Nutrients Cycle
Nutrients and Matter are
continually used in an ecosystem
over and over again.
• Energy flows in one direction, but matter
recycles
Nutrient Cycles
• Purpose: allows for the natural recycling of
nutrients between living and non-living
things in ecosystems
Four Main Cycles
Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
Water Cycle Clip
• http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/stud
yjams/water_cycle/
Water Cycle
Water Cycle -Terms to Know
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Evaporation
Transpiration (Evapotranspiration)
Precipitation
Run Off
Percolation (Groundwater Seepage)
Condensation
Solar Energy
Water Vapor (Clouds)
Water Cycle Main Concepts
• Water evaporates from bodies of water into the
atmosphere with the help of solar energy (Sun)
• Moisture is held in the atmosphere in the
formation called clouds- condensation
• When the atmosphere is saturated with moisture
the water is released in some form of
precipitation
• Water is returned back down. Some empties
into bodies of water, while some is absorbed
(infiltration)into the Earth and some runs off
land areas back into larger bodies of water
Carbon Cycle
Carbon Cycle – Terms to Know
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Photosynthesis
Cellular Respiration
Decomposition
Burning of Wood and Fossil Fuels
Decomposers/Detritivores
Detritus (Matter the Detritivores Use for
Energy)
Carbon Cycle Main Concepts
• Carbon enters the atmosphere through fossil
fuel release, release of carbon dioxide through
cellular respiration, and waste of decaying
matter
• Carbon is then used by plants to carry out
photosynthesis
• Dead plants and animals return back into the
ground which returns carbon back to Earth. Coal
and oil also have carbon which allow carbon to
always be present in the Earth
Carbon Cycle Video Clip
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3SZKJ
VKRxQ
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle – Terms to Know
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Assimilation
Nitrogen-Fixation
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
Denitrification
Denitrifying Bacteria
Root Nodules
Ammonification
Nitrogen Cycle Main Concepts
• Nitrogen is present in the atmosphere as a natural
component of air due to volcanic activity, lightning,
release by algae (78%)
• Nitrogen is present in the soil, but must be FIXED
through nitrogen fixation (denitrification, and
ammonification) in order to be released into the
atmosphere
• Nitrogen fixing bacteria allow nitrogen to be altered in the
Earth so that it is taken up in plant root systems
(assimilation).
• When organisms eat plants, the nitrogen is taken in by
them and can be release back into the Earth through
waste products
Nitrogen Cycle Animation
• http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_scien
ce_share/vis_sim/em05_pg20_nitrogen/e
m05_pg20_nitrogen.swf
Phosphorus Cycle
Phosphorus - Terms to Know
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Geologic Uplifting
Leaching
Chemical Precipitation
Sedimentation
Weathering
Runoff
Phosphorus Cycle
• Two Overall Paths
– Path One (Breakdown of Rock)
• Rocks release phosphous through the weathering
of rock over time on land and in water (leaching)
• Phosphorus enters water systems in solution form
• Over many years the phosphorus settles at the
floor of water systems and forms rock
• Rock may uplift after many years to expose rock
which has phosphorus
Phosphorus Cycle
• Path Two- Animals
– Phosphorus is locked in soil and is taken in by
plant root systems
– Animals eat plants and take in the
phosphorus
– When animals die, detritivores (worms) break
down dead matter and release the
phosphorus back into the soil.
– Can be used again or leached back into water
systems
Phosphorus cycle animation
• http://www.wadsworthmedia.com/biology/s
tarr_udl11_tour/phos_anim.html