfer of matter from one form to another and from one
location to another on planet earth. Additionally, biogeochemical cycles are sometimes called
nutrient cycles, because they involve the transfer of compounds that provide nutritional support
to living organisms.
Biosphere - zone of life on Earth; global sum of all ecosystems
Hydrosphere - combined mass of water found on, under, and over the surface of the Earth
Atmosphere - gases surrounding a planet
Lithosphere - hard and rigid outer layer of the Earth

Pathways for Biogeochemical Cycles

Parts that comprise planet earth have been categorized into four spheres (regions).
One is the sphere which has life and it is called the biosphere (it is the region occupied by living
organisms such as plants, animals, fungi)
lithosphere (region occupied by soil, land and the earth crust)
atmosphere (air and space)
hydrosphere (areas covered by water such as rivers, lakes and oceans). However, where the
biosphere overlaps the lithosphere, atmosphere or hydrosphere, there is a zone occupied by living
organisms.
Elements of Biogeochemical Cycles
1. Reservoir It is a place or region or location where a biogeochemical element is in its highest
concentration.

Elements being cycled are held and stored for some time in reservoirs, for example coal or
fossil fuels are reservoirs for carbon. Some elements have several reservoirs while others have
one.
2. Exchange Pools - When chemicals are held for only short periods of time, they are being held in
exchange pools . Examples of exchange pools include plants and animals, which temporarily use
elements in their systems and release them back into the air or surrounding medium.
3. Resident time The amount of time that a chemical is held in one place.
4. Influx - It is commonly used in describing biogeochemical cycles to refer to the difference between
the amount of elements entering a reservoir and the amount leaving the reservoir.
Biogeochemical Cycles
1. Nitrogen Cycle
2. Sulfur Cycle
3. Phosphorus Cycle
4. Oxygen Cycle
5. Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle
- is the process by which nitrogen is converted between its various chemical forms
This transformation can be carried out through both biological and physical processes.
Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include:

- Fixation
- Nitrification
- Assimilation
- Ammonification
- Denitrification
Fixation - Fixation is the first step in the process of making nitrogen usable by plants. Here
bacteria change nitrogen into ammonium.
Nitrification - This is the process by which ammonium gets changed into nitrates by bacteria.
Nitrates are what the plants can then absorb.
Assimilation - This is how plants get nitrogen. They absorb nitrates from the soil into their roots.
Then the nitrogen gets used in amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll.
Ammonification - This is part of the decaying process. When a plant or animal dies, decomposers
like fungi and bacteria turn the nitrogen back into ammonium so it can reenter the nitrogen cycle.
Denitrification - Extra nitrogen in the soil gets put back out into the air. There are special bacteria
that perform this task as well.
life on Earth. It is a component in all amino acids.
Nitrogen gas (N2) is the largest constituent of the Earth's Nitrogen is necessary for all known forms
of atmosphere, but this form is relatively nonreactive and unusable by plants.
Plants and bacteria use nitrogen in the form of NH4+ or NO3-
Nitrogen is often the most limiting nutrient in soil and water.
Forms of Nitrogen
Urea CO(NH2)2
Ammonia NH3 (gaseous)
Ammonium NH4
Nitrate NO3
Nitrite NO2
Atmospheric nitrogen N2
Organic N
 Sulfur Cycle
- is mainly found on Earth as sulfates in rocks or as free sulfur
- occurs in combination with several metals such as lead and mercury, as PbS and HgS
- appears as the yellow aspects of soil in many region
- mined early in the form of the yellow element and used for gunpowder and fireworks
While bacteria digest plant matter, they emit H2S, hydrogen sulfide, a gas that has the "rotten egg"
smell characteristic of swamps and sewage. Sulfur is an essential element of biological molecules in
small quantities.
Sulfur and its compounds are important elements of industrial processes.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a bleaching agent and is used to bleach wood pulp for paper and fiber for
various textiles such as wool, silk, or linen.
SO2 is a colorless gas that creates a choking sensation when breathed. It kills molds and bacteria.
It is also used to preserve dry fruits, like apples, apricots, and figs, and to clean out vats used for
preparing fermented foods such as cheese and wine.
Fossil fuel deposits, such as oil, coal and natural gas, along with sediments that are part of rocks
all contain sulfur.
Weathering and volcanic activity release some of the sulfur that is trapped in rocks into the
atmosphere as sulfur dioxide (SO2).
When people burn fossil fuels, sulfur as SO2 is released into the atmosphere.
The amount of sulfur that is released to the atmosphere due to human activities is far greater than
that is released by natural processes.
Sulfur dioxide reacts with oxygen and water vapor in the atmosphere to form sulfurous acid
H2SO3 and sulfuric acid H2SO4.
When condensation occurs, the sulfur compounds are incorporated into the clouds that form.
This reaction result in acid deposition.
Acid deposition such as rain, sleet or snow returns back to the oceans and soils.
Acid deposition falls in the form of sulfate (SO42).
Although acid deposition is a natural part of the sulfur cycle, large amounts of acid deposition can
damage plants, acidify lakes, and leach nutrients from the soil.
When rain falls on the ocean, the sulfur is deposited in it and floats around near the surface until
the water is evaporate back up and the sulfur returns to the atmosphere.
When the acid deposition reaches the ground it gets seeped underground.
From there, the sulfate either gets used up by plants, or is converted by bacteria into inorganic
sulfur S8 of hydrogen sulfide H2S.
The converted sulfur then gets released by volcanic activity and other occurrences in nature.
Sulfur is also released back up into the atmosphere by decomposers.

