Cycles of Matter Recycling in the Biosphere Matter

Cycles of Matter

Recycling in the Biosphere • Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems • “Biogeochemical” cycles connect biological, geological, and chemical aspects of the biosphere • Matter is not used up – it is transformed… ▫ The same carbon atom can be taken into a plant via photosynthesis, incorporated into fruit, eaten, eliminated, ingested, exhaled, etc.

Water Cycle • Water evaporates from bodies of water and transpires from plant leaves • Water condenses to form clouds • Water precipitates as rain, snow, sleet, or hail • Water runs along the ground as runoff back to oceans/lakes and seeps into the soil… some becomes groundwater • Water in the soil enters plants (root uptake) (REPEAT)

NUTRIENTS q“Chemical substances that an organism requires to live” q. Passed between organisms and the environment through biogeochemical cycles

Carbon • 4 Processes: biological, geochemical, biogeochemical, human activity ▫ CO 2 enters the air (respiration, human activity, volcanoes) ▫ Plants absorb CO 2 in photosynthesis ▫ Animals eat carbohydrates made by plants ▫ C is passed through food webs ▫ CO 2 and calcium carbonate accumulate in oceans ▫ Carbon compounds break down and return to the atmosphere

COAL: evidence for the FLOOD • Upright fossil trees within coal seams suggest rapid accumulation of the vegetable debris. • Marine animals and terrestrial (not swampdwelling) plants in coal imply transportation. • Boulders present in coal demonstrate transportation processes. • The absence of a soil below many coal strata argues for the drifting of coal-forming plants. • Experiments in the alteration of vegetable material show that coal resembling anthracite does not require millions of years to form, but can be produced rapidly by a short heating process.

Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen gas (N 2) is in the atmosphere • Certain bacteria “fix” it into ammonia (NH 3) (nitrogen fixation) • Other bacteria convert NH 3 into nitrate (NO 3 -) and nitrite (NO 2 -) • Producers use NO 3 - and NO 2 - to make proteins • Consumers eat producers and reuse nitrogen to make their own proteins • When organisms die, decomposers return nitrogen to the soil as ammonia (NH 3) • Ammonia is used by producers and some bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas (denitrification)

Phosphorus Cycle • Important part of DNA and RNA (genetic info. ) • Not common in biosphere • Does not enter the atmosphere - stays on land cycles between organisms and the soil • Remains mostly in rock and soil minerals and ocean sediments • It is washed into rivers and oceans where it is used by marine organisms. • Plants absorb phosphorus from soil or water and incorporate it into organic compounds that are then moved through the rest of the food web.