BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Engr. Caryl A.Silang (1st sem 2011-2012)

Biogeochemical Cycles The Material Cycles and Life Processes

-energy from

the sun is constantly entering and passing through the earths ecosystem -our ecosystem have no extraterrestrial source of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other substances that are required for life - these substances must be continually recycled through the ecosystem
-Biogeochemical cycle refers to the movement of matter within or between the ecosystem, caused by living (biology), geological forces ( geology) and chemical reactions ( chemistry)

Cycling of Essential Elements

1.Carbon Cycle 2.The Oxygen Cycle 3.The Nitrogen Cycle 4.Phosphorus Cycle 5.Hydrologic ( Water) Cycle 6.The Sulfur Cycle

The Carbon Cycle

carbon is the basic constituent of all the large

molecules, the common characteristic of living

organisms

life on earth is carbon based

carbon dioxide is the major reservoir of

carbon which occurs in the atmosphere and

water

Photosynthesis is the process by which energy from the sun is used to form bonds of chemical energy that hold organic molecules together -the organic raw materials used in photosynthesis are carbon dioxide and water - oxygen released into the atmosphere is one of its most important by-products -In respiration, organic molecules are broken down by oxidation and the energy of their chemical bonds are extracted - the end products of this reaction are water and carbon dioxide

Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy -------- C6H12O6 + 6 O2

carbon dioxide + water + energy ------- sugar + oxygen

RESPIRATION C6H12O6 + 6 O2 ---------------------- 6 CO2 + 6 H2O sugar + oxygen --------------- carbon dioxide + water

-movement

of carbon molecules from the CO2 pool to the air and water to plants and animals is at various positions along the food chain and respiration returns along the pool -carbon is also returned to the pool through bacterial and fungal agents that cause decay, converting the complex carbon-containing molecules to their simple component - some carbon leaves the carbon cycle for millions of year and enters the crust of the earth, accumulated and transferred by geologic forces into processed fossil fuels- coal, oil and natural gases

Carbon is also withdrawn from the cycle by the formation of limestone through the life processes of organisms -Carbon is returned to the pool by the burning of fossils fuels and by the weathering of limestone rock
Roles of Carbon 1. it is the structural component of organic molecules 2. it is the energy-holding chemical bonds and represents energy storage

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 -- eventually released during respiration, closing the cycle

-carbon

cycling is direct and rapid, depending on how it is used by the organisms body -carbon atoms are used to repair damaged tissues or they become as structural part of our body and remain in the body until we die -Remains in woods for years, fungi and bacteria digest the wood and release carbon dioxide as by-product of their respiration

-Coal and oil are compressed chemically altered remains of plants that lived millions of years ago, carbon atoms and other elements are not released until the coal and oil are burned --carbon are also locked up as a calcium carbonate used to build the shells and skeletons of marine organisms

Carbon dioxide is one the greehouse gasesbecause it blocks radiation of heat from the Earths surface, retaining in the atmosphere

Photosynthesis and deposition of calcium carbonate remove atmospheric carbon dioxide , these are deposited in large forests and oceans acting as carbon sinks Cellular respiration and combustion which both release carbon dioxide are referred to as carbon source of the cycle

OXYGEN CYCLE
-makes

up 21% of the earths atmosphere

-constantly replenished by green plants, including one-celled organisms called phytoplankton in the sea Oxygen cycling: 1. Intimately linked with carbon cycling through photosynthesis and respiration. 2. Also linked to combustion because oxygen must be present to burn organic compounds 3. Oxygen is used by both plants and animals in the metabolism of foods, also used in the decay and combustion of plants, animals and materials 4. Oxygens role is to clean-up the liberated electrons and H ion, final electron acceptor in the energy cascade of respiration

In the stratosphere, some oxygen formed by the action of ultraviolet rays on water and oxygen is converted into ozone 3O2 ----------------------- 2O3

-ozone absorbs short wave-length UV radiation that would otherwise make any sort of life on earth close to impossible -Some oxygen is consumed in the rusting of metals and in the weathering of rocks

The Nitrogen Cycle

-organisms do not exist without amino acids, peptides and protein, the organic molecules that contain nitrogen 1. Producers ( the plants) form nitrogen atoms into amino acids, peptides and proteins. 2. Air is 78% nitrogen by volume in atmosphere, but plants cannot use this nitrogen (N2) gas. 3. Nitrogen in the nitrogen cycle is produce both by biological and nonbiological processes. 4. Nitrogen gas is stable, chemically unreactive and found in air, water and soil.

5. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria have highly specialized ability to fix nitrogen. When nitrogen is combined with hydrogen, it forms ammonium when nitrogen is combined with H in water, it forms ammonia
6. Nitrite- forming bacteria combine ammonia with oxygen, forming nitrites which have their ionic forms (NO2)7. From this, nitrogen finally transforms in its absorbable form and becomes usable to plants as nitrates 8. Nitrates absorbed in plant cells are broken down to ammonium which is used to build amino acids, the building blocks of peptides and proteins

9. Nitrogen

re-enters the atmosphere through the denitrifying bacteria that break down nitrate to N2 and NO2. The nitrogen reenters the environment in several pathways.
a) Through the death of organisms: dead organisms are decomposed by fungi and bacteria to release ammonia and ammonium ions which are available for nitrate function. b) Through production of excrement and urinary wastes which contain nitrogenous compounds and detoxified wastes of proteins c) Decomposition of by-product of living organisms, denitrification occurs mainly at the waterlogged soil with low oxygen d) availability and high amount of decomposable organic matter, denitrifying bacteria compete with plant roots for available nitrates

e. Lightning fixation lightning also serves to fix nitrogen by causing it to combine with oxygen

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE -amount of available phosphorus in an environment can have a dramatic effect on productivity

-abundant phosphorus stimulates lush plant and algae growth which is a major contributor to waste pollution
1. phosphorus cycle begins when phosphorus compounds are leached from rocks and minerals over a long period of time 2. inorganic phosphorus is taken in by producer organisms, incorporated into organic molecules, and then passed on to consumers 3. It returns to the environment by decomposititon

4. deep sediments of the oceans are significant phosphorus sinks of strong longevity in the form of phosphate ores 5. phosphates from detergents and inorganic fertilizers are washed out into the river system and to oceans --- pouring of phosphorus from source to sink

Aquatic ecosystem is dramatically affected by the excess phosphorus that can stimulate explosive growth of algae and photosynthetic bacteria and population upsetting of the ecosystem

WATER CYCLE -role of living organisms in hydrologic cycle is very small compared to the massive interactions of precipitation and evaporation from land and water surfaces -75% of Earth is covered with water 1. Plants and animals take in large quantities of water, water taken by plants are used in photosynthesis producing oxygen. Water taken by terrestrial organisms is given back to the environment by evaporation from the body surfaces, such as skins and leaves.

2. Evaporation affects the biomes water cycling. Animals also lose water vapor from their respiratory surfaces as shown by the gases emitted as your breathe on cold day. Animals also return water to environment through their urine and excrement.
3. Vegetation reduces soil erosion, due to run-off. Long roots draw moisture from deep water sources making it available to soil and surface ecosystem.

SULFUR CYCLE
sulfur occurs in all living matter as a component of certain amino acids abundant in the soil and in proteins

through series of microbial transformations, it ends up as sulfates usable to plants

1. sulfur containing proteins are degraded into their constituent amino acids by the action of a variety of soil organisms sulfur of amino acids is converted to hydrogen sulfide by another series of soil microbes, in the presence of oxygen, hydrogen sulfide is converted to sulfur and then to sulfate by sulfur-bacteria

2. sulfur may enter the atmosphere as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or a sulfur dioxide (SO2) , sulfur dioxide is formed in the combustion of organic materials , it is toxic to animals and plants and reacts in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) 3. hydrogen sulfide rapidly oxidizes to gases that dissolved water to form sulfurous and sulfuric acids, these compounds contribute in large to formation of acid rain that can kill sensitive aquatic organisms and damage to marble and stone buildings