Cycles in the Ecosystems

Biosphere

Carbon Phosphorus Nitrogen Water Oxygen

cycle cycle cycle cycle cycle

Heat in the environment

 MATTER CYCLING IN
ECOSYSTEMS
• Nutrient Cycles: Global Recycling
– Global Cycles recycle nutrients through the
earth’s air, land, water, and living organisms.
– Nutrients are the elements and compounds
that organisms need to live, grow, and
reproduce.
– Biogeochemical cycles move these
substances through air, water, soil, rock and
living organisms.
 Cycles within Ecosystems

• Almost everything within an ecosystem is

recycled.

• Water, carbon, nitrogen & phosphorus pass

from the nonliving environment to living
organisms & then back to the environment.
 Biogeochemical Cycle

 The flow of a nutrient from the

environment to living organisms and back
to the environment

 Main reservoir for the nutrient is in the

environment
 Main nutrient geochemical cycle
reservoirs in the
environment

fraction of herbivores,
nutrient primary carnivores,
available to producers parasites
ecosystem

detritivores,
decomposers
 Three Categories
Hydrologic cycle
Water

Atmospheric cycles
Nitrogen and carbon

Sedimentary cycles
Phosphorus and sulfur
 Hydrologic Cycle
Atmosphere

precipitation
wind-driven water
onto land
vapor 40,000
111,000
evaporation precipitation evaporation from land plants
from ocean into ocean (evapotranspiration) 71,000
425,000 385,000
surface and
groundwater
flow 40,000

Ocean Land
 The Water Cycle

Rain clouds
Condensation

Transpiration Evaporation
Precipitatio Transpiration
n to land from plants
Precipitation Evaporation
Precipitation
from land Evaporation
Runoff Surface runoff
from ocean Precipitation
(rapid)
to ocean

Infiltration and Surface

runoff
Percolation (rapid)
Groundwater movement (slow)
Ocean storage
 Water Cycle

• Water is the most important, non-living

component of the ecosystem.

• Nonliving cycle: involves condensation,

precipitation, & evaporation.

• Living cycle: involves plants in a process

called transpiration.
 Water Cycle
• Nonliving portion:
– Water vapor, as it cools, condenses in the
form of clouds and falls to the Earth’s surface
as precipitation (as rain, snow, etc)
– Then water evaporates (turning from a liquid
to a gas) and re-enters the atmosphere

• Living portion:
– Water is absorbed by roots of plants
– After passing through the plant, the water
evaporates from the leaves in a process called
transpiration
 Water Use and Scarcity
 Most of Earth’s water is too salty for human
consumption

 Desalinization is expensive and requires large

energy inputs

 Irrigation of crops is the main use of

freshwater
 Water Cycle – Man’s Influence

• Tropical Rain Forest – deforestation

– Less trees = less tramsiration = less water in
atmosphere = less rain

• Reservoirs
– Huge groundwater store
– Being depleted faster than replenished
 Effects of Human Activities on
Water Cycle
• We alter the water cycle by:
– Withdrawing large amounts of freshwater.
– Clearing vegetation and eroding soils.
– Polluting surface and underground water.
– Contributing to climate change.
Negative Effects of Irrigation

 Salinization, mineral buildup in soil

 Elevation of the water table and

waterlogging

 Depletion of aquifers
 Oxygen Cycle

Brazil’s forests produce 40% of the earth’s

atmospheric oxygen
Oxygen Cycle

Image obtained from

http://www.accessexcellence.com/AB/GG/photo_Resp.html
The Carbon Cycle: Part of
Nature’s Thermostat
 diffusion between
atmosphere and ocean

bicarbonate and combustion of fossil fuels

carbonate in
ocean water

photosynthesis aerobic
respiration

marine food
webs

death,
incorporation sedimentation
into sediments uplifting
sedimentation
marine sediments

Carbon Cycle - Marine

 atmosphere

volcanic action combustion of

fossil fuels

photosynthesis aerobic combustion

terrestrial respiration of wood
rocks

sedimentation
weathering land food
webs

soil water
peat,
death, burial, fossil
leaching, compaction over fuels
runoff geologic time

Carbon Cycle - Land

Carbon Cycle
CARBON CYCLE
 Carbon in the Oceans
Most carbon in the ocean is dissolved
carbonate and bicarbonate
Ocean currents carry dissolved carbon
 Carbon in Atmosphere

Atmospheric carbon is mainly carbon

dioxide
Carbon dioxide is added to atmosphere
Aerobic respiration, volcanic action, burning
fossil fuels
Removed by photosynthesis
 Carbon Cycle
– Carbon dioxide in the air (or dissolved water)
is used by photosynthesizing plants, algae
and bacteria as raw material to build organic
molecules.
– What does that mean? Autotrophs take in
carbon dioxide to help make food in order to
grow and survive
– Involves:
• Respiration (breathing where CO2 is a by
product)
• Combustion (burning)
• Erosion (limestone)
 Carbon Cycle
• Plants take in CO2 and release O2 in
PHOTOSYNTHEIS

• Animals take in O2 and release CO2 in

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

• Decay also release CO2 into the

atmosphere
 Man’s Influence on Carbon Cycle

• We alter the carbon cycle by adding excess CO2

to the atmosphere through:
– Burning fossil fuels.
– Clearing vegetation faster than it is replaced.

