Biogeochemical Cycles

Introduction There are many different types of energy and matter in our ecosystem All of the biotic and abiotic factors are composed of different elements and energy The unique structure of elements and energy compose everything on our earth

Introduction Matter and energy are never created or destroyed No matter the size, heat or power in a reaction Energy will never be created or destroyed Matter will never be created or destroyed This is an important physical property that helps us understand our world http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVxEEn3w688 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwJJK4korRg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dExpJAECSL8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxm_qpKh7Jw

DEMO

Introduction The same physical properties hold true for our environment Matter and energy are never created, lost and destroyed This means that the CO2 that you breathe out will never be lost

Changing of Matter Matter and energy can change forms and still never be lost or destroyed We can change water to ice and still keep the H2O We can change CO2 and make it into glucose

Biogeochemical Cycles Since matter and energy are never destroyed, often times energy is moved from place to place in an ecosystem Often times specific ecologists can predict where certain types of energy and matter will move to

Biogeochemical Cycles The predictable movements of matter and energy in our environment are described as biogeochemical cycles These cycles move all of the matter and energy in our environment

The Role of Water Water is crucial for many of life's functions Since cells are made up of 70% to 90% water, it is essential that water is available The availability of water is one of the main factors of life in terrestrial systems

The Role of Water Terrestrial systems need water in order to function Think about the ecosystems on earth The ecosystems that do not have access to water do not support a large amount of life

Water In Ecosystems Organisms hold some of the water that is in terrestrial ecosystems This water is held in the cells of the organisms However this water is relatively small This water is also being used in cell processes and has to be replaced

Water In Ecosystems For us to find enough water for life to be maintained, we cannot rely on water already in organisms Saltwater and freshwater make up the largest stockpiles of water on Earth About 3% of all free water is freshwater About 97% of all free water is saltwater

Water volume, in cubic miles Water volume, in cubic kilometers Water source Water volume, in cubic miles Water volume, in cubic kilometers Percent of freshwater Percent of total water Oceans, Seas, & Bays 321,000,000 1,338,000,000 -- 96.5 Ice caps, Glaciers, & Permanent Snow 5,773,000 24,064,000 68.7 1.74 Ground water 5,614,000 23,400,000 1.7     Fresh 2,526,000 10,530,000 30.1 0.76     Saline 3,088,000 12,870,000 0.94 Soil Moisture 3,959 16,500 0.05 0.001 Ground Ice & Permafrost 71,970 300,000 0.86 0.022 Lakes 42,320 176,400 0.013 21,830 91,000 0.26 0.007 20,490 85,400 0.006 Atmosphere 3,095 12,900 0.04 Swamp Water 2,752 11,470 0.03 0.0008 Rivers 509 2,120 0.0002 Biological Water 269 1,120 0.003 0.0001

Water in Ecosystems The water that makes up ecosystems can be trapped below or above ground Water that is trapped under rock and soil is ground water Water in the air is water vapor

The Water Cycle The water cycle has no starting point, but we will start from the ocean The sun heats up the large surface area in the ocean and causes some of the water to evaporate This changes the water from a liquid to a gas

The Water Cycle Wind and rising air currents will take the evaporated water into the atmosphere In the atmosphere water is turned back into droplets of water or ice because of the lower temperatures These droplets of water and ice can be seen from the ground and are known as clouds

The Water Cycle The water will then fall out of the sky as precipitation Precipitation can take many forms, and most are based on the temperature in the atmosphere Rain Snow Sleet

The Water Cycle The precipitation covers the ground and permeates the soil with moisture This water is then accessible to organisms on terrestrial ecosystems

The Water Cycle When the precipitation hits land it can travel back into surface or underwater rivers and streams This is considered runoff It helps feed most bodies of water on land

The Water Cycle The rivers and streams wind across the landscape and may interconnect Smaller rivers may combine to create bigger rivers However all rivers and streams end up feeding into the ocean

The Water Cycle By rivers feeding back into the oceans, the water cycle becomes complete There is no start or end point to the water cycle It continually moves water around the planet

Review http://education.jlab.org/reading/water_cycle.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDyPkjQxkas&feature=related

Carbon Carbon is one of the six essential molecules for life Carbon comprises many of the macromolecules Proteins Carbohydrates Lipids

Carbon Carbon has to be physically changed for most organisms to be able to use it Carbon enters living systems from photosynthesis During photosynthesis CO2 is changed to C6H12O6 The sugars can be used by organisms

Carbon Carbon exists in our environment in four main categories Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Carbonate Rocks (Limestone and Coral) Deposits of oil and natural gas Dead organic matter (humus)

The Enter and Exit of Carbon The concentration of carbon in living matter is very high It is around 18% The concentration of carbon in abiotic aspects of the earth is very low It is around .2% This means living organisms have to retain their carbon because they cannot get it from the earth

Enter and Exit of Carbon Carbon is then returned by organisms breaking down C6H12O6 and turning it into CO2 This happens during cellular respiration All organisms perform cellular respiration

The Carbon Cycle The Carbon cycle has no beginning or end Much like the water cycle we could start from any point and complete the cycle We are going to start at a producer level

