Biogeochemical Cycle : the cycling of

chemical elements required by life between the

living and nonliving parts of the environment.
Some examples of these chemical elements
are H2O, P, S, N2, O2 and C.
These elements cycle in either a gas cycle or a
sedimentary cycle; some cycle as both a gas
and sediment.
In a gas cycle elements move through the
atmosphere. Main reservoirs are the
atmosphere and the ocean.
In a sedimentary cycle elements move from
land to water to sediment. Main reservoirs are
the soil and sedimentary rocks.

CARBON CYCLE
 Image above obtained from http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/carbon/earthfire.html

Facts:
- Carbon (C) enters the biosphere during photosynthesis:
CO2 + H2O ---> C6H12O6 + O2 + H2O
- Carbon is returned to the biosphere in cellular respiration:
O2 +H2O + C6H12O6 ---> CO2 +H2O + energy
 Amount of CO2 during the year:
- Every year there is a measurable difference in the
concentration of atmospheric CO2 in phase with the seasons.
For example, in winter there is almost no photosynthesis
therefore there is a high concentration of CO2.
- During the growing season there is a measurable differnece in the
concentration of atmospheric CO2 over parts of each day. For
example, at sunrise photosynthesis begins with the uptake of CO2,
by afternoon plant respiration increases, at sunset photosynthesis
stops so the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increases.

Human induced changes in the global carbon cycle:

- The Earth is getting warmer.
- The 20th century has been the warmest in the last 600 years.
- This century is about 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than last
century.
- The balance of evidence suggests that burning of fossil fuel
(eg. coal, oil, natural gas), which emits CO2 as a waste, is the
cause.
- CO2 is a "Green House" gas - it traps heat at the Earth's surface.
(H2O vapor and methane are also examples of green house gases)

Signs that the climate is warming:

- Plants start blooming 8 days earlier in spring than 11 years ago.
- Birds from the United Kingom lay eggs earlier.
- Buds on trees appear earlier and leaves fall later in the Northern
Hemisphere.
- Alaska, North West Canada, and Siberia have warmed up as
much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 30 years.

NITROGEN CYCLE
 Image obtained from http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/waterq/wq0252.htm

Facts:
- Nitrogen (N) is an essential constituent of protein, DNA,
RNA, and chlorophyll.
- N is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, but it must
be fixed or converted into a usable form.

Nitrogen Fixation Methods:

1) High energy fixation- a small amount of atmospheric
nitrogen is fixed by lightening. The high energy combines N and
H2O resulting in ammonia (NH3) and nitrates (NO3). These forms
are carried to Earth in precipitation.
2) Biological fixation: achieves 90% of the nitrogen
fixation. Atmospheric nitrogen (N2) is split and combined with
hydrogen (H) atoms to form ammonia (NH3).
 Who performs nitrogen fixation?
- symbiotic bacteria (eg. Rhizobium spp.) living in association
with leguminous ( plants in the pea family), and root-noduled non-
leguminous plants (eg. Alnus spp.).
- free-living anaerobic bacteria
- blue-green algae (cyanobacteria)

Once NH3 is in the soil it combines with H+ ions to form

ammonium ion (NH4), or without it to form NO3. NH4+ and
NO3 are readily absorbed by plants.

OXYGEN CYCLE

Image obtained from http://www.accessexcellence.com/AB/GG/photo_Resp.html

Facts:
Sources of Oxygen:
1) photodisassociation of H2O vapor
2) photosynthesis

Since oxygen is so reactive its cycling is complex:

 1) As a constituent of CO2 it circulates freely
throughout the biosphere.
2) Some CO2 combines with Ca to form carbonates.
3) O2 combines with nitrogen compounds to form
nitrates.
4) O2 combines with iron compounds to form ferric
oxides.
5) Photosynthesis and respiration
6) O2 in the troposphere is reduced to O3 (ozone).
Ground level O3 is a pollutant which damages lungs.