Leaching the process of extracting minerals from a solid by dissolving them in a liquid, it could
be due to rain or irrigation. As water from rain, flooding or other sources seeps into the ground, it
can dissolve chemicals and carry them into the underground water supply.
Phosphorus Cycle
- is an important element for all forms of life
- as phosphate, it makes up an important part of the structural framework that holds DNA and
RNA together
- a critical component of ATPthe cellular energy carrieras they serve as an energy release for
organisms to use in building proteins or contacting muscles
- is important to vertebrates; in the human body, 80% of phosphorous is found in teeth and
bones
The quantities of phosphorus in soil are generally small, and this often limits plant growth. That is why
people often apply phosphate fertilizers on farmland. Animals absorb phosphates by eating plants or
plant-eating animals.

The phosphorus cycle differs from the other major biogeochemical cycles in that it does not
include a gas phase; although small amounts of phosphoric acid may make their way into the
atmosphere, contributing in some cases to acid rain.

The largest reservoir of phosphorus is in sedimentary rock.

Phosphorus enters the environment from rocks or deposits laid down on the earth many years
ago.

The common phosphate rock called apatite.

Other deposits may be from fossilized bone or bird droppings called guano.

Weathering and erosion of rocks gradually releases phosphorus as phosphate ions which are
soluble in water. Land plants need phosphate as a fertilizer or nutrient.

When it rains, phosphates are removed from the rocks and are distributed throughout both soils
and water.
Plants take up the phosphate ions from the soil.
The phosphates then moves from plants to animals when herbivores eat plants and carnivores eat
plants or herbivores.
The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually returns to the soil
through the excretion of urine and feces, as well as from the final decomposition of plants and
animals after death.
Within the soil, organic forms of phosphate can be made available to plants by bacteria that break
down organic matter to inorganic forms of phosphorus. This process is known as mineralization.
 Oxygen Cycle
- is constantly being used and created by different processes on planet Earth
- is interconnected with the carbon cycle
Oxygen cycle helps move oxygen through the three main regions of the Earth: the atmosphere,
biosphere, and the lithosphere.
65% - mass of the human body. Most of this is in the form of water.
30% - the Earth
20% - the atmosphere

Processes that Use Oxygen

Breathing - The scientific name for breathing is respiration. All animals and plants use up oxygen
when they breathe. They breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

Decomposing - When plants and animals die, they decompose. This process uses up oxygen and
releases carbon dioxide.

