UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND SPORT

Module: Environmental Studies Lecture #3

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
Matter (the material of which organisms are composed) moves in numerous cycles from one part of the
ecosystem to another i.e. from one organism to another and from living organisms to the abiotic
environment and back again. These cycles are called biogeochemical cycles (bio – life, geo – earth, literal
translation is life earth chemical cycles) or nutrient cycles. A nutrient is a substance an organism needs
to live, grow or reproduce. There are two types of nutrients, macronutrients and micronutrients.
Macronutrients refer to the nutrients needed in large quantities such as carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
These nutrients provide your body with energy or calories. Micronutrients refer to the nutrients needed
in smaller amounts. These are usually referred to as vitamins such as vitamins C and K and minerals such
as iron and zinc.

Four of the major biogeochemical cycles of matter are the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle
and the water cycle.

Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the basic building block for carbohydrates, fats, proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA. The
main carbon source for living organisms is carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere or dissolved in
surface waters. The major carbon reservoir is found in the earth’s rocks, followed by fossil fuels and
ocean beds.

The major processes occurring in the carbon cycle are:

• Photosynthesis. Plants use the process of photosynthesis to manufacture plant carbohydrates using
carbon dioxide as a raw material. As such photosynthesis is the only natural process that removes carbon
dioxide from the environment, an excess of which, as you will learn later in the module, has been
implicated as a factor causing global warming. This carbon is in turn passed on to animals when they
eat plants during consumption.

• Respiration and decomposition. These processes return carbon to the atmosphere.

• Combustion. This also returns carbon to the atmosphere by the burning of coal, oil, natural gas and
wood.

• Diffusion. This process moves carbon between the atmosphere and oceans. Carbon may also be
deposited as limestone (CaCO3) or formed into fossil fuels during processes such as burial and
compaction.

Humans affect the carbon cycle by various activities which include deforestation, the clearing of
grasslands and green areas and the burning of fossil fuels and wood sources.
https://byjus.com/biology/carbon-cycle/

Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is crucial for all organisms because it is an essential part of biological molecules such as proteins
and nucleic acids. Although the atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen gas (N2), a two atom molecule,
this N2 is so stable that it does not readily combine with other elements to form compounds. There
are five major steps in the cycle:

• Nitrogen fixation – This is the conversion of gaseous nitrogen (N2), to ammonia (NH3). Some of
the ammonia may be converted to ammonium (NH4). In this process nitrogen gas is fixed into a form
that organisms can use. Although N2 can be fixed by combustion, volcanic action and lightning, most
nitrogen fixation is thought to be biological. Biological nitrogen fixation is carried out by nitrogen fixing
bacteria in soil and aquatic environments.

• Nitrification – Ammonia not assimilated (absorbed) by the plant undergoes nitrification: this is the
conversion of ammonium (NH4) and ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3). This process is accomplished by
bacteria in the soil. Nitrate is easily absorbed by the roots of the plants.

• Assimilation – This is where plant roots absorb either nitrate or ammonia that was formed by
nitrogen fixation and nitrification and incorporates the nitrogen into proteins and nucleic acids.

• Ammonification – Plants and animals return the nitrogen compounds to the environment as waste
when they die and are decomposed, or eaten, by detritus feeders. The conversion of biological nitrogen
compounds into ammonia is known as ammonification. This begins from waste products and the
decomposition of organisms. The bacteria that perform these processes are called ammonifying bacteria.

* Please note that after step 4 – Ammonification, the ammonia formed can be reintroduced into the
cycle at step 2.

• Denitrification – This is the reduction of ammonia/ ammonium into nitrate and then nitrite to
gaseous nitrogen. Denitrifying bacteria reverse the action of nitrogen fixing and nitrifying bacteria by
returning nitrogen gas to the atmosphere.

Humans affect the nitrogen cycle by using excessive amounts of nitrogen based fertilizer and adding
nitrogenous gases to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.

Excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus can cause eutrophication in water bodies. Eutrophication
is the over-nourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients (mostly nitrates and phosphates)
resulting from human activities such as agriculture, urbanization and discharges from industrial plants
and sewage treatment plants. (Miller & Spoolman, 2010)
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus is an essential plant and animal nutrient, particularly for growth. It is used in the formation
of bones, teeth, and animal and plant membranes. Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource and as such
needs efficient use of the quantities available. The phosphorus cycle has no biologically important
gaseous compounds. The processes involved in the cycle are:

• Weathering: Rocks containing inorganic phosphates break into fragments through weathering.

