Chapter 5 ENVIRONMENTAL CYCLES AND PROCESES Objectives At the end of the chapter, students should be able to: | 1. Identify the significance of biogeochemical cycles. 2. Discuss the processes involved in the hydrologic cycle. 3. Relate carbon dioxide and oxygen cycle and their importance 4. Discuss phosphorus cycle. 5. Analyze an environmental issue and offer solutions BioGeoChemical Cycles The inorganic nuttients.cycle through more than the organisms, however, they also “nter into the atmosphere, the oceans, and even rocks. A Biogeochemical cycle refers to the overall chemical cycles through both the biological and the geological world. Each chemical its own unique cycle, but all of the cycles do have some things in common ical is large quantities for Reservoi parts of the cycle where the chemical is held in lang. long period oaoe ee pools, on the other hand, the chemical is held tor only a thor te The aE aE eR AE ahold nan Reesor searvais is txemed its resident dae ae oceans are a reservoir for water, while a cloud is an exchange pool.The Water Cycle “The water cycle (also know asthe hydrologic cycle) isthe paths water takes through its various sates - vapor, liquid, soil as it moves throughout the ocean, atmosphere, groundwater, streams, et In the water cycle, energy is supplied by the sun, which drives evaporation whether itis from ocean surfaces of from treetops “The sun also provides the energy, which drives the weather systems, which move the ater vapor from one place to another. Evaporation isthe reverse process in which liquid water becomes gaseous. Once water condenses, gravity takes over and the water is pulled to the ground. Gravity continues to ‘operate, either pulling the water underground or across the surface. In either event, gravity ‘continues to pull water lower and lower until it reaches the oceans and other such depressions ‘may also serve as the lowest basin into which water can be drawn. Evaporation occurs when the physical state of water is changed from a liquid state to a ‘gaseous state. A considerable amount of heat, about 600 calories of energy for each gram of ‘water, is exchanged during the change of state. Typically, solar radiation and other factors such as air temperature, vapor pressure, wind, and atmospheric pressure affect the amount cof natural evaporation that takes place in any geographic area. Evaporation can occur on raindrops, and on free water surfaces such as seas and lakes. Itcan even occur from water settled on vegetation, soil, rocks and snow. There is also ‘evaporation caused by human activities. Heated buildings experience evaporation of water settled on its surfaces. Evaporated moisture is lifted into the atmosphere from the ocean, land surfaces, and water bodies as water vapor. Some vapor alway’ exists in the atmosphere, ‘Transpiration is the biological process that occurs mostly in the day. Water inside of plants is transferred from the plant to the atmosphere as water vapor through numerous Individual leave openings. Plants transpire to move nutrients to the upper portion of the plants and to cool the leaves exposed to the sun. Leaves undergoing rapid transpiration an be significantly cooler than the surrounding air. Transpiration is greatly affected by the species of plants that are in the soil and itis strongly affected by the amount of light to wthich the plants are exposed. Water can be transpired freely by plants until a water deficit develops in the plant and it water-releasing cells (stomata) begin to close. Transpiration then ‘continues at a must slower rate. Only a small portion of the water that plants absorb are retained in the plants ‘Vegetation generally retards evaporation from the soil. Vegetation that is shading the soil, reduces the wind velocity. Also, releasing water vapor to the atmosphere reduces the amount of direct evaporation from the sol or from snow or ie cover. The absorption of water into plant roots, along with interception that occurs on plant surfaces offsets the general effects that vegetation has in retarding evaporation from the soil. The forest vegetation tends to have more moisture than the soil beneath the trees, Condensation is the process by which water vapor changes its physical state from a vapor, most commonly, toa liquid, Water vapor condenses onto small airborne particles 10 form dew, fog, or clouds. The most active particles that form clouds are sea salts, atmosphericjons caused by lightning, and combustion products containin Condensation brought ot yen se onal and ios ails HB ade esto point When water vepor condenses back ints aliquid sate, the came large ammount of heat (600 calories of energy per gram) that was needled tt mae lg amount fet BY Per gram) that was needed to make ita vapors eee aay De trenped in cooler regions of the Harth as snow or ice, and ma remain as such for very long periods of time. Lakes vans [flr glade tesa istemporarily trapped. The oceans are salty because any weathering of minerals that occurs as the water runs to the ocean will add to the mineral content of the water, but water cannot leave the oceans except by evaporation, ‘Thus, rainfall and