CLUSTER SESSION 1

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Engr. Heide De Guzman
BSA 1-4 Heide De Guzman 1
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BSA 1-4 Heide De Guzman 2
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6
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

a)Illustrate the concepts of the different

biogeochemical cycles and elucidate
why they are essential to all living things
on Earth.
b)Explain how human activities have
impacted these cycles and the
resulting potential consequences on
the planet.
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 BIO-GEO-CHEMICAL

BIO: Biology, Life, living things. These cycles all play a role in the
lives of living things. The cycles might limit the organisms of earth or
they might happen along side, changing environment

GEO: Earth, Rocks, Land. This refers to non-living processes at work.

CHEMICAL: Molecules, Reactions, Atoms. All cycles include these

small pathways. Complete ,molecules are not always passed from
one point to the next. Sometimes chemical reaction take place
that changes the molecules and locations of the atoms.

To sum it up, these pathways are all made of different biological,

geological, and chemical processes that help make the world go
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 THE BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

The biogeochemical cycle

Atmosphere involves the movement of
Biosphere elements and compounds
among the land
(lithosphere), organisms,
Hydrosphere
air (atmosphere) and the
oceans (hydrosphere).
Lithosphere
Human activities can
affect these cycles
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 HOW DO ELEMENTS MOVE THROUGH
THE BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE?

Elements travel
among air, land and sea
through
physical processes

Organisms use
elements as
nutrients
and put
nutrients back
into the
10
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 BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLING OF ELEMENTS:
EXAMPLES OF MAJOR PROCESSES
Physical exchange, redox chemistry, biochemistry are involved

Surface
reservoirs

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 THE BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

The elements cycle

is in either a gas
cycle or a
sedimentary cycle;
some cycle as both
a gas and sediment
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 GAS CYCLES

• Elements move through the

atmosphere. Main reservoirs are
the atmosphere and the
oceans.
Examples:

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 SEDIMENTARY CYCLES

• Elements move from land to water to

sediments. Main reservoirs are the soil and
sedimentary rocks.
Examples:

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 WATER CYCLE

Water’s Unique Properties

➢There are strong forces of attraction between the
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 freezes.

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 WATER CYCLE

• The water cycle continuously moves water

between the atmosphere, the land, and the
oceans.

• We see it first hand in several forms.

• Rain falls and is soaked up by the ground, or it pools

where it’s drank, or it is absorbed by plants, or it will
sit and evaporate back up into the atmosphere.
• Since it’s a cycle there is no starting point.

• We’ll start with water forming in the atmosphere.

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WATER CYCLE
Condensation

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 CONDENSATION

• First, water vapor condenses in the cool air of the

sky into the clouds we see.
• Even if there’s no clouds there is still plenty of water
there.
At any moment, the atmosphere contains an astounding 37.5 million
billion gallons of water, in the invisible vapor phase. This is enough
water to cover the entire surface of the Earth (land and ocean) with
one inch of rain.
[Link] 18
 PRECIPITATION

• When enough water accumulates in the

atmosphere it collects a water droplets, gets heavy,
and falls back to Earth.
• This, what we call rain, is also known as
precipitation.

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 RUN OFF & PERCOLATION

Some of this
• Other water,
water called runoff,
percolates, flows and
or is accumulates
absorbed or across the
soaked into surface of Earth
the soil and and runs into
becomes rivers, lakes, and
groundwater
oceans.
.

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TRANSPIRATION & EVAPORATION

• Once here if not consumed, the water is heated

by the sun and reenters the atmosphere as
water vapor by evaporation.
• Water also evaporates from trees and plants in
a process called transpiration (& animals in
perspiration…sweating).
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 LABEL THE PARTS!
1
Condensation
2

3
6
4 4

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 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON
WATER CYCLE

We alter the water cycle by:

➢Withdrawing large amount of freshwater from the
ground causing salt water to contaminate reservoir.
➢Withdrawing large amounts from rivers and streams
changes flow of nutrients.
➢Clearing vegetation causes eroding soils that clogs
streams.
➢Polluting surface and underground water
➢All of these contributes to climate change

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 NITROGEN CYCLE

• Nitrogen, another essential element, must

also be cycled.
• The atmosphere is about 78% nitrogen gas, N2. But most
organisms cannot use nitrogen gas.
• They are dependent on nitrogen fixing bacteria to convert
N2 into NH3(NH4+).
• The nitrogen cycle is all about getting the nitrogen in the
atmosphere into forms that can be used by organisms.
• Recall, Nitrogen is used for
• The amino acids of proteins.
• In the nitrogenous bases of DNA & RNA
• The nitrogen cycle is the process in which nitrogen
circulates among the air, soil, water, and organisms in an
ecosystem.
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 NITROGEN CYCLE

How atmospheric
nitrogen gets into
the soil so it can
be accessed by
• In a process called nitrogen fixation, living things.
bacteria convert nitrogen gas, N2,
into ammonia, NH3.

