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Ecological cycles
- 1. Fig. 3-7, p. 55 Nitrogen cycle Biosphere Heat in the environment Phosphorus cycle Carbon cycle Oxygen cycle Water cycle Ecological Cycles
- 2. MATTER CYCLING IN ECOSYSTEMS Nutrient Cycles: Global Recycling Global Cycles recycle nutrients through the earth’s air, land, water, and living organisms. Nutrients are the elements and compounds that organisms need to live, grow, and reproduce. Biogeochemical cycles move these substances through air, water, soil, rock and living organisms.
- 3. The Water Cycle Figure 3-26
- 4. Fig. 3-26, p. 72 Precipitation Precipitation Transpiration Condensation Evaporation Ocean storage Transpiration from plants Precipitation to land Groundwater movement (slow) Evaporation from land Evaporation from ocean Precipitation to ocean Infiltration and Percolation Rain clouds Runoff Surface runoff (rapid) Surface runoff (rapid)
- 5. Water’s Unique Properties There are strong forces of attraction between molecules of water. Water exists as a liquid over a wide temperature range. Liquid water changes temperature slowly. It takes a large amount of energy for water to evaporate. Liquid water can dissolve a variety of compounds. Water expands when it freezes.
- 6. Effects of Human Activities on Water Cycle We alter the water cycle by: Withdrawing large amounts of freshwater. Clearing vegetation and eroding soils. Polluting surface and underground water. Contributing to climate change.
- 7. The Carbon Cycle: Part of Nature’s Thermostat Figure 3-27
- 8. CARBON CYCLE
- 9. Effects of Human Activities on Carbon Cycle We alter the carbon cycle by adding excess CO 2 to the atmosphere through: Burning fossil fuels. Clearing vegetation faster than it is replaced. Figure 3-28
- 10. The Nitrogen Cycle: Bacteria in Action Figure 3-29
- 11. Nitrogen Cycle
- 12. Effects of Human Activities on the Nitrogen Cycle We alter the nitrogen cycle by: Adding gases that contribute to acid rain. Adding nitrous oxide to the atmosphere through farming practices which can warm the atmosphere and deplete ozone. Contaminating ground water from nitrate ions in inorganic fertilizers. Releasing nitrogen into the troposphere through deforestation.
- 13. Effects of Human Activities on the Nitrogen Cycle Human activities such as production of fertilizers now fix more nitrogen than all natural sources combined. Figure 3-30
- 14. The Phosphorous Cycle Figure 3-31
- 15. Fig. 3-31, p. 77 Dissolved in Ocean Water Marine Sediments Rocks uplifting over geologic time settling out weathering sedimentation Land Food Webs Dissolved in Soil Water, Lakes, Rivers death, decomposition uptake by autotrophs agriculture leaching, runoff uptake by autotrophs excretion death, decomposition mining Fertilizer weathering Guano Marine Food Webs
- 16. Effects of Human Activities on the Phosphorous Cycle We remove large amounts of phosphate from the earth to make fertilizer. We reduce phosphorous in tropical soils by clearing forests. We add excess phosphates to aquatic systems from runoff of animal wastes and fertilizers.
- 17. The Sulfur Cycle Figure 3-32
- 18. Fig. 3-32, p. 78 Hydrogen sulfide Sulfur Sulfate salts Decaying matter Animals Plants Ocean Industries Volcano Hydrogen sulfide Oxygen Dimethyl sulfide Ammonium sulfate Ammonia Acidic fog and precipitation Sulfuric acid Water Sulfur trioxide Sulfur dioxide Metallic sulfide deposits
- 19. Effects of Human Activities on the Sulfur Cycle We add sulfur dioxide to the atmosphere by: Burning coal and oil Refining sulfur containing petroleum. Convert sulfur-containing metallic ores into free metals such as copper, lead, and zinc releasing sulfur dioxide into the environment.
- 20. The Gaia Hypothesis: Is the Earth Alive? Some have proposed that the earth’s various forms of life control or at least influence its chemical cycles and other earth-sustaining processes. The strong Gaia hypothesis: life controls the earth’s life-sustaining processes. The weak Gaia hypothesis: life influences the earth’s life-sustaining processes.
Editor's Notes
- #2: Figure 3.7 Natural capital: life on the earth depends on the flow of energy (wavy arrows) from the sun through the biosphere and back into space, the cycling of crucial elements (solid arrows around ovals), and gravity , which keeps atmospheric gases from escaping into space and helps recycle nutrients through air, water, soil, and organisms. This simplified model depicts only a few of the many cycling elements.
- #5: Figure 3.26 Natural capital: simplified model of the hydrologic cycle.
- #16: Figure 3.31 Natural capital: simplified model of the phosphorus cycle. Phosphorus reservoirs are shown as boxes; processes that change one form of phosphorus to another are shown in unboxed print. QUESTION: What are three ways in which your lifestyle directly or indirectly affects the phosphorus cycle? (From Cecie Starr and Ralph Taggart, Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life, 9th ed., Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth © 2001)
- #19: Figure 3.32 Natural capital: simplified model of the sulfur cycle. The movement of sulfur compounds in living organisms is shown in green, blue in aquatic systems, and orange in the atmosphere. QUESTION: What are three ways in which your lifestyle directly or indirectly affects the sulfur cycle?