snowfall are comy 2 are comprised of relatively clean water, with the exception of| pollutants picked up asthe water falls through the atmosphere Organisms play an important role in the water cycle. Most organisms contain a significant amount of water (up to 90% of their body weight). This water is not held for any length of time and moves out of the organism rather quickly in most cases. and evaporation leaves the minerals behind, Animals and plants lose water through evaporation from the body surfaces and through evaporation from the gas exchange structures. In plants, water is drawn in at the roots and moves to the gas exchange organs, the leaves, where it evaporates quickly. This special case is called transpiration because itis responsible for so much of the water that enters the atmosphere. Precipitation occurs when water condenses from a gaseous state in the atmosphere and falls to earth. Precipitation is the process that occurs when any and all forms of water Particles fall ftom the atmosphere and reach the ground, There are two sub- processes that ‘cause clouds to release precipitation, the coalescence process and the ice- crystal process. As water drops reach a critical size, the drop is exposed to gravity and frictional drag. Falling drop leaves a turbulent wake behind which allows smaller drops to fall faster and to be ‘overtaken to join and combine with the lead drop. The other sub-process that can occur isthe ice-crystal formation process, It occurs when ice develops in cold clouds or in cloud formations high in the atmosphere where freezing temperatures occur. When nearby water droplets approach the crystals some droplets evaporate and condense on the crystals, The crystals grow to a critical size and drop as snow or ice pellets. Sometimes, as the pellets fll through lower elevation ait, they melt and change into raindrops. Precipitated water may fall into a water body or it may fall onto land. Ieis then dispersed several ways, The water can adhere to objects on or near the planet surface or it can be carried over and through the land into stream channels, or it may penetrate into the soil, or itmay be intercepted by plants. When rainfall is small and infrequent, a high percentage of precipitation is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation. ‘The portion of precipitation that appears in surface streams ial ett Resotfanay consist ofcomponentcontribaions rom sich sources surface runoff, subsurface runoff, or ground water runoff, Surface runofl travels over the ground surface and through surface channels to leave a catchment area called a drainage basin or ‘watershed, The portion of the surface runoff that flows over the land surface towards the Stream channels is called overland flow. The total runoff confined in the stream channels is called the streamflow.Interception is the process of interrupting the movement of water in the chain of transportation events leading to streams. ‘The interception can take place by vegetal cover or depression storage in puddles and in land formations such as rill and furrows. When rain first begins, the water striking leaves and other organic materials spreads ‘over the surfaces ina thin layer or it collects at points ot edges. When the maximum surface storage capability on the surface of the material is exceeded, the material stores additional ‘water in growing drops along its edges. Eventually the weight of the drops exceeds the surface tension and waterfalls to the ground, Wind and the impact of rain drops can also release the ‘water from the organic material. The water layer on organic surfaces and the drops of water along the edges are also frecly exposed to evaporation. Additionally, interception of water on the ground surface during freezing and sub- freezing conditions can be substantial. The interception of falling snow and ice on vegetation also occurs. The highest level of interception occurs when it snows on conifer forests and hardwood forests that have not yet lost their leaves. Infiltration is the physical process involving movement of water through the boundary ‘area where the atmosphere interfaces with the soil. The surface phenomenon is governed by soil surface conditions. Water transfer is related to the porosity of the soil and the permeability ‘of the soil profil. Typically, the infiltration rate depends on the pudding of the water at the soil surface by the impact of raindrops, the texture and structure of the soil, the initial soil moisture content, the decreasing water concentration as the water moves deeper into the soil filling ofthe pores in the soil matrices, changes inthe soil composition, and to the swelling of the wetted soils that in turn close cracks in the soil. \Water that is infiltrated and stored in the soil can also become the water that later is evapotranspired or becomes subsurface runoff Percolation is the movement of water though the soil, and its layers, by gravity and capillary forces. The prime moving force of groundwater is gravity. Water that isin the zone ff aeration where air exists is called vadose water. Water that isin the zone of saturation is called groundwater. For