• N2 → Nitrogen Fixation (Bacteria) → NH3

• Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
live in the soil and on the
roots of some plants. 25
 NITROGEN CYCLE

• During
ammonification, How atmospheric
nitrogen gets into
nitrogen from the soil so it can
animal waste or be accessed by
living things.
decaying bodies
is returned to the
soil as ammonia
by bacteria and
decomposers.

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NITROGEN CYCLE

• During nitrification,
ammonia, NH3, is
converted to nitrite
and then nitrate
NO3.
• Try not to confuse
this with nitrogen
fixation.

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NITROGEN CYCLE

• Assimilation is the
Forms of process in which plants
nitrogen that
can be absorb nitrogen. When
accessed by an animal eats a
living things
plant, nitrogen
compounds become
part of the animal’s
body.

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NITROGEN CYCLE

• During denitrification,
nitrate, NO3, is changed to
nitrogen gas, N2, which
returns to the atmosphere.

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NITROGEN CYCLE: LABEL THE PARTS OF THE
CYCLE.

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NITROGEN CYCLE

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 NITROGEN CYCLE: MACRO PERSPECTIVE

Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular nitrogen,

with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into
ammonia or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or
aquatic systems but also in industry

Ammonification is the process by which microorganisms present in

Assimilation
soil, sediment, or water mineralize low molecular weight, dissolved,
organic molecules presenting amine or amide groups (of general
formula R-NH2) and produce ammonium (NH4+).

Denitrification is the microbial process of reducing nitrate and nitrite to

Ammonification gaseous forms of nitrogen, principally nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen
(N2). (Clostridium and Pseudomonas bacteria.)

Nitrogen fixation Denitrification

Nitrification is the process by which ammonia is converted to nitrites
(NO2-) and then nitrates (NO3-). This process naturally occurs in the
Nitrification environment, where it is carried out by specialized bacteria.
(Nitrosomonas species) 32
SOURCES OF NITROGEN TO
THE SOIL

• Natural ecosystems
receive their soil
nitrogen through
biological fixation
and atmospheric
deposition.
• Agricultural
ecosystems receive
additional nitrogen
through fertilizer
addition.

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BIOLOGICAL SOURCES OF SOIL
NITROGEN
• Only a few species of
bacteria and cyanobacteria
are capable of nitrogen
fixation.
• Some are free-living and
others form mutualistic
associations with plants.
(Rhizobium in the nodules of
legumes and certain other
plants can also fix nitrogen)
• A few are lichens.
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 ATMOSPHERIC SOURCES OF SOIL
NITROGEN
• Lightning was the major
source of soil nitrogen until
recent times when the
burning of fossil fuels
became a major source of
atmospheric deposition.
• Nitrogen oxides come from
a variety of combustion
sources that use fossil fuels.
• In urban areas, at least half of
these pollutants come cars
and other vehicles.

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AGRICULTURAL SUPPLEMENTS
TO SOIL NITROGEN

• Various forms
of commercial fertilizer are
added to agricultural fields to
supplement the nitrogen lost
through plant harvest.
• Crop rotation with legumes
such as soybeans or alfalfa is
also practiced to supplement
soil nitrogen.

36
 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
• We alter the nitrogen cycle by:
➢Adding gases to atmosphere that contribute to
acid rain

Acid rain is made up of highly

acidic water droplets due to
air emissions, most specifically
the disproportionate levels of
sulfur and nitrogen emitted by
vehicles and manufacturing
processes.

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 EFFECTS OF ACID RAIN
➢ Acid rain is very harmful to agriculture, plants, and animals. It washes away all
nutrients which are required for the growth and survival of plants. Acid rain
affects agriculture by the way it alters the composition of the soil.
➢ It causes respiratory issues in animals and humans.
➢ When acid rain falls down and flows into the rivers and ponds it affects the
aquatic ecosystem. It alters the chemical composition of the water, to a form
which is actually harmful to the aquatic ecosystem to survive and causes water
pollution.
➢ Acid rain also causes the corrosion of water pipes, which further results in
leaching of heavy metals such as iron, lead and copper into drinking water.
➢ It damages the buildings and monuments made up of stones and metals.

