PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

Sources of phosphorus
• Essential nutrient of protoplast
• In all energy transfer and energy fixation processes ATP and ADP are
involved.
• Major source is rock deposits
• Through weathering inorganic phosphates become available to plants
in dissolved conditions
Transport of phosphate from soil to sea
• Through hydrologic cycle a god proportion of this available phosphate
is washed to sea
• But from sea only small fraction of phosphorus return to land system
through fishing by man and through sea bird
Phosphorus cycle is really unbalanced now
• In past terrestrial system were balanced that the loss of P by erosion
was less and transfer from sea by birds was more than today
• But now due to human activities erosion and run off of P from land to
sea is high and transfer of P from sea to land by birds is low as
compared to past so this cycle is not balanced now
P from soil to other trophic levels
• From plant it transfer to animals
• At any trophic level, death of animals and plants occur
• Decomposer degrade the dead bodies, excretions and bones,
phosphatizing bacteria to dissolve phosphates which are returned
back to environment.
Sulphur cycle
• Essential nutrient in trace amount
• Added as a fertilizer
• Added as SO2 as pollutant
Cont..
• Largest reservoir is soil
• Sulphate is the commonest form
• Green plants uptake and assimilate as amino acid and proteins
• Microorganisms like green Sulphur bacteria and purple Sulphur
bacteria convert hydrogen sulphide to sulphate which easily taken up
by plants
• Some bacteria can reverse this process
Cont..
• The S in green plants returned back to environment by litter, grazing
,excreta and death
• Huge quantity of S is added to atmosphere as SO2 in to atmosphere
return to land by acid rain
• Cycle start with sedimentary rocks
• Iron sulphid in rock converted to hydrogen sulphid
• Hydrogen sulphide is converted to sulphates
• Plant and microorganisms convert it into organic form
Cont..
• S is cycled through gaseous cycle, hydrologic cycle and sedimentary
cycle.