• Erosion: Movement of the fragments or particles by ice, water, wind or animals.

• Runoff: Runoff is the movement of water along the land surface into surface bodies of water. As the
water runs off the land, soil and dissolved phosphorus particles will enter the surface bodies of water
e.g. oceans, rivers, lakes and streams

• Absorption: These inorganic phosphates are absorbed or ingested by an organism.

• Assimilation: Incorporation of the phosphorus into the cellular components of the organism.

• Consumption: Phosphorus enters other organisms through the food web.

• Decomposition: When the organism dies, phosphorus is released back into the environment as
inorganic phosphate by decomposers.

• Leaching: Leaching is the removal of a solute by the action of a liquid (usually water) passing through
the soil.

Humans disrupt the phosphorus cycle by removal of phosphorus from an area by excessive mining of
phosphate rocks to produce fertilizers and detergents and through the shipping of food from farms to
cities where it is lost as effluent. The use of excessive amounts of inorganic fertiliser containing
phosphorus results in eutrophication.
https://quizlet.com/gb/473042271/the-phosphorous-cycle-diagram/

Hydrological (Water) Cycle

Only about 0.024% of Earth’s water supply is available and accessible as liquid freshwater. The rest is too
salty for use, stored as ice (glaciers, icebergs), or is too deep underground to extract at affordable prices
(Miller & Spoolman, 2010). Water continuously circulates from the ocean to the atmosphere to the
land and back to the ocean, providing us with a renewable supply of purified water on land.
• Water moves from the atmosphere to the land and ocean in the form of precipitation (rain, snow,
sleet, hail).

• Water evaporates from the ocean, from soil, stream, rivers and lakes to form clouds in the
atmosphere.

• Transpiration from plants also contributes to cloud formation. This is loss of water from the stomata
(pores) of plants. Evapo-transpiration refers to the sum of evaporation and transpiration.

• Condensation refers to the process of water vapour changing to water.

• The movement of water into the soil is known as infiltration. Water also percolates or seeps
downward through the soil and rock to become ground water and aquifers.

• Water that does not evaporate or infiltrate the earth’s surface may flow along the land into rivers
and streams i n t h e p r o c e s s known as run-off. The area of land being drained by run-off is called
a watershed.

• Sublimation is the term used when water moves from solid phase to gaseous phase without going
through the liquid phase.

Humans affect the hydrologic cycle by withdrawing large quantities of freshwater faster than it can be
replaced and by clearing vegetation. This can affect the cycling of water. Creating concrete barriers,
buildings and pavements hinder infiltration and keeps more water above ground. This can lead to
flooding and soil erosion (Miller & Spoolman, 2010).

Water/Hydrological Cycle
TUTORIAL QUESTIONS
1. What are biogeochemical cycles? Explain their importance to living things.

2. What is the main source of carbon for living things?

3. Identify the processes that extract carbon and return carbon to the atmosphere in the carbon cycle.

4. What are the three largest reservoirs of carbon?

5. Developed countries are largely responsible for environmental problems associated with
disturbance of the carbon cycle and should therefore be made to solve the problems they have
created. Discuss this statement giving examples to support your answer.

6. Explain the following processes of the nitrogen cycle naming the type of bacteria that may be
involved in each process:
• Nitrogen fixation
• Nitrification
• Ammonification
• Assimilation
• Denitrification

7. a) What are the major steps in the phosphorus cycle?

b) Discuss ways in which humans are affecting the phosphorus cycle.
c) Explain why the phosphorus cycle may often be considered as coming to a dead end.

8. a) What are the major steps in the hydrological cycle?

b) Discuss the importance of trees in named processes of the hydrological cycle.
c) Suggest ways in which human overpopulation may affect the water cycle.
d) Suggest ways to avert people’s negative effects on the hydrological cycle.

9. What is precipitation? List four forms of precipitation.

10. Explain the processes that purify water in the hydrological cycle.

Originally Compiled By: Raymond Martin

First Revision Done By: Nikki Bramwell, Raymond Martin and Damian Nesbeth

Updated By: Damian Nesbeth, August 2021