Nutrient Cycles

3. Ammonification

At this point, the organisms such as plants cannot receive any more nutrients from the original nitrogen. Anaerobic decomposers convert the now nitrogen rich soil back into ammonium and water soluble salts.

4. Denitrification

Bacteria that reside in waterlogged areas (sediment of swamps, oceans, etc.) then convert the ammonium previously produced in the Ammonification cycle back into Nitrogen gas. The gas is then released back into atmosphere.

How do human intervene or alter the nitrogen cycle?

Burning fossil fuels - emissions from cars and factories produces large amounts of nitric oxide (NO) into atmosphere. NO in atmosphere then converts to HNO3, commonly known as acid rain. Humans emissions also send heat trapping gas N2O into the atmosphere which contributes to Ozone depletion. Humans remove nitrogen when mining and irrigation. When humans clear land to plant crops, we remove nitrogen from topsoil through erosion. Runoff carries nitrogen into streams and rivers which causes algal blooms.

Nitrogen

"Bacteria in Action" Organisms use nitrogen to make organic compounds, which include amino acids, proteins, DNA and RNA. Nitrogen gas N2 makes up 78% of the volume of the troposphere. However, plants and animals cannot use N2 directly as a resource, it must undergo what is called the nitrogen cycle.

The Phosphorus Cycle

-Fairly slow Phosphorus circulates through water, the earth's crust and living organisms. Very little phosphorus circulates in the earth's atmosphere. Phosphorus is typically found in rock (crust of earth ) and in ocean sediments. Phosphorus can sometimes get trapped in the sediment of the ocean floor for millions of years. Phosphorus can be a one way flow on human time scale.

The Steps in the Water Cycle 1-4

1. Collects, purifies, and distributes the earth's fixed supply of water. 2. Evaporation - conversion of water into water vapor. 3. Transpiration - evaporation from leaves of water extracted from soil by roots and transported throughout the plant 4. Condensation - conversion of water vapor into droplets of liquid water.

Nutrient Cycles

1. Nutrient Cycles or biogeochemical cycles - involve natural processes that recycle nutrients in various chemical forms in a cyclic manner from the nonliving environment to living organisms and back to nonliving environment again.

Water's unique properties

1. The amount of water vapor air can hold depends on temperature (warm holds more moisture than cold air. 2. Winds and air masses transport water vapor over various parts of the earth's surface; when the temp. drops water vapor condenses & form clouds and fog. 3. For precipitation to occur air must have condensations nuclei (tiny particles on which droplets of water vapor can collect. 4. Dew point - the temp at which water condenses 5. Most precipitation becomes runoff that goes to the ocean where it is evaporated again. 6. Water table - the level of the earth's land crust to which it is filled. 7. Evaporation acts as a natural filtering process.

Steps to the carbon cycle (1-3)

1.The Carbon cycle is a global gaseous cycle based on carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide makes up (0.036%) of the volume of the troposphere and is dissolved in water. 2. Terrestrial producers (plants) remove CO2 gas from the atmosphere and aquatic producers (algae) remove CO2 from water. Plants use photosynthesis to convert CO2 into complex carbohydrates such as glucose. 3. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is low, but carbon cycles at a rapid rate because photo synthetic producers have a high demand for carbon dioxide gas.

The Carbon Cycle (4-5)

4. Oxygen -consuming producers, consumers, and decomposers carry out aerobic respiration, which breaks down glucose and other complex organic compounds and converts the carbon back to CO2 in the atmosphere or water. This CO2 is then reused by producers. 5. The connection between photosynthesis in producers and aerobic respiration in producers, consumers, and decomposers circulates carbon in the ecosphere and is a major part of the global carbon cycle.

The Steps in the Water Cycle 5-8

5. Precipitation - rain, sleet, hail, and snow. 6. Infiltration - movement of water into soil 7. Percolation - downward flow of water through soil and permeable rock formation to groundwater storage areas called aquifers. 8. Run off - down slope surface movement back to the sea to resume the cycle. The water cycle is powered by energy from the sun and by gravity.

