CH. 3.3 CYCLES OF MATTER

RECYCLING IN THE BIOSPHERE ENERGY MOVES ONE WAY THROUGH THE BIOSPHERE BUT MATTER IS RECYCLED WITHIN AND BETWEEN ECOSYSTEMS. BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES – THE WAYS THAT ELEMENTS, CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, AND OTHER FORMS OF MATTER BEING PASSED FROM ONE ORGANISM TO ANOTHER AND FROM ONE PART OF THE BIOSPHERE TO ANOTHER.

THE WATER CYCLE WATER ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE AS WATER VAPOR. THEY EVAPORATE (PROCESS OF LIQUID TURNING TO GAS) FROM THE OCEAN OR OTHER BODIES OF WATER. WATER ALSO ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH TRANSPIRATION – EVAPORATION FROM THE LEAVES OF PLANTS AS THE WATER ENTERS THE ATMOSPHERE IT EVENTUALLY FORMS CLOUDS THAT CAUSE PRECIPITATION THAT RETURNS WATER TO THE EARTH THOUGH RAIN, SNOW, SLEET, OR HAIL. THAT WATER ENTERS RIVERS OR STREAMS AND RETURNS TO OCEANS AND LAKES. SOME OF THE RAIN BECOMES GROUND WATER. THE CYCLE THEN STARTS OVER AGAIN.

NUTRIENT CYCLES NUTRIENTS – ALL OF THE CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES THAT AN ORGANISM NEEDS TO STAY ALIVE. PRIMARY PRODUCERS GAIN THEIR NUTRIENTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. CONSUMERS GAIN NUTRIENTS BY EATING OTHER ORGANISMS. NUTRIENTS ARE NEEDED TO BUILD TISSUES, CARRY OUT ESSENTIAL LIFE FUNCTIONS. NUTRIENTS ARE PASSES BETWEEN ORGANISMS AND THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH CYCLES. THERE IS THE CARBON CYCLE, NITROGEN CYCLE, AND PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE.

CARBON CYCLE CARBON IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR LIVING THINGS. CALCIUM CARBONATE IS IMPORTANT FOR ANIMAL SKELETONS, CARBON DIOXIDE IS IMPORTANT FOR PLANTS. THERE ARE 4 PROCESSES THAT MOVE CARBON:

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES LIKE PHOTOSYNTHESIS, RESPIRATION, AND DECOMPOSITION MOVE CARBON AND OXYGEN.

GEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES LIKE EROSION AND VOLCANIC ACTIVITY RELEASES CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS.

MIXED BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES LIKE BURIAL AND DECOMPOSITION OF DEAD ORGANISMS AND THEIR CONVERSION INTO COAL AND PETROLEUM STORE CARBON UNDERGROUND.

HUMAN ACTIVITIES, LIKE MINING, CUTTING AND BURNING FOSSIL FUELS, RELEASE CARBON DIOXIDE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

NITROGEN CYCLE NITROGEN IS NECESSARY TO MAKE AMINO ACIDS. NITROGEN GAS MAKES 78% OF EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE. AMMONIA, NITRATE, AND NITRITE IONS ARE FOUND IN WASTES AND DEAD AND DECAYING ORGANIC MATTER. NITROGEN IS ALSO FOUND IN THE OCEAN. BACTERIA IS THE ONLY ORGANISM TO BE ABLE TO USE PURE NITROGEN FOUND IN THE ATMOSPHERE. MANY BACTERIA CONVERT NITROGEN TO AMMONIA THROUGH NITROGEN FIXATION. THIS IS A WAY FOR ORGANISMS TO USE NITROGEN. WHEN ORGANISMS DIE THEY RETURN NITROGEN TO THE SOIL AS AMMONIA. THE AMMONIA CAN BE USED BY PRODUCERS. DENITRIFICATION IS THE PROCESS OF SOIL BACTERIA TO CONVERT NITRATES INTO NITROGEN.

PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE PHOSPHOROUS IS VERY IMPORTANT IN BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES LIKE DNA AND RNA. PHOSPHOROUS IS NOT FOUND IN THE ATMOSPHERE, IT IS FOUND IN ROCK AND SOIL MINERALS, AND IN OCEAN SEDIMENTS. AS THE ROCKS GET WORE DOWN IT RELEASES PHOSPHOROUS.

NUTRIENT LIMITATION PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY – THE RATE WHICH ORGANIC MATTER IS MADE BY PRODUCERS IN AN ECOSYSTEM. AVAILABLE NUTRIENTS INFLUENCE THE PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY. LIMITING NUTRIENT – WHEN AN ECOSYSTEM IS LIMITED BY A SINGLE NUTRIENT THAT IS SCARCE OR CYCLES VERY SLOWLY.

ALGAL BLOOM – WHEN THE OCEAN GETS AN INFLUX OF A LIMITING NUTRIENT THIS CAN CAUSE AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCERS – IN THIS CASE ALGAE. THIS INCREASE IN NUTRIENTS ALLOWS THE ALGAE TO GROW QUICKLY.