Biogeochemical Cycle

Biogeochemical
cycles
Biogeochemical cycles
 In geography and Earth science, a biogeochemical cycle or substance turnover or
cycling of substances is a pathway by which a chemical substance moves through
biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere)
compartments of Earth. There are biogeochemical cycles for carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and water; and there are human-induced cycles such as
those for mercury and atrazine. In some cycles there are reservoirs where a
substance remains for a long period of time (such as an ocean or lake for water).
 In the water cycle, water undergoes evaporation, condensation, and precipitation,
falling back to Earth clean and fresh.
Systems
 Ecological systems (ecosystems) have many biogeochemical cycles operating as a part
of the system, for example the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, etc.
All chemical elements occurring in organisms are part of biogeochemical cycles. In
addition to being a part of living organisms, these chemical elements also cycle
through abiotic factors of ecosystems such as water (hydrosphere), land (lithosphere),
and/or the air (atmosphere).
 The living factors of the planet can be referred to collectively as the biosphere. All the
nutrients—such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur—used in
ecosystems by living organisms are a part of a closed system; therefore, these
chemicals are recycled instead of being lost and replenished constantly such as in an
open system.
Chloroplasts
 Chloroplasts conduct photosynthesis and are found in plant
cells and other eukaryotic organisms. These are Chloroplasts
visible in the cells of Plagiomnium affine — Many-fruited
Thyme-moss.
Energy in ecosystem
 Ecosystem to obtain energy without sunlight. Carbon must be combined with
hydrogen and oxygen in order to be utilized as an energy source, and this process
depends on sunlight. Ecosystems in the deep sea, where no sunlight can penetrate,
use sulfur. Hydrogen sulfide near hydrothermal vents can be utilized by organisms
such as the giant tube worm. In the sulfur cycle, sulfur can be forever recycled as a
source of energy. Energy can be released through the oxidation and reduction of
sulfur compounds.
 Although the Earth constantly receives energy from the sun, its chemical
composition is essentially fixed, as additional matter is only occasionally added by
meteorites. Because this chemical composition is not replenished like energy, all
processes that depend on these chemicals must be recycled. These cycles include
both the living biosphere and the nonliving lithosphere, atmosphere, and
hydrosphere.
Reservoirs
 The chemicals are sometimes held for long periods of time in one place. This place is called a
reservoir, which, for example, includes such things as coal deposits that are storing carbon for
a long period of time.[2] When chemicals are held for only short periods of time, they are
being held in exchange pools. Examples of exchange pools include plants and animals.
 Plants and animals utilize carbon to produce carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which can then
be used to build their internal structures or to obtain energy. Plants and animals temporarily
use carbon in their systems and then release it back into the air or surrounding medium.
Generally, reservoirs are abiotic factors whereas exchange pools are biotic factors. Carbon is
held for a relatively short time in plants and animals in comparison to coal deposits. The
amount of time that a chemical is held in one place is called its residence.
 Example: Coal is a reservoir of carbon.
Important cycles
 The most well-known and important biogeochemical
cycles!!!
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Nutrient cycle
Oxygen cycle
Phosphorus cycle
Sulfur cycle
Rock cycle
Water cycle
 There are many biogeochemical cycles that are currently being studied
for the first time as climate change and human impacts are drastically
changing the speed, intensity, and balance of these relatively unknown
cycles. These newly studied biogeochemical cycles include
 the mercury cycle, and

 the human-caused cycle of atrazine, which may affect certain species.
 Biogeochemical cycles always involve hot equilibrium states: a balance

in the cycling of the element between compartments. However, overall
balance may involve compartments distributed on a global scale.
 As biogeochemical cycles describe the movements of substances on the

entire globe, the study of these is inherently multidisciplinary. The
carbon cycle may be related to research in ecology and atmospheric
sciences. Biochemical dynamics would also be related to the fields of
geology and pedology.

Biogeochemical Cycle

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Biogeochemical

 the mercury cycle, and

 Biogeochemical cycles always involve hot equilibrium states: a balance

 As biogeochemical cycles describe the movements of substances on the

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