Effects of the human activities on the sulfur cycle.

Burning fossil fuels and producing some metals adds sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere.

What is Carbon?

Carbon dioxide is a green house gas, meaning it is one of the gases that trap and hold heat in the Earth's atmosphere. If the carbon cycle removes too much CO2 from the atmosphere, the Earth will cool. If it generates too, much the Earth will heat up. Even slight changes in the carbon cycle can affect climate and the types of life that can exist on different parts of the planet.

The Carbon Cycle (The role the carbon plays for organisms)

Carbon is essential to life as we know it. "currency for energy exchange in living systems"

Long term affects of the absence of all nitrogen fixating organism.

Fertilizers would essentially be ineffective because, in order to continue the cycle, these nitrogen fixating organisms are needed at various steps. All plant life could potentially be killed off and therefore disrupting food chains and webs

Carbon Chemical Stuff

It is the basic building block of the carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, and all the other organic compounds needed for life. Most of the chemical energy needed for life is stored in organic compounds as bonds between carbon atoms and other atoms. Following the movement of carbon through food webs is following the flow of energy.

2. Nitrification

Most of the ammonia in the soil is converted by special bacteria to make a substance (NO2) "Nitrite ion" that is toxic to plants. At this point, the toxic material is then converted to NO3- "Nitrate ion" which can be absorbed by plants as a nutrient or food.

What is Phosphorus the limiting factor of?

Phosphorus can often can be a limiting factor in soil and therefore producers (plants)

Short term affects of the absence of all nitrogen fixating organism.

Plants would not receive needed ammonia as nutrients. Humans would suffer as a result of losses in food production, but would increase inorganic fertilizers in hopes to revive soil.

1. Nitrogen Fixation

Special bacteria called Rhizobium bacteria, found in the soil and water, convert Nitrogen gas N2 into NH3.

The Sulfur Cycle

Sulfur cycles through the earth's air, water, soil and living organisms. Sulfur is found in several store houses including ocean floor sediment, as a poisonous gas from volcanoes, and organic matter such as swamps, bogs, and tidal flats. Sulfur is needed for plants as an essential component of many proteins.

Effects of human activities on the Phosphorus cycle.

We mine large quantities of phosphate rock to make commercial inorganic fertilizers. We reduce the available phosphate in tropical soils when we clear cut. We disrupt aquatic systems with phosphates from runoff of animal wastes and inorganic fertilizers.

The Water Cycle (Role of water for living organisms)

Without water the other nutrient cycles couldn't exist. The availability of water is among the major factors that determine what kind of organisms can live in a given location (terrestrial ecosystems) (Aquatic ecosystems) water is the material that surrounds and contains organisms.

Human Impact on the Nitrogen Cycle

World War II, German chemist Fritz Haber discovered how to make fertilizer by combining nitrogen and hydrogen gases at high temperatures to form ammonia. This is one form of inorganic fertilizer.

Atmospheric

a large portion of elements exist in gaseous form in atmosphere. Examples would be Nitrogen = 78%, Carbon ie. CO2, Sulfur SOx. These elements cycle fairly rapidly from the atmosphere through soil and organisms and back to atmosphere because atmosphere is involved they operate local, regional and global.

The Nitrogen Cycle

considered the most complex of the earth's chemical cycles.

Sedimentary

element does not have gaseous phase. Earth's crust is the storehouse These elements cycle slowly. Phosphorus is a good example b/c it has no circulation in the atmosphere, such cycles operate on local and regional level.

major cycles?

hydrologic cycle carbon cycle nitrogen cycle phosphorus cycle sulfur cycle

Hydrologic

or water cycle, water changing form from solid, liquid, gas. Hydrosphere is the storehouse. Hydrologic cycle is one that operates at local, regional, and global levels.