Nutrient Cycling

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Nutrient Cycling

• What Happens to Matter in an Ecosytem?

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Questions for Today

• How does matter cycle through an Ecosystem?
• How many biogeochemical cycles do Environmental
  Scientists analyze?
• What are the major key components for each cycle?
• How do humans influence the different
  biogeochemical cycles?

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What happens to Matter?

• The matter and nutrients in our environment move
  continually through the abiotic and biotic
  factors in our ecosystem and in the biosphere in
  cycles called Biogeochemical Cycles.
• Nutrient cycling is one of the four major
  principles of Sustainability.

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What happens to Matter?

• There are 5 major cycles driven by the sun and
  gravity
• Hydrologic (Water)
• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Phosphorous
• Sulfur
• As nutrients move through the cycle, they can
  spend the majority of their time in one form.
• Reservoirs

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Water Cycle

• Water Cycles (WC) collects, purifies, and
  distributes the earths fixed supply of water.
• The WCs reservoirs are the atmosphere and
  hydrosphere.
• Global Cycle

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Water Cycle

• Parts of the WC include
• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Precipitation
• Transpiration

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Water Cycle

• After Precipitation, Water can take various
  paths
• Surface Runoff
• Seepage
• Glaciers
• Aquifers
• Groundwater
• Absorption

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Water Cycle

• Three Major Ways we alter the WC
• We withdraw large amounts of freshwater
• 0.024 of the water on the planets is usable
  freshwater
• We clear vegetation for building purposes
• Increases runoff
• Reduces infiltration
• Increase risk of flooding, soil erosions and
  landslides
• We increase flooding
• When we drain Wetlands for farming or roads

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The Water Cycle
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Carbon Cycle

• The Carbon Cycle is the Link between
  photosynthesis in producers and respiration in
  producers, consumers, and decomposers
• The Reservoir for Carbon is found in the
  geosphere.
• The Carbon Cycle is based on CO2 gas.

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Carbon Cycle

• The Major Parts of the Carbon Cycle are
• Photosynthesis
• Cellular Respiration
• Deposition
• Lithification
• Carbon acts as natures thermostat.
• Too little CO2 in the air, the temp. goes down
• Too much CO2 in the air, the temp. goes up.

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Carbon Cycles

• Humans affect the Carbon Cycle in two ways
• Deforestation
• Burning of Fossil Fuels
• Both ways increase the amount of CO2 in the
  atmosphere.
• Computer modeling links CO2 added by humans have
  increased earths natural greenhouse effect.

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Carbon Cycle
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Nitrogen Cycle

• The Nitrogen Cycle is important in the creation
  of proteins and nucleic acids for all living
  creatures.
• The Major Reservoir for Nitrogen is the
  atmosphere.
• 78 of Nitrogen is found in the Atmosphere as N2
• Plants and Animals have a hard time absorbing
  Atmospheric Nitrogen.

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Nitrogen Cycle

• Four major parts of the Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen Fixation
• Bacteria
• Electrical Discharges
• Nitrification
• Biological
• Ammonification
• Biological
• Denitrification
• Biological

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Nitrogen Cycle

• Humans Alter the Nitrogen Cycle in FIVE ways
• Release of Nitric Oxide (NO) into the atmosphere
• Acid Rain
• Addition of N2O, nitrous oxide, through anaerobic
  bacteria on livestock wastes
• Destroys Ozone
• Deforestation
• Fertilizer Runoff
• Overharvesting

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Nitrogen Cycle
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Phosphorous Cycle

• Phosphorous Cycle is important for plant growth
  and DNA production and Cellular Energy
• Major Reservoir is the Geosphere
• NO ATMOSPHERIC PHOSPHOROUS
• Found in the environment as Phosphates.
• Really slow process.
• Humans affect the Phosphorous Cycle by
  overharvesting of Phosphorous from the soil and
  deforestation.

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Phosphorous Cycle
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Sulfur Cycle

• Sulfur found in organisms, ocean sediments, soil,
  rocks, and fossil fuels
• SO2 in the atmosphere
• H2SO4 and SO4-
• Human activities affect the sulfur cycle
• Burn sulfur-containing coal and oil
• Refine sulfur-containing petroleum
• Convert sulfur-containing metallic mineral ores

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Sulfur Cycle