38
 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
➢Adding nitrous oxide to
the atmosphere through
farming practices which
can harm the
atmosphere and
deplete ozone.

➢ Contaminating ground water from nitrate ions in

inorganic fertilizers

➢Releasing nitrogen into troposphere through

deforestation.
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 CARBON AND OXYGEN CYCLES

• Carbon and oxygen are critical for life on

Earth, and their cycles are tied closely
together.
• Just as with water, these are both cycled so
organisms always have a supply available.
• The carbon cycle is the continuous
movement of carbon from
the nonliving environment into
living things and back.

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 THE CARBON CYCLE

• Starting with atmospheric carbon

dioxide, the carbon cycle begins
with plants and other autotrophs
absorbing CO2 and converting
into usable sugars and starches.
• This process is known as
photosynthesis.

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THE CARBON CYCLE

• Animals then eat this

vegetation.
• They break down the
sugars & starches
made by plants and
covert it into ATP, the
energy of
metabolism.
• In the process, they
release CO2 back
into the atmosphere.
• This process is called
cellular respiration.
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 THE CARBON CYCLE

• All life, plants, animals & everything else, eventually

dies.
• When it does it is broken down , decays, and collects
as fossil fuels.
• Fossil fuels, like oil
and gasoline,
accumulate after
millions of years of
this process of
death and decay.

43
 THE CARBON CYCLE

• The burning of this fuel,

called combustion, also
releases carbon dioxide
back into the
atmosphere.

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THE CARBON CYCLE: LABEL THE PARTS OF
THE CYCLE.

45
THE CARBON CYCLE

46
 THE
CARBON
CYCLE
Man also plays
a role.
We are
responsible for
burning fossil
fuels, eating,
releasing COMBUSTION
carbon
dioxide, and
dying.
These all
contribute to
the cycling of
carbon.

47
 CARBON RESERVOIR POOLS: WHERE
CARBON IS STORED

• Organic molecules – in living and dead

organisms
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) in atmosphere
• Organic matter in soil
• Fossil fuels and sedimentary rock like
limestone
• CO2 in ocean/water bodies
• Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the shells of
marine organisms
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 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON
CARBON CYCLE

• We alter the carbon

cycle by adding
excess CO2 to the
atmosphere
through:
➢Burning of fossil fuels
➢Clearing vegetation
faster than it is
replaced.
➢Just breathing
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 GREENHOUSE EFFECT

• The greenhouse effect is the rise in

temperature that the Earth experiences
because certain
gases in the
atmosphere like
water vapor,
carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide,
and methane
trap energy from the sun.
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 OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
When carbon dioxide enters
the ocean, it dissolves in
saltwater. First, it forms carbonic
acid. Then, this carbonic acid
breaks apart – or “dissociates” –
producing bicarbonate ions
and hydrogen ions. Ocean
acidification results from an
increased concentration of
hydrogen ions and a reduction
in carbonate ions due to the
absorption of increased
amounts of CO2. Clams,
mussels, crabs, corals, and
other sea life rely on carbonate
ions to grow their shells and
thrive.
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[Link]
 OXYGEN CYCLE

Sources of Oxygen:

▪ Photosynthesis and respiration

▪ Photo disassociation of H2O vapor
▪ CO2 and O2 circulates freely throughout the biosphere.
▪ Some CO2 combines with Ca to form carbonates.
▪ O2 combines with nitrogen compounds to form nitrates.
▪ O2 combines with iron compounds to form ferric oxides.
▪ O2 in the troposphere is reduced to O3 (ozone).
▪ Ground level O3 (ozone) is a pollutant which damages
lungs.

52
OXYGEN CYCLE (PHOTOSYNTHESIS)
Photosynthesis is the process in which
light energy is converted to chemical
energy in the form of sugars.

53
 IMPORTANCE OF OXYGEN CYCLE

• Breathing – It is the physical process, through which all living

organisms, including plants, animals and humans inhale
oxygen from the outside environment into the cells of an
organism and exhale carbon dioxide back into the
atmosphere.
• Decomposition: It is one of the natural and most important
processes in the oxygen cycle and occurs when an
organism dies. The dead animal or plants decay into the
ground, and the organic matter along with the carbon,
oxygen, water and other components are returned into the
soil and air.
• Combustion: It is also one of the most important processes
which occur when any of the organic materials,
including fossil fuels, plastics and wood, are burned in the
presence of oxygen and releases carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere.
• Rusting: This process also requires oxygen. It is the formation
of oxides which is also called oxidation. In this process,
metals like iron or alloy rust when they are exposed to
moisture and oxygen for an extended period of time and
new compounds of oxides are formed by the combination
of oxygen with the metal. 54
 PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

• Phosphorus is often found in soil and rock as

calcium phosphate, which dissolves in water to form
phosphate.

