Nutrient Cycles

NUTRIENT CYCLES
Earth Photo
• Nutrient cycles, or “biogeochemical cycles,”
involve natural processes that recycle nutrients
in various chemical forms in a cyclic manner
from the non-living environment to living
organisms and back to the non-living
environment again
• Types of nutrient cycles:

– Hydrologic cycle
– Atmospheric cycles
– Sedimentary cycles
Some Processes By Which Nutrients Are
Recycled
• Cycling within an
ecosystem involves a
number of processes.
• These are best
considered by
focusing attention on
specific nutrients.
• Nutrient cycling occurs at
the local level through the
action of the biota.
• Nutrient cycling occurs at

the global level through
geological processes, such
as, atmospheric
circulation, erosion and
weathering.
Nutrients: The Elements of Life
Of the 50 to 70 atoms
(elements) that are found in
living things, only 15 or so O OXYGEN K POTASSIUM P PHOSPHORUS
account for the major C CARBON Si SILICON Cl CHLORINE
portion of living biomass. H HYDROGEN Mg MAGNESIUM Fe IRON

N NITROGEN S SULFUR Mn MANGANESE
Only around half of these 15 Ca CALCIUM Al ALUMINUM Na SODIUM
have been studied

extensively as they travel
through ecosystems or
circulate on a global scale.
A GENERALIZED MODEL OF
NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AN
ECOSYSTEM
The cycling of nutrients in an
ecosystem are interlinked by an a
number of processes that move
atoms from and through organisms
and to and from the atmosphere,
soil and/or rocks, and water.
Nutrients can flow between these
compartments along a variety of
pathways.
1. Sedimentary cycles
Nutrient Compartments in a Terrestrial
Ecosystem
• The organic compartment consists of the living
organisms and their detritus.
• The available-nutrient compartment consists of
nutrients held to surface of soil particles or in
solution.
• The 3rd compartment consists of nutrients held in
soils or rocks that are unavailable to living
organisms.
• The 4th compartment is the air which can be found in
the atmosphere or in the ground.
Uptake of Inorganic Nutrients
from the Soil
With the exception of CO2 and O2 which enter
though leaves, the main path of all other nutrients
is from the soil through the roots of producers.
Even consumers which find Ca, P, S and other
elements in the water they drink, obtain the
majority of these nutrients either directly or
indirectly from producers.
E.g. you get calcium from milk which came
from the diet of the cow – producers.
2. Atmospheric cycles
The Atmosphere Is a Source of
Inorganic Nutrients
• The atmosphere acts as a reservoir for carbon
dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2) and water (H2O).
• These inorganic compounds can be exchanged
directly with the biota through the processes of
photosynthesis and respiration.
• The most abundant gas in the atmosphere is
nitrogen (N2);about 80% by volume. Its entry into
and exit from the biota is through bacteria.
CARBON, HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN
CYCLES IN ECOSYSTEMS
• C, H & O basic elements of life; making up from

about 98% of plant biomass.
• CO2 and O2 enter biota from the atmosphere.
• Producers convert CO2 and H2O into carbohydrates
(CH2O compounds) and release O2 from water.
• Producers, consumers and decomposers convert
CH2O compounds, using O2, back into CO2 and H2O.
Carbon and oxygen cycle come out of the air as
carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and are
returned during respiration.
Oxygen is produced from water during
photosynthesis and combines with the hydrogen
to form water during respiration.
PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE IN
ECOSYSTEMS
• Phosphorus, as phosphate (PO 4-3), is an essential
element of life.
• It does not cycle through atmosphere, thus enters
producers through the soil and is cycled locally
through producers, consumers and decomposers.
• Generally, small local losses by leaching are balanced
by gains from the weathering of rocks.
• Over very long time periods (geological time)
phosphorus follows a sedimentary cycle.
NITROGEN CYCLE IN ECOSYSTEMS
• Nitrogen (N2) makes up 78% of
the atmosphere.
• Most living things, however, can
not use atmospheric nitrogen to
make amino-acids and other
nitrogen containing compounds.
• They are dependent on nitrogen
fixing bacteria to convert N2 into
NH3(NH4+).
NUTRIENT LOSS IN ECOSYSTEMS
• When all vegetation was cut from a 38-acre
watershed, the output of water and loss of
nutrients increased; 60 fold for nitrates, and at
least 10 fold for other nutrients.
How do humans affect nutrient
cycles?
Water cycle:
• Drain fresh water from streams, lakes, and
underground sources
• Clear vegetation increasing runoff, reducing
infiltration, increasing erosion and risk of flooding
• Modify water quality by adding nutrients
(phosphates) and changing ecological processes
that naturally purify water
Carbon cycle:
• Put more CO2 in the atmosphere than plants can remove
• Deforestation reduces the amount of vegetation to
remove CO2
• Burning fossil fuels and wood releases more CO 2 than
natural processes
Phosphorous cycle:
• Mine large phosphate rock for fertilizers and
detergents
• Cutting tropical forests; little phosphorous in
soil, all bound up in organic matter which usually
rapidly recycles; but we remove the biomass or
burn it, allowing it to be rapidly washed away by
runoff, leaving the land unproductive
• Add excess phosphate to aquatic ecosystems in
runoff from agricultural operations, causing
explosive plant growth creating surface mats
which block sunlight; dying plants feed bacteria
which uses up most of the oxygen in the water.
Nitrogen cycle:
• Emit nitric oxide (NO) when burning fuels; leads to acid rain
• Emit heat-trapping nitrous oxide (NO2) into the atmosphere
• Remove nitrogen from the earth’s crust for
fertilizers, harvesting nitrogen-rich biomass, and
increase leaching through irrigation
• Remove nitrogen from topsoil when burning
grasslands and clearing forests; also emits nitrous
oxides
• Add excess through runoff and sewage – promotes
overgrowth of algae, which dies, breaks down, and
decomposition by bacteria depletes the water of
oxygen; disrupts aquatic systems; reduces aquatic
biodiversity
• Add excess nitrogen to atmosphere; allowing weedy
plants to outcompete other plants, reducing
biodiversity
Experimental
impacts on
nitrogen cycling in
a disturbed habitat
Nitrogen cycles in an experimental
ecosystem

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NUTRIENT CYCLES

• Types of nutrient cycles:

• Nutrient cycling occurs at

portion of living biomass. H HYDROGEN Mg MAGNESIUM Fe IRON

have been studied

• C, H & O basic elements of life; making up from

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