biogeochemical cycles water cycle carbon cycle nitrogen cycle

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLESWater Cycle

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

General Model of Nutrient Cycling 1. Producers incorporate chemicals from the

abiotic reservoir (where a chemical accumulates or is stockpiled outside of living organisms) into organic compounds.

2.Consumers feed on the producers, incorporating some of the chemicals into their own bodies.

3. Both producers and consumers release some chemicals back to the environment in waste products (CO2 and nitrogen wastes of animals)

4. Detritivores play a central role by decomposing dead organisms and returning chemicals in inorganic form to the soil, water, and water.

5. The producers gain a renewed supply of raw materials, and the cycle continues.

General Model of Nutrient Cycling

1 Mj

2 Mj

4 Mj

3 Mj

3 Mj

4 Mj

NUTRIENT CYCLING Mj(general model) Mj

CONSUMERS Mj

PRODUCERS Mj

NUTRIENTS AVAILABLE TO MjPRODUCERS Mj

DECOMPOSERS Mj

ABIOTIC RESERVOIR Mj

PLEASE REMEMBER, NUTRIENTS ARE RECYCLED IN AN ECOSYSTEM, BUT ENERGY IS LOST FOR LIVING ORGANISMS AT THE END OF THE FOOD CHAIN.

Water Cycle 1.Precipitation 2.Condensation (conversion of gaseous water vapor into liquid water) 3. Rain Clouds 4. and 5. Evaporation (conversion of water to gaseous water vapor) from

ocean 6. and 7. precipitation over ocean 8. evaporation from land 9. Transpiration 10. Transpiration 11. evaporation from lakes, rivers 12. surface runof 13. infiltration (movement of water into soil) 14. Water locked in snow 15. Precipitation to land

**refer to diagrams in handout

Water Cycle

Carbon Cycle 1. Carbon in plant and animal tissues 2. fossilization (preserved remains or traces of animals, plants, and other organisms) 3. Death and excretion 4. Decomposers (breakdown organic materials to inorganic ones) 5. coal 6. photosynthesis 7. atmospheric CO2

8. Dissolving 9. combustion (burning of wood and fossil fuels) 10. diatoms (major group of algae, and are one of the most common types of

phytoplankton) 11. drilling for oil and gas 12. fossilization 13. oil and gas 14. limestone

**refer to diagrams in handout

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle 1. Nitrogen in plant and animal tissue 2. Excretion 3. Ammonia (NH3) 4.Dead organisms 5. decomposers 6. Nitrifying bacteria (convert ammonia to nitrate) 7. nitrogen fixing bacteria (convert N2 to ammonia) 8. nitrate (NO3

-) 9. nitrate (NO3

-) available to plants 10. swampy ground 11. denitrifying bacteria (return fixed nitrogen to the atmosphere) 12. lightning (atmospheric nitrogen fixation) 13. atmospheric nitrogen (N2 gas)

**refer to diagrams in handout

Nitrogen Cycle