Interactions and Biogeochemical

Cycles
BIOGEOCHEMICAL
CYCLE

 Wikipedia.com Defines as a pathway by which a

chemical substance moves through biotic (biosphere)
and abiotic ( lithosphere, atmosphere, and
hydrosphere) compartments of Earth.
 Study.com defines it as the movement of elements
through organisms and the environment.
 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

• BIO involves biological organisms

• GEO involves geological processes
• CHEMICAL indicates chemical processes
• CYCLE is a series of events that are
regularly repeated in the same order.
BIOGEOCHEMICAL
CYCLE

 The producers or autotrophs of an ecosystem take up several basic

inorganic nutrients from their abiotic counterpart in the
environment. These materials get transformed into the biomass of
the autotrophs. After which, they are utilized by the heterotroph
population and are eventually returned to the environment with the
help of the decomposers. This periodic transfer of nutrient material
between the biotic organisms and their abiotic environment is called
biogeochemical cycle. The nutrients circulate through life and
through earth time and again. The biogeochemical cycles safeguard
the limited source of raw or basic materials in the environment.
LOCIGHYDRO ELCYC

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE
Water Cycle
Water Cycle
Liquid water molecules transformed into water vapor molecules
which then EVAPORATE in to the atmosphere. Likewise, the excess
water in the plants are release via evapotranspiration. This excess
water is also turned into gaseous molecules and moved towards
the atmosphere. Upon reaching the atmosphere, these water
vapor molecules CONDENSED and formed into clouds. When the
clouds are heavy enough, a PRECIPITATION process takes place.
Water is now captured by the catch basins. The water could end up
as a surface water as it flows to rivers and eventually to the seas
and oceans. The water could also end in the aquifer as they
INFILTRATE the soil and transformed into underground water.
These steps are repeated because this is a cycle.
ECCLESIASTES 1:7

“All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea
is not full; into the place from where the
rivers come, and then they return again. “
OBRNCA CELYC
CARBON CYCLE
Carbon Cycle

Factory Emissions

Photosynthesis
Plant Respiration
Animal Respiration

Organic Carbon
Decay Organism
Dead Organisms and
Waste Products
 CARBON CYCLE
The element carbon is a part of
seawater, the atmosphere, rocks such
as limestone and coal, soils, as well as
all living things. On our dynamic
planet, carbon is able to move from
one of these realms to another as a
part of the carbon cycle.
 HOW CARBON CYCLE WORKS?
•Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants. In
the atmosphere, carbon is attached to oxygen in a
gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the
process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled
from the air to produce food made from carbon for
plant growth.

•Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through

food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to
the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other
animals get the carbon from their food too.
•Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils. When
plants and animals die, their bodies, wood and leaves
decays bringing the carbon into the ground. Some is
buried and will become fossil fuels in millions and
millions of years.

•Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere.

Each time you exhale, you are releasing carbon
dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere. Animals and
plants need to get rid of carbon dioxide gas through a
process called respiration.
•Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels
are burned. When humans burn fossil fuels to power factories,
power plants, cars and trucks, most of the carbon quickly
enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five
and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil
fuels. Of this massive amount, 3.3 billion tons stays in the
atmosphere. Most of the remainder becomes dissolved in
seawater.

•Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans. The

oceans, and other bodies of water, absorb some carbon from
the atmosphere. The carbon is dissolved into the water.
RONEGNIT CLYEC
NITROGEN CYCLE
Nitrogen Cycle
 Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle is the recirculation and reuse of
nitrogen in various forms to meet the demand for
various environmental and biological activities.
Nitrogen in the atmosphere is present in a gaseous
and diatomic form ( N2). Therefore, plants cannot
use the nitrogen in this form. Therefore, they need
nitrogen fixing bacteria, lightning, root nodules,
forest fire etc. to convert the nitrogen into nitrate
compounds like Nitric Oxide(NO), Nitrite(NO2),
Nitrate(NO3)
1.Nitrogen fixation
Atmospheric nitrogen (N2) which is primarily available in an inert form, is
converted into the usable form -ammonia (NH3).
 During the process of Nitrogen fixation, the inert form of nitrogen gas is
deposited into soils from the atmosphere and surface waters, mainly through
precipitation. Later, the nitrogen undergoes a set of changes, in which two
nitrogen atoms get separated and combine with hydrogen to form ammonia
(NH4+). The entire process of Nitrogen fixation is completed by symbiotic
bacteria which are known as Diazotrophs. Azotobacter and Rhizobium also have
a major role in this process. These bacteria consist of a nitrogenase enzyme which
has the capability to combine gaseous nitrogen with hydrogen to form ammonia.
Nitrogen Fixation
 The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to

usable form of ammonia.

 Without this process, most plants and

animals not have the nitrogen needed to
live.
TYPES OF NITROGEN
FIXATION
1. Atmospheric fixation: A natural phenomenon where the energy of lightning
breaks the nitrogen into nitrogen oxides and is then used by plants.
2. Industrial nitrogen fixation: Is a man-made alternative that aids in nitrogen
fixation by the use of ammonia. Ammonia is produced by the direct combination
of nitrogen and hydrogen and later, it is converted into various fertilizers such as
urea.
3. Biological nitrogen fixation: We already know that nitrogen is not usable
directly from the air for plants and animals. Bacteria like Rhizobium and blue-
green algae transform the unusable form of nitrogen into other compounds that
are more readily usable. These nitrogen compounds get fixed in the soil by these
microbes.
2. Nitrification
In this process, the ammonia is converted into nitrate by the
presence of bacteria in the soil. Nitrites are formed by the
oxidation of Ammonia with the help of Nitrosomonas
bacterium species. Later, the produced nitrites are converted
into nitrates by Nitrobacter. This conversion is very
important as ammonia gas is toxic for plants.
3. Assimilation
Primary producers – plants take in the nitrogen
compounds from the soil with the help of their roots,
which are available in the form of ammonia, nitrite ions,
nitrate ions or ammonium ions and are used in the
formation of the plant and animal proteins. This way, it
enters the food web when the primary consumers eat the
plants.
4. Ammonification
When plants or animals die, the nitrogen present in the
organic matter is released back into the soil. The
decomposers, namely bacteria or fungi present in the soil,
convert the organic matter back into ammonium. This
process of decomposition produces ammonia, which is
further used for other biological processes.
Denitrification
Denitrification is the process in which the nitrogen compounds
makes their way back into the atmosphere by converting nitrate
(NO3-) into gaseous nitrogen (N). This process of the nitrogen
cycle is the final stage and occurs in the absence of oxygen.
Denitrification is carried out by the denitrifying bacterial species-
Clostridium and Pseudomonas, which will process nitrate to gain
oxygen and gives out free nitrogen gas as a byproduct.