The elements or mineral nutrients are always in circulation moving from non-living to living and then back to the non-living components of the ecosystem in a more or less circular fashion. This circular fashion is known as biogeochemical cycling (bio for living; geo for atmosphere).
- Nutrient Cycling:
The nutrient cycle is a concept that describes how nutrients move from the physical environment to the living organisms, and subsequently recycled back to the physical environment.
It is essential for life and it is the vital function of the ecology of any region. In any particular environment, to maintain its organism in a sustained manner, the nutrient cycle must be kept balanced and stable.
Types of Nutrient Cycle
Based on the replacement period a nutrient cycle is referred to as Perfect or Imperfect cycle.
A perfect nutrient cycle is one in which nutrients are replaced as fast as they are utilised.
Most gaseous cycles are generally considered as perfect cycles.
In contrast sedimentary cycles are considered relatively imperfect, as some nutrients are lost from the cycle and get locked into sediments and so become unavailable for immediate cycling.
Based on the nature of the reservoir, there are two types of cycles namely Gaseous and sedimentary cycle
Gaseous Cycle — where the reservoir is the atmosphere or the hydrosphere, and
Sedimentary Cycle — where the reservoir is the earth’s crust.
- Gaseous Cycles:
Water Cycle (Hydrologic)
The hydrologic cycle is the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system which is driven by solar energy.
Water moves from one reservoir to another by the processes of evaporation,
transpiration, condensation, precipitation, deposition, runoff,
infiltration, and groundwater flow.
- The Carbon Cycle
without carbon dioxide life could not exist, because it is vital for the production of carbohydrates through photosynthesis by plants. It is the element that anchors all organic substances from coal and oil to DNA(deoxyribonudeic acid: the compound that caries genetic information) Carbon cycle involves a continuous exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and organisms. Carbon from the atmosphere moves to green plants by the process of photosynthesis, and then to animals. By process of respiration and decomposition of dead organic matter it returns back to atmosphere.
- The Nitrogen Cycle
an essential constituent of protein and is a basic building block of all living tissue. It constitutes nearly 16% by weight of all the proteins.
There is an inexhaustible supply of nitrogen in the atmosphere but the elemental form cannot be used directly by most of the living organisms needs to be ‘fixed’, that is, converted to ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, before it can be taken up by plants. on earth it is accomplished in three different ways:
(i) By microorganisms (bacteria and blue-green algae)
(ii) By man using industrial processes (fertilizerfactories) and
(iii) To a limited extent by atmospheric phenomenon such as thunder and lighting
The amount of Nitrogen fixed by man through industrial process has far
exceeded the amount fixed by the Natural Cycle.
As a result Nitrogen has become a pollutant which can disrupt the balance of
nitrogen. It may lead to Acid rain, Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms.
Certain microorganisms are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen into
ammonium ions. These include free living nitrifying bacteria (e.g. aerobic
Azotobacter and anaerobic Clostridium) and symbiotic nitrifying bacteria living in association with leguminous plants(pulse etc) and symbiotic bacteria living in non leguminous root nodule plants (e.g. Rhizobium) as well as blue green algae (e.g. Anabaena, Spirulina).
Ammonium ions can be directly taken up as a source of nitrogen by some plants, or are oxidized to nitrites or nitrates by two groups of specialised bacteria:
Nitrosamines bacteria promote transformation of ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is then further transformed into nitrate by the bacteria Nitrobacter.
The nitrates synthesised by bacteria in the soil are taken up by plants and converted into amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins.
These then go through higher trophic levels of the ecosystem.
During excretion and upon the death of all organisms nitrogen is returned to the soil in the form of ammonia.
Certain quantity of soil nitrates, being highly soluble in water, is lost to the system by being transported away by surface run-off or ground water. In the soil as well as oceans there are special denitrifying bacteria (e.g. Pseudomonas), which convert the nitrates/nitrites to elemental nitrogen. This nitrogen escapes into the atmosphere, thus completing the cycle.
The periodic thunderstorms convert the gaseous nitrogen in the atmosphere to ammonia and nitrates which eventually reach the earth’s surface through precipitation and then into the soil to be utilized by plants.(Better if You Check Diagram)
- Sedimentary Cycle
Phosphorus, calcium and magnesium circulate by means of the sedimentary cycle.
(a) Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus plays a central role in aquatic ecosystems and water quality.
Phosphorus occurs in large amounts as a mineral in phosphate rocks and enters the cycle from erosion and minning activities.
This is the nutrient considered to be the main cause of excessive growth of rooted and free-floating microscopic plants in lakes.
The main storage for phosphorus is in the earth’s crust.
On land phosphorus is usually found in the form of phosphates.
By the process of weathering and erosion phosphates enter rivers and streams that transport them to the ocean.
In the ocean once the phosphorus accumulates on continental shelves in the form of insoluble deposits
After millions of years, the crustal plates rise from the sea floor and expose the phosphates on land.
After more time, weathering will release them from rock and the cycle’s
geochemical phase begins again.
(b) Sulphur Cycle
The sulphur reservoir is in the soil and sediments where it is locked in organic
(coal, oil and peat) and inorganic deposits (pyrite rock and sulphur rock) in the
form of sulphates, sulphides and organic sulphur.
It is released by weathering of rocks, erosional runoff and decomposition of organic matter and is carried to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in salt solution.
The sulphur cycle is mostly sedimentary except two of its compounds hydrogen sulphide
(H2S) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) add a gaseous component to its normal sedimentary cycle.
Atmospheric sulphur dioxide is carried back to the earth after being dissolved in rainwater as weak sulphuric acid.
sulphur in the form of sulphates is take up by plants and incorporate through a series of metabolic processes into sulphur bearing amino acid which is incorporated in the proteins of autotroph tissues. It then passes through the grazing food chain.
Sulphur bound in living organism is carried back to the soil, to the bottom of ponds and lakes and seas through excretion and decomposition of dead organic material.