Biogeochemical Cycles: Lithosphere Biosphere

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES
Biosphere Lithosphere
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Reeda Hart
Northern Kentucky University
Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics
What is a Biogeochemical Cycle?
• Earth is a closed system for matter,
except for small amounts of cosmic
debris that enter the Earth's
atmosphere. This means that all
the elements needed for the
structure and chemical processes
of life come from the elements
that were present in the Earth's
crust when it was formed billions
of years ago. This matter, the
building blocks of life, continually
cycles through Earth's systems, the
atmosphere, hydrosphere,
biosphere, and lithosphere, on
time scales that range from a few
days to millions of years.
BIO-GEO-CHEMICAL
• Wow. Talk about a word that describes everything on Earth. The cycles we discuss will all fall
into the big group of biogeochemical cycles. Let's break it down.
BIO: Biology. Life. Living things. These cycles all play a role in the lives of living things. The cycles
might limit the organisms of Earth or they might happen along side, changing the environment.
GEO: Earth. Rocks. Land. This refers to the non-living processes at work. Oxygen cycles through
many systems. It's in you and plants for the 'bio' part of the cycle. Oxygen might also wind up in
rocks. The 'geo' part of its cycle.
CHEMICAL: Molecules. Reactions. Atoms. All cycles include these small pathways. Complete
molecules are not always passed from one point to the next. Sometimes chemical reactions
take place that changes the molecules and locations of the atoms. Think about oxidation as an
example of the 'chemical' part of these pathways.
To sum it up, these pathways are all made of different biological, geological, and chemical
processes that help make the world go 'round and life exist on Earth.
• As you can see, the
elements cycle in either
a gas cycle or a
sedimentary cycle;
some cycle as both a
gas and sediment.
Gas Cycles
• Elements move through
the atmosphere. Main
reservoirs are the
atmosphere and the ocean.
Examples:
Oxygen Cycle

Sedimentary Cycles
• Elements move from land to
water to sediment. Main
reservoirs are the soil and
sedimentary rocks.
Examples:
The Carbon Cycle
Key Aspects of the Carbon Cycle
• Carbon is the skeleton of all life.
• Carbon dioxide is a critical gas:
– Taken up by plants in photosynthesis
– Released by plants and animals in cell respiration
– Released during
decomposition (and
fires)
– Greenhouse gas
(greenhouse effect –
your car in the sun)
The Oxygen Cycle
• By far the largest reservoir of Earth's oxygen is in
the minerals of the crust and mantle (99.5%).
• Oxygen is also cycled between the biosphere and
lithosphere. Marine organisms in the biosphere
create calcium carbonate shell material (CaCO3)
that is rich in oxygen. When the organism dies its
shell is deposited on the shallow sea floor and
buried over time to create the limestone rock of
the lithosphere. Weathering processes initiated by
organisms can also free oxygen from the
lithosphere. Plants and animals extract nutrient
minerals from rocks and release oxygen in the
process.
• Only a small portion has been released as free
oxygen to the biosphere (0.01%) and atmosphere
(0.36%).
• The main source of atmospheric oxygen is
photosynthesis, which produces sugars and oxygen
from carbon dioxide and water.
Oxygen Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle: Key Points
• Nitrogen is in the atmosphere as N2 (78%)
• N2 is an inert gas and cannot be used by plants or
animals
• N2 can be converted to a usable form via
– Lightening
– N-fixing plants and
cyanobacteria
– Industrial process
• Nitrogen limits plant
growth
The Sulfur Cycle
• Cycles in both a gas and sedimentary cycle.
• The source of Sulfur is the lithosphere, the earth's crust.
• Sulfur (S) enters the atmosphere as hydrogen sulfide (H2S)
during fossil fuel combustion, volcanic eruptions, gas
exchange at ocean surfaces, and decomposition.
• H2S is immediately oxidized to sulfur dioxide (SO2)
• SO2 and water vapor makes H2SO4 ( a weak sulfuric acid),
which is then carried to Earth in rainfall.
• Sulfur in soluble form is taken up by plant roots and
incorporated into amino acids such as cysteine. It then
travels through the food chain and is eventually released
through
decomposition.
The Phosphorus Cycle
• Phosphorus forms part of the
phospholipids in cell
membranes, makes up the
"backbone" of DNA and RNA
along with sugar, and
provides energy for cells as
ATP.
• Animals excrete
phosphorus in waste.
• Decomposers release
phosphorus from decaying
plants and animals, returning
the phosphorus to the soil
where it can be taken up by
plants. The plants, in turn,
are consumed by animals,
completing the cycle.
• The sedimentary part of
the cycle takes place in
geologic time, as
phosphorus in the ocean
accumulates in sediment
to become rock. Eventually
those rocks may be
uplifted and release
phosphorus due to
weathering, reintroducing
phosphorus to the local
ecosystem. However, on
the "human" time scale,
once phosphorus enters
the sedimentary part of
the cycle, it is essentially
lost to organisms.
• Phosphorus in the soil
occurs as phosphate.
Phosphate can be
leached out of soil by
rain, where it may flow
into groundwater.
Increased erosion of a
stream bank can also
result in increased
phosphate loss. When
phosphates accumulates
in lakes, rivers, and the
ocean, algal blooms and
red tides occur.
How fast do they cycle?
• How fast substances cycle
depends on its chemical
reactivity and whether or not
it can be found in a gaseous
state. A gaseous phase allows
molecules to be transported
quickly. Phosphorous has no
gaseous phase and is relatively
unreactive, so it moves very
slowly through its cycle.
Phosphorus is stored in large
amounts in sediment in the
oceans or in the Earth's crust
and is recycled back to the
surface only over very long
periods of time through
upwelling of ocean waters or
weathering of rocks.
How do humans interrupt these cycles?
• Biogeochemical cycles are • In addition to carbon
subject to disturbance by cycle, humans have
human activities. Humans
accelerate natural altered the nitrogen and
biogeochemical cycles when phosphorus cycles by
elements are extracted from adding these elements
their reservoirs, or sources, to croplands as
and deposited back into the
environment. For example,
fertilizers, which has
humans have significantly contributed to over-
altered the carbon cycle by fertilization of aquatic
extracting and combusting ecosystems when
billions of tons of hydrocarbons excess amounts are
in fossil that were buried deep
in the Earth's crust, in addition carried by runoff into
to clearing vegetation that local waterways.
stores carbon.
Investigate human impact!

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BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

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