The Carbon Cycle Producers take carbon dioxide and use it create sugars Some of those sugars are incorporated into structure Cellulose and Sucrose Some of those sugars are used for energy as glucose

The Carbon Cycle A primary consumer will eat the producers They will take the carbohydrates and use the glucose from them to build their own structural tissues Structural tissues are made of large amounts of carbon

The Carbon Cycle Any number of secondary consumers can then gain carbon from the primary consumer The carbon is passed from the animal tissues into the secondary consumer

The Carbon Cycle Both the primary and secondary consumers give carbon back to the environment They give it back to the environment in the form of CO2 that they breathe out This completes our natural carbon cycle

The Carbon Cycle

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3SZKJVKRxQ

Human Impact Humans produce large amount of CO2 This is through the burning of natural gasses and fossil fuels We do this in industry, transportation and heating

Human Impact By burning fossil fuels humans add a more CO2 than the environment can deal with The CO2 cannot be processed fast enough by the producers This creates a large input to one part of the cycle

The Human Impact The CO2 humans produce is starting to increase in our atmosphere This CO2 is a greenhouse gas that has been linked to global warming

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1O34cqerqs&feature=related

Composition of Air Air is composed of different compounds and elements It has around around 78% Nitrogen In the form of (N2) It has around 21% oxygen In the form of (O2) It is composed of around 1.5% other compounds Argon .9% CO2 .03% Other compounds .5%

Composition of Air This makes nitrogen the most common gas in our environment You would think that it would be abundant and easy to use However nitrogen is a difficult material to convert from a gas

Nitrogen Fixation In order to have nitrogen in a useable form it has to change from the N2 in air The nitrogen must be put in a usable form One useable form is ammonia

Nitrogen Fixation In order for a N2 to be converted to NH4 (or NH3-)there has to be a way for it to change Nitrogen will not spontaneously convert to ammonia There needs to be a process

The Nitrogen Cycle Once again the nitrogen cycle has no beginning point, but we will start at a location We will start with producers However we have to start with a specialized group of producers that “fix” Nitrogen This means that make something useable from N2

The Nitrogen Cycle In soil the place that has the most life is right next to the roots of plants This is because many microorganisms live in this area We call this area the rhizosphere

The Nitrogen Cycle Bacteria that live right around the roots are called mycorrhizal bacteria These bacteria are close enough to interact with the plant and can form a symbiotic relationship with the plant

The Nitrogen Cycle Legumes are plants with dry fruit that have a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal bacteria We mostly call them bean plants

The Nitrogen Cycle Most legumes can support bacteria that fix nitrogen These bacteria form nodes or “bumps” on the roots of these plants These bacteria change N2 to a useable form of nitrogen

The Nitrogen Cycle The useable ammonia from these plants is then eaten by primary and secondary consumers The nitrogen taken from the producers is incorporated into the consumer structure The consumers use the nitrogen in their tissues

The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen can be returned to the earth when those consumers die Then the nitrogen returns to the earth This nitrogen in the soil can then be used by any sort of plant life Nitrogen is not limited to legumes after it is in the soil

The Nitrogen Cycle

Human Impact Humans can greatly impact this cycle by adding nitrogen to the soils Humans do this by adding fertilizer to fields, crops and farms This greatly increases the amount of nitrogen in the soil

The Human Impact Humans adding nitrogen can be very harmful Excess nitrogen can be captured in runoff This runoff is then carried to the ocean were it causes an algae bloom

The Human Impact An algae bloom is very destructive to an ecosystem It chokes the life out of all manner of sea life Without this sea life, there are no primary consumers to feed secondary consumers It can wipe out large sections of open water

Phosphorous Phosphorous is an element that has a large roll in processes for the cell It might be the most important cycle due to the limited amount of phosphorous in biotic systems

Phosphorous Phosphorous is used in DNA Phosphorous is the bond that is broken and releases energy in ATP Phosphorous is also essential for structural materials like bones and teeth

Phosphorous Cycle The phosphorous cycle is the only cycle that does not have a stage that involves air All steps of the phosphorous cycle involve rocks (solids), animals & plants and water

Phosphorous Cycle Once again we could pick any point in the phosphorous cycle to start We are gong to start with phosphate rocks Through weathering and erosion phosphate enters biotic systems

Phosphorous Cycle Phosphorous the becomes part of soil This can happen in water and soil ecosystems Plants can then use phosphorous to grow Too little phosphorous and plants are stunted Too much phosphorous and plants growth is exaggerated

Phosphorous Cycle Primary and secondary consumers will eat plants and make phosphorous part of their living tissues Phosphorous is incorporated into their living system

Phosphorous Cycle The phosphorous that enters water through erosion settles on the bottom It then over time becomes part of sedimentary rocks In this state it is inaccessible to organisms

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iwL24oVpH4

Human Impact Humans add fertilizers which are high in phosphorous When too much fertilizer is added, it is washed into streams in runoff The runoff is carried to the oceans Algae bloom and red tides can form from high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous

The Human Impact http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO3Gg3YfJ84