all practical purposes all groundwater originates as surface water ‘Once underground, the water is moved by gravity. The boundary that separates the vadose and the saturation zones is called the water table, Usually the direction of water movement is changed from downward and a horizontal component to the movement is added that is based on the geologic boundary conditions. Geologic formations in the earth’ crust serve as natural subterranean reservoirs for storing water. Others can also serve as conduits for the movement of water. Essentially all groundwater is in motion. Some of it, however, moves extremely slowly. A geologic formation which transmits water from one location to another in sufficient quantity for economic development is called an aquifer. ‘The movement of water is possible because of the voids or pores in the geologic formations, Some formations conduct water back to the ground surface. A spring isa place where the water table reaches the ground surface. Stream channels can be in contact with an unconfined aquifer that approaches the ground surface. Water may move from the ground into the stream, or visa versa, depending on the relative water level. Groundwater discharges into a stream forms the base flow of the stream durin dry periods, especially during droughts. An influent stream supplies water to an aquifer while and efiluent stream receives water from the aquifer,Runoff is flow from a drainage basin or waters generally constsfthe Now that stated oy aealnentgns treo oer works that society might have on or in a stream channel. The flow is made up partly of precipitation that falls directly on the stream, surface runoff that flows over the land surface and through channels, subsurface runoff that infiltrates the surface soils and moves laterally towards the stream, and groundwater runoff from deep percolation through the soil horizons. Part of the subsurface flow enters the stream quickly, while the remaining portion may take a longer period before joining the water in the stream. When each of the component flows enters the stream, they form the total runoff. The total runoff inthe stream channels is called streamflow and itis generally regarded as direct runoff or base flow. Storage. ‘There are three basic locations of water storage that occur in the planetary water cycle. Water is stored in the atmosphere; water i stored on the surface ofthe earth, and water stored in the ground. Water stored in the atmosphere can be moved relatively quickly from one part of the planet to another part ofthe planet. The type of storage that occurs on the land surface and under the ground largely depend on the geologic features related to the types of soil and the types of rocks present at the storage locations. Storage occurs as surface storage in oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and glaciers; underground storage occurs in the soil, in aquifers, and in the crevices of rock formations. ‘The movement of water through the eight other major physical processes of the water cycle can be erratic. On average, water the atmosphere is renewed every 16 days. Soil moisture is replaced about every year. Globally, waters in wetlands are replaced about every 5 years while the residence time of lake water is about 17 years. In areas of low development by society, groundwater renewal can exceed 1,400 years. The uneven distribution and movement of water over time, and the spatial distribution of water in both geographic and geologic areas, can cause extreme phenomena such as floods and droughts to occur. The Hydrologic CycleThe Carbon Cyc Carbon cyele is the movement of carbon, in atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere. Plants obtain carbon dioxide from the air and, through photosynthesis, incorporate carbon into their tissues, Producers & consumers - transform part of the carbon in their food ‘ack into carbon dioxide via respiration. Decomposers- release the carbon tied up in dead plants & animals into the atmosphere. s many forms, between the biosphere, Another major exchange of carbon dioxide occurs between the oceans and the atmo. sphere. The dissolved CO, in the oceansis used by marine biota in photosynthesis. Two other important processes are fossil fuel burning and changing land use. In fossil fuel burning, coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline are consumed by industry, power plants, and automobiles. ‘Changing land use isa broad term which encompasses a host of essentially human activities, including agriculture, deforestation, and reforestation. “The global carbon cycle is out of balance, making rapid global climate change more ikely. Atmospheric CO, levels are rising rapidly —- currently, they are 25% above where they ‘stood before the industrial revolution. Carbon dioxide forms when the carbon in biomass ‘oxidizes as it burns or decays. Many biological processes set in motion by people release carbon dioxide, These include burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, & natural gas), slash-and-burn agriculture, clearing land for permanent pasture, cropland, or human settlements, accidental ‘and