• Cellulose in dead plant material is hard to

breakdown (too big)

• Accumulates undecomposed over time forming

peat -- Peat over time and under pressure forms
fossil fuels
Effects of
Human
Activities
on Carbon
Cycle
 The Nitrogen Cycle
• Nitrogen is used by living organisms to produce a
number of complex organic molecules like amino
acids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
• 78% of the world’s atmosphere is nitrogen
• Despite its abundance in the atmosphere, nitrogen
is often the most limiting nutrient for plant growth.
• This problem occurs because most plants can only
take up nitrogen in two solid forms:
– ammonium ion (NH4+ ) and
– the ion nitrate (NO3- ) and
– CONNOT use raw atmospheric nitrogen
The Nitrogen Cycle: Bacteria in
Action
Nitrogen Cycle
Human Influence on Nitrogen Cycle
• artificial nitrogen fertilization

• planting of nitrogen fixing crops

• N2O has risen in the atmosphere as a result of

agricultural fertilization, biomass burning, cattle and
feedlots, and other industrial sources (N2O also
destroys ozone)

• Eutrophication - (from Greek eutrophos, "well-

nourished"), or hypertrophication -- is when a body of
water becomes overly enriched with minerals and
nutrients
 Effects of Human Activities on the
Nitrogen Cycle
• We alter the nitrogen cycle by:
– Adding gases that contribute to acid rain.
– Adding nitrous oxide to the atmosphere through
farming practices which can warm the
atmosphere and deplete ozone.
– Contaminating ground water from nitrate ions in
inorganic fertilizers.
– Releasing nitrogen into the troposphere through
deforestation.
Effects of Human Activities on the
Nitrogen Cycle

• Human activities
such as production
of fertilizers now fix
more nitrogen than
all natural sources
combined.
 The Phosphorous Cycle

mining Fertilizer
excretion Guano
agriculture
uptake by weathering uptake by
autotrophs autotrophs
Marine Dissolved leaching, runoff Dissolved Land
Food in Ocean in Soil Water, Food
Webs Water Lakes, Rivers Webs
death, death,
decomposition decomposition
sedimentation settling out weathering
uplifting over
geologic time
Marine Sediments Rocks
 Effects of Human Activities on the
Phosphorous Cycle
• We remove large amounts of phosphate from
the earth to make fertilizer.

• We reduce phosphorous in tropical soils by

clearing forests.

• We add excess phosphates to aquatic systems

from runoff of animal wastes and fertilizers.
 The Sulfur Cycle
Sulfur Water Acidic fog and
Sulfuric acid precipitation
trioxide
Ammonia Ammonium
Oxygen sulfate
Sulfur dioxide Hydrogen sulfide

Plants

Dimethyl Volcano
sulfide Animals
Industries

Ocean

Sulfate salts

Metallic Decaying matter Sulfur

sulfide
deposits
Hydrogen sulfide
 The Sulfur Cycle
• Sulfur
– Component of proteins
– Component of vitamins

• Most sulfur is in rock and mineral slats

• Released naturally into atmosphere from

volcanoes and decomposition in wetlands

• In atmosphere, SO2 reacts with water to produce

sulfuric acid
 Effects of Human Activities on the
Sulfur Cycle
• We add sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere by:
– Burning coal and oil
– Refining sulfur containing petroleum.
– Convert sulfur-containing metallic ores into
free metals such as copper, lead, and zinc
releasing sulfur dioxide into the
environment.
 Chemosynthesis
• Ocean vents in trenches

• Bacteria use hydrogen sulfide H2S as

energy source
 Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus important in
– DNA molecules
– ATP
– Cell membranes
– Bones
– Teeth
– shells
• Slow cycle
• Not much in atmosphere – but in soil, rock,
and water
• Big water component
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
 The Gaia Hypothesis:
Is the Earth Alive?

• Some have proposed that the earth’s various

forms of life control or at least influence its
chemical cycles and other earth-sustaining
processes.
– The strong Gaia hypothesis: life controls the
earth’s life-sustaining processes.
– The weak Gaia hypothesis: life influences
the earth’s life-sustaining processes.
Nature Is “Re-shuffling” The Deck
As The Environment Changes