• The roots of plants absorb phosphate. Humans and

animals that eat the plants reuse the organic
phosphorus.

• When the humans and animals die,

phosphorus is returned to the soil.

55
 PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
• Like water, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, phosphorus must be
cycled in order for an ecosystem to support life.
• Remember, phosphorus is an important element in ATP and DNA.
• It must cycle just like the other molecules.

• The phosphorus cycle is the movement of phosphorus in

different chemical forms from the surroundings to
organisms and then back to the surroundings.

56
THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

[Link]: The phosphate salts are mostly found in rocks and

are hence broken down and washed away from the rocks into the
ground. Hence it is seen that the process starts from the earth’s
crust.

57
THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

2. Absorption by Plants: The phosphate salts once dissolved in

soil will be absorbed by the plants however the amount taken is
very less. Hence some phosphate fertilizers are added by farmers
for the plants to take in. However as phosphates do not properly
dissolve in water they are not absorbed by the life in aquatic
ecosystems.

58
 THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

3. Absorption by Animals: The animals absorb most of the phosphorus

content by consumption of other animals and plants. The rate of
phosphorus cycle is faster in most animals compared to as seen in rocks.

59
4. Phosphorus being returned to the ecosystem: The plants and animals
then tend to die and hence pass on the phosphorus from their body back to the
ecosystem which is converted into the inorganic form and recycled to rocks and
soil. This step is further again seen by weathering and hence the cycle goes
again on.

60
 EFFECTS OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ON
THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
• We remove large amounts of phosphate from the
earth to make fertilizer
• We reduce phosphorus in tropical soils by clearing
forests.
• We add excess phosphates to aquatic systems from
runoff of animal wastes and fertilizers.

➢ Eutrophication is the process in which a water

body becomes overly enriched with nutrients,
leading to plentiful growth of simple plant life.
The excessive growth (or bloom) of algae and
plankton in a water body are indicators of this
process.

61
 EFFECTS OF EUTROPHICATION

Primarily, the adverse

effects of
eutrophication on
aquatic bodies include
a decrease in
biodiversity, increase in
toxicity of the water
body, and change in
species dominance.

62
 SULFUR CYCLE

• Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements

on the earth.
• It is a yellow, brittle, tasteless, odorless non-
metal.
• Sulfur is present in all kinds of proteins. Plants
directly absorb sulfur-containing amino
acids such as methionine, cystine, and
cysteine.
• It then travels through the food chain and is
eventually released through decomposition.
63
 SULFUR CYCLE

▪ 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
eruptions, gas exchange at ocean surfaces, and
decomposition.
▪ SO2 and water vapor makes H2SO4 ( a weak sulfuric
acid), which is then carried to Earth in rainfall.

64
 STEPS IN SULFUR CYCLE

[Link] of organic compounds: The proteins tend to

release amino acids consisting of sulfur acids which are then
reduced to hydrogen sulfide by functioning of bacteria
Desulfotomaculum.
[Link] of hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur: This process
is done by bacteria belonging to Chlorobiaceae and
Chromatiaceae.
[Link] of elemental sulfur: The sulfur which has turned to its
elemental form cannot be readily taken by plants and is hence
converted to sulfates by chemolithotrophic bacteria found in soil.
[Link] of Sulfates: The sulfates are then converted to
hydrogen sulfide by the bacteria named Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.
There are two steps for the same where firstly the sulfates are
converted to sulfites by using ATP and the second step consists of
reduction of reduction of sulfate to hydrogen sulfide.
65
SULFUR CYCLE

66
EFFECT 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.

67
 IMPORTANCE OF
BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE

• Biogeochemical cycles enable the transfer of molecules from

one locality to another. This allows the transformation of
elements into utilizable forms.
• Biogeochemical cycles enable the transformation of nutrients
from one form to another. This allows the utilization of nutrients
in specific forms by a particular organism.
• Biogeochemical cycles facilitate the storage of elements –
Different types of nutrient reservoirs are produced by each of
the different steps of the biogeochemical cycles.
• Biogeochemical cycles assist in the functioning of ecosystems
– The biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem are
linked by the flow of nutrients through biogeochemical cycles.
Different types of organisms utilize different levels of nutrients.

68
 SUMMARY

▪ The building blocks of life :Water ,Nitrogen,

Carbon Dioxide, Phosphorus, Sulfur
▪ 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.

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