intentional forest burning, and unsustainable logging and fuel wood collection. Clearing vegetation cover from a forested hectare releases much of the carbon in the vegetation to the atmosphere, as well as some of the carbon lodged in the soil. Logging or sustainable fuel ‘wood collection can also degrade vegetation cover and result ina net release of carbon. ‘The carbon cycle is relatively simple compared to water cycle. It is complementary reactions of respiration and photosynthesis. Respiration takes carbohydrates and oxygen and combines them to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy. Photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide and water and produces carbohydrates and oxygen. The outputs of respiration are the inputs of photosynthesis, and the outputs of photosynthesis ae the inputs of respiration, ‘The reactions are also complementary in the way they deal with energy. Photosynthesis takes energy from the sun and stores it in the carbon-carbon bonds of carbohydrates; respiration releases that energy: Both plants and animals carry on respiration, but only plants (and other producers) can carry on photosynthesis. ‘The chief reservoirs for carbon dioxide are in the oceans and in rock. Carbon dioxide dissolves readily in water. Once there, it may precipitate as a solid rock known as calcium carbonate (limestone). Corals and algae encourage this reaction and build up limestone reefs in the process. On land and in the water, plants take up carbon dioxide and convertitinto carbohydrates through photosynthesis. This carbon in the plant can possibly liberated to the atmosphere by the plant through respiration; eaten by an animal, or it can be present in the plant when theplant dies. Animals obtain al their carbon in theie food, and, thus all carbon in biological systems ultimately comes from plants. Inthe animal, the carbon also has the possibility tobe released to the atmosphere through respiration ___ Atmosphere: =] Earth ‘The Carbon Cycle Itean either be respired by decomposers, or it can be buried intact and ultimately form coal, oil, or natural gas. The fossil fuels can be mined and burned in the future; releasing carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Otherwise, the carbon in limestone or other sediments can only be released to the atmosphere when they are subducted and brought to volcanoes, or when they are pushed to the surface and slowly weathered away. Humans have a great impact on the carbon cycle because when we burn fossil fuels we release excess carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This means that more carbon dioxide {ges into the oceans, and more is present in the atmosphere. The latter condition causes slobal warming, because the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere allows mare energy to reach. the Earth from the sun than it allows escaping from the Earth into space. The Oxygen Cycle Oxygen is present in the carbon dioxide as previously discussed in the carbon cycle; it is also present in carbohydrates, in water, and as a molecule of two oxygen atoms, Oxygen is released to the atmosphere by autotrophs during photosynthesis and taken up by both autotrophs and heterotrophs during respiration, In fact, all of the oxygen in the atmosphere is biogenic; that is, it was released from water through photosynthesis by autotrophs. Almostall iving things need oxygen. They use this oxygen during the process of creating, ‘energy in living cells.nd back in the hydrologic cycle, oxygen is the beginning of the oxygen cycle. Plants ‘bon dioxide and water into carbohydrates Just as water moves from the sky to the earth a also cycled through the environment, Plants mark are able to use the energy of sunlight to convert car and oxygen in a process called photosynthesis, (0, + carbohydrates = CO, + H,0 + energy ‘This means that plants “breathe” in carbon dioxide and “breathe” out oxygen. Animals form the other half of the oxygen cycle. ‘We breathe in oxygen, which we use to break carbohydrates down into energy in a process called respiration. 0, + carbohydrates = CO, + H,0 + energy Carbon dioxide produced during respiration is breathed out by animals into the air. So oxygen is created in plants and used up by animals, as is shown in the picture above, But the oxygen cycle is not actually quite that simple. Plants must break carbohydrates down into energy just as animals do, During the day, plants hold onto a bit of the oxygen which they produced in photosynthesis and use that oxygen to break down carbohydrates. But in order to maintain their metabolism and continue respiration at night, the plants must absorb ‘oxygen from the air and give off carbon dioxide just as animals do. Even though plants produce approximately ten times as much oxygen, during the day as they consume at night, the night-time consumption of oxygen by plants can create low ‘oxygen conditions in some water habitats. Oxygen CycleOxygen in Water surface area allows oxygen to transfer from the air into the water very quickly. Oxyeen a. a ee ee Crp ans as When the water in a stream enters a pond, microorganisms in the pond begin to