Rusting - This is also called oxidation. When things rust they use up oxygen. Rust is an iron
oxide. When iron oxide is combined with moist or water it will form rust. This is called oxidation.

Combustion - There are three things needed for fire: oxygen, fuel, and heat. Without oxygen you
can't have a fire. When things burn, they use up oxygen and replace it with carbon dioxide.

Photosynthesis Plants create the majority of the oxygen we breathe through this process. Plants
use carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water to create energy. They will release oxygen as a waste
product.

Sunlight main source of energy

Plants are called producers because they create their own food which is in the form of
sugar(glucose).

Respiration scientific term for breathing. is defined as the movement of oxygen from the
outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite
direction.

Ozone(O3) The sun radiates large variety of radiations including ultraviolet radiations which are
very harmful to the human body.
The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet radiation rays and prevents them from coming to the surface
of the earth thus saving the human beings from harmful rays.
This ozone layer in the stratosphere is considered to be good ozone. The ozone layer occurring
naturally in the lower layers of the atmosphere helps remove the pollutants from the surface of the
earth.
 Carbon Cycle
o Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe, and is absolutely essential to life on
Earth.
o Carbon is also a part of the ocean, air, and even rocks.
o In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to some oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide.
o Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food and grow.

Net Carbon Sink - more carbon enters a pool than leaves it

Net Carbon Source- more carbon leaves a pool than enters it

The movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, and
lithosphere.

This cycle consists of several storage carbon reservoirs and the processes by which the carbon
moves between reservoirs.

Carbon reservoirs

Soil
Atmosphere
Vegetation
Oceans
Rocks
Plants have a process called photosynthesis that enables them to take carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere and combine it with water.
Plants and photosynthetic algae and bacteria use energy from sunlight to combine carbon
dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere with water (H2O) to form carbohydrates. These
carbohydrates store energy. Oxygen (O2) is a byproduct that is released into the atmosphere.
carbon dioxide + water + sunlight -> carbohydrate + oxygen
CO2 + H2O + sunlight -> CH2O + O2
o Animals are the non-photosynthetic. They are not able to create their own food. Instead, they
eat plants or other animals. The sugars and starches they eat are broken down by a process of
metabolism.
o Plants and animals use these carbohydrates through a process called respiration, the reverse of
photosynthesis.
o Respiration releases the energy contained in sugars for use in metabolism and changes
carbohydrate "fuel" back into carbon dioxide, which is in turn released back to the atmosphere.
Decomposers are involved in the carbon cycle. They break down organic material such as dead
animals, poop, or leaves. Decomposers are able to break down the chemical compounds inside
the body. They also release carbon dioxide as well as methane.
Plants that die and are buried may turn into fossil fuels made of carbon like coal and oil over
millions of years. When humans burn fossil fuels, most of the carbon quickly enters the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Carbon cycling in an ecosystem begins with the intake of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic
organisms. The carbon and oxygen atoms are incorporated into sugar molecules during
photosynthesis. They are eventually released during respiration, closing the cycle.
 Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and traps heat in the atmosphere.
Without it and other greenhouse gases, Earth would be a frozen world.
But humans have burned so much fuel that there is about 30% more carbon dioxide in the air
today than there was about 150 years ago, and Earth is becoming a warmer place.

Carbon Footprint total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly or indirectly support human
activities.

3 Greenhouse Gases
1. Carbon Dioxide CO2
2. Methane CH4
3. Nitrous Oxide N2O

Smoke from vehicles increase the level of carbon dioxide

Smoke from factories increase the level of all greenhouse gases

Trees absorb CO2 maintain the balance of CO2

Deforestation does not maintain the balance of CO2

The thicker layer of greenhouse gases traps more heat leading to a hot temperature on Earth

Global Warming thickening of the layer of the greenhouse gases surrounding our planet that traps
more heat from the sun leading to a hot temperature on Earth