Chaper 2- Nutrient Cycles Flashcards
(24 cards)
How is carbon cycled
Cellular respiration Photosynthesis Decomposition Ocean mixing Volcanic eruptions
Cellular respiration
Chemical energy from food provides energy for all body functions. Animals eat energy-containing carbon compounds
C6H12+6O2—->6CO2+6H2O+energy
Photosynthesis
Plants combine energy from the sun and CO2 from the atmosphere to make high-energy carbon compounds
Energy+6CO2+H2O–>6O2+C6H18O6
Decomposition
Breaking down of dead organic matter
Bacteria and fungi convert cellulose to CO2 which is released into atmosphere
Ocean Mixing
Moves carbon throughout be worlds oceans
Creates carbonic acid which causes the ocean to become more acidic
Volcanic Eruptions
Subduction and melting of sedimentary rock followed by release through volcanic eruptions
Where is carbon stored
Long term- marine sediments and sedimentary rock, middle and deep ocean waters, coal, oil, gas
Short term- vegetation, plants in oceans, animals, decaying matter, atmosphere
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen is a nutrient and is an important component of DNA and protein.
Where is nitrogen stored
Small amount is animals, plants, and decaying organic matter. Lakes oceans.
Most is stored in the atmosphere as nitrogen gas N2
But it is useless in that form
How is Nitrogen cycled
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrification
Uptake
Denitrification
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen gas is converted info ammonium NH4+ and nitrate NO3-
Nitrogen fixation occurs through nitrogen fixing material or lightning strikes
Nitrification
Certain species of bacteria convert ammonium NH4+ into nitrite NO2-
Another species of bacteria convert nitrite NO2- into nitrate NO3-
Uptake
Nitrates can enter plant roots and become incorporated into proteins
When animals eat the plants nitrogen gas gets sent to tissues
Denitrification
Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrate back into atmospheric nitrogen N2
Other ways nitrogen returned to atmoshere
Volcanoes, fossil fuels, burning forests and grasslands, fertilizers,
Consequences of human activities with the nitrogen cycle
Acid rain forms from dissolved nitrogen compounds in the moisture in the clouds
Eutrophication- excess nutrients result in increased plant growth and decay.
Why is carbon cycle essential to life
All organisms have bodies that are carbon based
We consume carbon compounds to get energy - the energy is used for chemical reactions on cells
Why is phosphorus important
It carries energy to plant cells and animal cells
Root development stem strength and seed production
Large amounts in animal bones
How is phosphorus stored
Trapped in phosphate PO4-3, HPO4-2, H2PO4
that make up phosphate rock and sediments in the ocean
Is not found in atmosphere
Phosphorus cycle
Weathering releases phosphate into the soil. Once phosphate is released into the soul plants take it up by the roots. Animals get it from eating the plants. Decomposers feed on dead organism and return phosphorus into the soil
Other way phosphorus is cycles
Erosion, leaching, and runoff cause phosphate to enter aquatic ecosystems where it is passed along the food chain
Most of it settles at the bottom in forms of sedimentary rock.
It is made available again through geological uplift. Earths crust folds and deeply buried rock rises
Human activities that effect the phosphorus cycle
Fertilizers, detergents, animal waste from large scale livestock farms, lash and burn forests.
Leaching makes it fall to the ocean and be unavailable to be used
Weathering and two types
Weathering is when rocks are broken into smaller fragments
Chemical- chemicals cause rocks to break down
Physical- breakdown caused by wind, rain, and freezing
Calcium carbonate is the structural component of:
Marine organisms
It’s the shells