metabolize (break down) organic matter, consuming oxygen in the process. This is another form of oxygen cycle - oxygen enters water in rapids and leaves water in pools. ‘Oxygen uptake rate (O.UR,) is the rate at which oxygen is consumed by living organisms in the water. Since organisms are constantly using up oxygen in the water and oxygen is constantly reentering the water from the air, the amount of oxygen in water remains relatively constant. In a healthy ecosystem, the rates of oxygen transfer (being used up) and oxygen uptake are balanced in the water. The Nitrogen Cycle Almost all of the nitrogen found in terrestrial ecosystems originally comes from the atmosphere. Small proportions enter the soil in rainfall or through the effects of lightning ieee xr, is biochemically fixed within the soil by specialized micro-organisms like bacteria. Members of the bean family (legumes) and some other kinds of plants form ‘mutualistic symbiotic relationships with nitrogen fixing bacterial. In exchange for some nitrogen, the bacteria receive from the plants carbohydrates and special structures (nodules) in roots where they can exist in a moist environment. Scientist estimate that biological fixation globally adds approximately 140 million metric tons of nitogen to ecosystems every year. Nitrogen is critically important in forming the amino portions of the amino acids, ‘which in turn form the proteins of our body, Proteins make up skin and muscle, among other important structural portions of your body, and all enzymes are proteins. Since enzymes carry out almost all of the chemical reactions in your body, its easy to see how important nitrogen is.eed ey a [Fenicar Factory] 4 Decay and waste [Animals NHay] <2 [Becomposers ‘The Nitrogen Cycle ‘The chief reservoir of nitrogen isthe atmosphere, which is about 78% nitrogen. Nitrogen gas in the atmosphere is composed of two nitrogen atoms bound to each other. Its a pretty non-reactive gas; it takes a lot of energy to get nitrogen gas to break up and combine with other things, such as carbon or oxygen. ‘Nitrogen gas can be taken from the atmosphere in two basic ways. First, lightning. provides enough energy to “burn” the nitrogen and fix it in the form of nitrate, which is nitrogen with three oxygen attached. This process is duplicated in fertilizer factories to produce nitrogen fertilizers, ‘The other form of nitrogen fixation is by nitrogen fixing bacteria, which use special enzymes instead of the extreme amount of energy found in lightning to fix nitrogen. These nitrogen- fSxing bacteria come in three forms: some are free-living in the soil; some form symbiotic, ‘mutualistic associations with the roots of bean plants and other legumes (rhizobial bacteria); and the third form of nitrogen-fixing bacteria are the photosynthetic cyanobacteria (blue- ‘green algae) which are found most commonly in water. All ofthese fix nitrogen, either in the form of nitrate or in the form of ammonia, Most plants can take up nitrate and convert it to amino acids. Animals acquire all of their amino acids when they eat plants. When plants or animals die the nitrogen is returned to the soll. The usual form of nitrogen returned to the soil in animal wastes or in the output of the decomposers, is ammonia. Ammonia is rather toxic, but fortunately there are nitrite bacteria in the soil and in the water, which take up ammonia and convert it to nitrite, which. is nitrogen with two oxygen. Nitrite is also somewhat toxic, but another type of bacteria, nitrate bacteria, take nitrite and convert it to nitrate, ‘hich can be taken up by plants to continue the cycleThe Phosphorous Cycle ‘The phosphorus cycle is the simplest of the cycles. Phosphorus has only one form, phosphate, which is a phosphorous atom with four oxygen atoms. This heavy molecule never makes its way into the atmosphere; it is always part of an organism, dissolved in water, or in the form of rock. ‘When rock with phosphate is exposed to water, the rock is weathered out and goes into solution. Autotrophs take this phosphorous up and use it in a variety of ways. It is an important constituent of cell membranes, DNA, RNA, and ATP. Heterotrophs (animals) obtain their phosphorous from the plants they eat, although one ‘ype of heterotrophs, the fungi, excels at taking up phosphorous and may form mutualistic ‘symbiotic relationships with plant roots. ‘These relationships are called mycorrhizae; the plant gets phosphate from the fungus and gives the fungus sugars in return. Animals also use phosphorous as a component of bones, teeth and shells. When animals ‘or plants die, the phosphate may be returned to the soil or water by the decomposers. There it can be taken up by another plant and used again. This cycle will occur over and over ‘until at last the phosphorous is lost at the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean, where it becomes part of the sedimentary rocks. Ultimately, this phosphorous will be released, ifthe rock is brought to the surface and weathered. Two types of animals play a unique role in the phosphorous cycle. Humans often mine rock rich in phosphorous. NotPO HPO The Phosphorus Cycle