Nutrients Cycle in the Biosphere

▪ Biogeochemical cycles, nutrient

cycles
• Hydrologic
• Carbon
• Phosphorus
• Sulfur
• Nitrogen
Water Cycles through the Biosphere

▪ Natural renewal of
water quality: three
major processes
• Evaporation
• Precipitation
• Transpiration
• Runoff
▪ Fueled by energy from
the sun
Hydrologic Cycle Including Harmful Impacts
of Human Activities
Alteration of the hydrologic cycle by humans

▪ Withdrawal of large
amounts of freshwater
at rates faster than
nature can replace it
▪ Clearing vegetation
• Increases temperature
and thus evaporation
▪ Increased flooding
when wetlands are
drained
Water Pollution

▪ Pavement prevents soil

from absorbing water
• Increases runoff and
erosion

▪ Only 0.024% of water is

accessible liquid
freshwater
• Groundwater deposits
• Lakes, river, streams
Carbon Cycle

▪ Carbon dioxide in atmosphere is taken in by

plants
▪ CO2 is also given off by animals, decomposers,
plants and burning fuels
▪ Composes 0.038% of the volume of the
atmosphere
Carbon Cycle Depends on Photosynthesis and
Respiration

▪ Link between photosynthesis in producers and

respiration in producers, consumers, and
decomposers

▪ Additional CO2 added to the atmosphere

• Tree clearing
• Burning of fossil fuels
Carbon Cycle Equations

Cellular Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O +ATP

Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O sunlight→ C6H12O6 + 6O2
Carbon Cycle

▪ Marine sediments are

earth’s largest store of
carbon
• Carbon is trapped
between layers of
sediment
• Converted to fossil fuels
when heated and
compressed
Carbon Cycle

▪ When living things die

and decompose, their
remains may someday
become fossil fuels
• Coal, oil, or natural gas
• Burned to release CO2
Greenhouse Effect

▪ CO2 in the atmosphere

absorbs and retains
heat
• An overload of CO2 now
exists from burning
fossil fuels
▪ Component of Earth’s
thermostat
• Too much or too little
causes major problems
Natural Capital: Carbon Cycle with Major Harmful
Impacts of Human Activities
Phosphorous Cycle

▪ Phosphorus
• Helps form important molecules like DNA, RNA, and
ATP
▪ Inorganic phosphate PO43- is released into the soil
and water as sediments wear down.
• Eventually enters the ocean, where it is used by
marine organisms
• Does NOT include the atmosphere
Phosphate Cycle
• Organic phosphate
moves through the
food web and to the
rest of the ecosystem. Organisms

Land

Ocean

Sediments
Phosphorus Cycle with Major Harmful Human
Impacts
Phosphorus Cycle Video Clip
Sulfur Cycles through the Biosphere

▪ Sulfur found in organisms, ocean sediments, soil,

rocks, and fossil fuels

▪ Sulfate SO4 2- in the atmosphere

• Sea spray, forest fires, dust storms

▪ H2S and SO2 released during volcanic eruptions

(toxic)
Sulfur Cycle

▪ Marine Algae produce dimethyl sulfide (DMS)

• Involved in condensation of water (clouds)
▪ DMS is converted to SO2 and SO3 and tiny droplets
of sulfuric acid H2 SO4 (acid deposition)

▪ Absence of Oxygen?
• Bacteria convert sulfate ions into sulfide ions S2-
• React with metal ions and deposited as rock
Sulfur Cycles through the Biosphere

▪ Human activities add SO2 → sulfuric acid and sulfate

• Burn sulfur-containing coal and oil
• Refine sulfur-containing petroleum to make gasoline
and other heating products
• Convert sulfur-containing metallic mineral ores
• Copper lead and zinc
Natural Capital: Sulfur Cycle with Major
Harmful Impacts of Human Activities
Nitrogen

▪ Essential element
▪ Needed for amino acids
• Proteins!

▪ Nitrogen gas makes up

78% of the volume of
the atmosphere
Nitrogen Fixation

▪ Nitrogen gas cannot be

used by living things
directly
• Converted by lightening
▪ Bacteria in soil and
ocean convert nitrogen
gas into ammonium
(NH4+) and ammonia
(NH3)
• Fixation
Nitrogen Fixation

▪ (NH4+) and (NH3)

converted to nitrate
ions
• Nitrification
Assimilation

▪ Used by plants to
produce amino acids,
proteins, nucleic acids,
and vitamins
• Assimilation
Nitrogen Cycle

▪ Plants take in ammonia, ammonium, and nitrates

through roots
▪ Animals get nitrogen by eating plants or other
animals that ate plants
Nitrogen Cycle

▪ When the animal dies and decomposes the nitrogen

is returned to the soil as ammonia
• Ammonification
▪ Plants take in the ammonia from the soil
Returning Nitrogen

▪ Specialized bacteria in soil and bottom of lakes

convert NH3 and NH4+ back into nitrates
• Denitrification

▪ Nitrates are converted to nitrogen gas and returned

to the atmosphere
Human intervention in the nitrogen cycle

• Additional NO and N2O

• Burning fuels at high
temperatures
• Destruction of forest,
grasslands, and
wetlands
• Add excess nitrates to
bodies of water
• Runoff
• Remove nitrogen from
topsoil
• Harvesting nitrogen rich
crops and irrigation
https://contrib.pbslearningmedia.org/WGBH/
conv20/lsps07-int-nitrogen/index.html
Annual Increase in Atmospheric N2 Due to
Human Activities
Nitrogen Cycle in a Terrestrial Ecosystem
with Major Harmful Human Impacts
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