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

Image obtained from http://www.bsi.vt.edu/chagedor/biol_4684/Cycles/Pcycle.html

 Facts:
- Component of DNA, RNA, ATP, proteins and enzymes
- Cycles in a sedimentary cylce
- A good example of how a mineral element becomes part of an
organism.
- The source of Phosphorus (P) is rock.
- It is released into the cylce through erosion or mining.
- It is soluble in H2O as phosphate (PO4)
- It is taken up by plant roots, then travels through food chains.
- It is returned to sediment

SULFUR CYCLE

Image obtained from

http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/agron/nutrient/Factshee/sulfur/Sulfur.html
 Facts:
- Component of protein
- Cycles in both a gas and sedimentary cycle.
- The source of Sulfur is the lithosphere(earth's
crust.
- Sulfur (S) enters the atmosphere as hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) during fossil fuel combustion, volcanic
eruprtions, 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.

Biogeochemical Cycles
 There are a few types of
atoms that can be a part of a
plant one day, an animal the
next day, and then travel
downstream as a part of a
river’s water the following
day. These atoms can be a
part of both living things like
plants and animals, as well as
non-living things like water,
air, and even rocks. The same
atoms are recycled over and
over in different parts of the
Earth. This type of cycle of
atoms between living and
non-living things is known as
a biogeochemical cycle.

All of the atoms that are

building blocks of living
The carbon cycle, one of Earth's biogeochemical cycles things are a part of
NCAR biogeochemical cycles. The
most common of these are
carbon and nitrogen.

 The carbon cycle

 The nitrogen cycle

Tiny atoms of carbon and nitrogen have no legs to walk, no bicycles, cars, or airplanes.
Yet they can travel around the world as a part of biogeochemical cycles. So, how do these
little things move around the planet? Here’s an example: An atom of carbon is absorbed
from the air into the ocean water where it is used by little floating plankton doing
photosynthesis to get the nutrition they need. There is the possibility that this little carbon
atom becomes part of the plankton’s skeleton, or a part of the skeleton of the larger animal
that eats it, and then part of a sedimentary rock when the living things die and only bones
are left behind. Carbon that is a part of rocks and fossil fuels like oil, coal, and natural gas
may be held away from the rest of the carbon cycle for a long time. These long-term
storage places are called “sinks”. When fossil fuels are burned, carbon that had been
underground is sent into the air as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Recently, people have been causing these biogeochemical cycles to change (see links
below). When we cut down forests, make more factories, and drive more cars that burn
fossil fuels, the way that carbon and nitrogen move around the Earth changes. These
changes add more greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and this causes more global
warming.
 The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is an element. It is
part of oceans, air, rocks, soil
and all living things. Carbon
doesn’t stay in one place. It is
always on the move!

• Carbon
moves from the
atmosphere to
plants.
In the
atmosphere,
carbon is
attached to
oxygen in a gas
called carbon
dioxide (CO2).
With the help of
the Sun, through
This drawing shows the carbon cycle.
Click on image for full size version (191K JPG) the process of
photosynthesis,
carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to make plant food from carbon.
• Carbon moves from plants to animals.
Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the animals
that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their
food too.
• Carbon moves from plants and animals to the ground.
When plants and animals die, their bodies, wood and leaves decay
bringing the carbon into the ground. Some becomes buried miles
underground and will become fossil fuels in millions and millions of
years.
• Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere.
Each time you exhale, you are releasing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into
the atmosphere. Animals and plants get rid of carbon dioxide gas
through a process called respiration.

Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned.
When humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks,
most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each
year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released .

Play the Carbon Cycle Game!

Changing the Nitrogen Cycle, Changing the Planet

The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is an element. It
is found in living things like
plants and animals. It is
also an important part of
non-living things like the
air above and the dirt
below. Atoms of nitrogen
don't just stay in one place.
They move slowly between
living things, dead things,
the air, soil and water.
These movements are
called the nitrogen cycle.

Most of the nitrogen on Earth

is in the atmosphere.
Approximately 80% of the
molecules in Earth's
atmosphere are made of two
nitrogen atoms bonded
together (N2). All plants and
The illustration above shows how nitrogen travels animals need nitrogen to
through the living and non-living parts of the make amino acids, proteins
Earth system.
and DNA, but the nitrogen in
Click on image for full size (190 Kb)
NCAR the atmosphere is not in a
form that they can use. The
molecules of nitrogen in the atmosphere can become usable for living things when they
are broken apart during lightning strikes or fires, by certain types of bacteria, or by
bacteria associated with bean plants.

