Chapter 5

The Biogeochemical Cycles

Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
 How Chemicals Cycle
Biogeochemical Cycle
The complete path a chemical takes through
the four major components or reservoirs
of Earths systems
1. Atmosphere
2. Hydrosphere
3. Lithosphere
4. Biosphere

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Chemical Reactions
Chemical reaction:
The process in which new chemicals are
formed from elements and compounds
through chemical change

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Biogeochemical Cycles and Life
Macronutrients
Elements required in large amounts by all life
Include the big six elements that form the fundamental building
blocks of life:
Carbon
oxygen
hydrogen
phosphorus
nitrogen
sulfur
Micronutrients
Elements required either in
small amounts by all life or
moderate amounts by some forms of life and not all by others

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Limiting Factor
When chemical elements are not available
at the right times, in the right amounts, and
in the right concentrations relative to each
other

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 The Geologic Cycle
The Geologic Cycle:
The processes responsible for formation and
change of Earth materials
Best described as a group of cycles:
Tectonic
Hydrologic
Rock
Biochemical

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Tectonic Cycle
Tectonic cycle:
Involves creation and destruction of the solid
outer layer of Earth, the lithosphere
Plate tectonics:
The slow movement of these large segments
of Earths outermost rock shell
Boundaries between plates are geologically
active areas

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Tectonic Cycle: Plate Boundaries
Divergent plate boundary:
Occurs at a spreading ocean ridge, where plates are
moving away from one another
New lithosphere is produced (seafloor spreading)
Convergent plate boundary
Occurs when plates collide
Produces linear coastal mountain ranges or continental
mountain ranges
Transform fault boundary
Occurs where one plate slides past another
San Andreas Fault in California

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 The Hydrologic Cycle
The Hydrologic Cycle:
The transfer of water from the oceans to the
atmosphere to the land and back to the
oceans. Includes:
Evaporation of water from the oceans
Precipitation on land
Evaporation from land
Runoff from streams, rivers, and sub-surface
groundwater

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Rock Cycle
The rock cycle:
Numerous processes that produce rocks and
soils
Depends on other cycles:
tectonic cycle for energy
Hydrologic cycle for water
Rock is classified as
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the element that anchors all
organic substances
The carbon cycle:
Carbon combines with and is chemically and
biologically linked with the cycles of oxygen
and hydrogen that form the major compounds
of life

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Carbon Cycle:
Unanswered Issues
The Missing Carbon Sink
Substantial amounts of carbon dioxide
released into the atmosphere but apparently
not reabsorbed and thus remaining
unaccounted for

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Carbon-Silicate Cycle
The carbon-silicate cycle:
A complex biogeochemical cycle over time scales as
long as one-half billion years.
Includes major geological processes, such as:
Weathering
Transport by ground and surface waters
Erosion
Deposition of crustal rocks
Believed to provide important negative feedback
mechanisms that control the temperature of the
atmosphere.
Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Nitrogen Cycle
The nitrogen cycle:
Cycle responsible for moving important nitrogen
components through the biosphere and other Earth
systems
Extremely important because nitrogen is required by
all living things
Nitrogen fixation:
The process of converting inorganic, molecular
nitrogen in the atmosphere to ammonia or nitrate
Denitrification:
The process of releasing fixed nitrogen back to
molecular nitrogen

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers
 The Phosphorus Cycle
The phosphorus cycle:
Involves the movement of phosphorus
throughout the biosphere and lithosphere
Important because phosphorus is an essential
element for life and often is a limiting nutrient
for plant growth.

Botkin & Keller

Environmental Science 5e
 Botkin & Keller
Environmental Science 5e
2008 John Wiley and Sons Publishers