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