Most plants get the nitrogen they need to grow from the soils or water in which they live.
Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating plants or other animals that contain nitrogen.
When organisms die, their bodies decompose bringing the nitrogen into soil on land or
into ocean water. Bacteria alter the nitrogen into a form that plants are able to use. Other
types of bacteria are able to change nitrogen dissolved in waterways into a form that
allows it to return to the atmosphere.

Certain actions of humans are causing changes to the nitrogen cycle and the amount of
nitrogen that is stored in the land, water, air, and organisms. The use of nitrogen-rich
fertilizers can add too much nitrogen in nearby waterways as the fertilizer washes into
streams and ponds. The waste associated with livestock farming also adds large amounts
of nitrogen into soil and water. The increased nitrate levels cause plants to grow rapidly
until they use up the supply and die. The number of plant-eating animals will increase
when the plant supply increases and then the animals are left without any food when the
plants die.

Biogeochemical Cycles
The 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 cycle through Earth's systems, the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and
lithosphere, on time scales that range from a few days to millions of years. These cycles
are called biogeochemical cycles, because they include a variety of biological, geological,
and chemical processes.

Many elements cycle through ecosystems, organisms, air, water, and soil. Many of these
are trace elements. Other elements, including carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur,
and phosphorus are critical components of all biological life. Together, oxygen and
carbon account for 80 percent of the weight of human beings. Because these elements are
key components of life, they must be available for biological processes. Carbon,
however, is relatively rare in the Earth's crust, and nitrogen, though abundant in the
atmosphere, is in a form that is not useable by living organisms. The biogeochemical
cycles transport and store these important elements so that they can be used by living
organisms. Each cycle takes many different pathways and has various reservoirs, or
storage places, where elements may reside for short or long periods of time. Each of the
chemical, biological, and geological processes varies in their rates of cycling. Some
molecules may cycle very quickly depending on the pathway. Carbon atoms in deep
ocean sediments may take hundreds to millions of years to cycle completely through the
system. An average water molecule resides in the atmosphere for about ten days,
although it may be transported many miles before it falls back to the Earth as rain.

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.

Biogeochemical cycles are subject to disturbance by human activities. Humans accelerate

natural biogeochemical cycles when elements are extracted from their reservoirs, or
sources, and deposited back into the environment (sinks). For example, humans have
significantly altered the carbon cycle by extracting and combusting billions of tons of
hydrocarbons in fossil that were buried deep in the Earth's crust, in addition to clearing
vegetation that stores carbon. Global release of carbon through human activities has
increased from 1 billion tons per year in 1940 to 6.5 billion tons per year in 2000. About
half of this extra carbon is taken up by plants and the oceans, while the other half remains
in the atmosphere.

In addition to carbon cycle, humans have altered the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles by
adding these elements to croplands as fertilizers, which has contributed to over-
fertilization of aquatic ecosystems when excess amounts are carried by runoff into local
waterways.

Researchers are trying to understand all of the various pathways and flows of each of the
biogeochemical cycles in order to understand how human activities affect these cycles.
While many important processes have been understood for more than century, there are
many phenomena that scientists are just beginning to investigate. Satellite technology,
among other tools, has revealed new information about interactions between the oceans
and atmosphere that contribute to knowledge about the carbon cycle, but there remain
many unanswered questions.

Global Biogeochemical Cycles and the Physical Climate System

This module, written by Fred T. Mackenzie of the University of Hawaii, is a part of the
Global Change Instruction Program. Presented by the University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research, this module describes biogeochemical cycles and their role in
climate.

Life and Biogeochemical Cycles

This article, part of the California State University Monteray Bay's Ecosystem Service's
website, offers an overview of biogeochemical cycles and highlights their relationship to
climate, agricultural productivity, and acid precipitation.

Utah Education Network: Cycles

The UT Education Network Themepark website includes a section on biogeochemical
cycles. The cycles page includes links to information on various cycles, including water,
energy, seasonal, planetary cycles and animal and plant lifecycles. Each cycle page
provides a list of online resources for additional information as well as links to teacher
resources.