"A biogeochemical cycle, or more generally a cycle of matter, is the movement and transformation of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms, the atmosphere, and the Earth's crust."
The cycling of nutrients and elements between living and non-living components of an ecosystem, including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
Nutrient Cycles: Explains the recycling of essential elements (like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus) in ecosystems and how they sustain life.
Water Cycle: Describes how water moves through various processes, including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, groundwater infiltration, and runoff.
Carbon Cycle: The cycle of carbon molecules through various environmental systems - the ocean, the atmosphere, and the biosphere.
Nitrogen Cycle: Describes the process of nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification, and ammonification, and their roles in supporting plant growth.
Oxygen Cycle: Describes how oxygen is produced through photosynthesis and how it is consumed by living organisms during respiration.
Phosphorus Cycle: Shows how phosphorus is critical for plant growth and is recycled through decomposition, geologic activity, and weathering.
Sulfur Cycle: Sulfur is an essential element in amino acids and proteins, and is also involved in the production of acid rain.
Lithosphere: The solid and rocky areas of the earth's crust, including soil and rocks.
Biosphere: The living organisms of the planet, including plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Atmosphere: The layers of air surrounding the planet, which contain gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
Hydrosphere: Refers to all the water on the earth, including oceans, rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
Biomes: Refers to the large ecological regions defined by climate, geography, and vegetation.
Trophic Levels: Refers to the levels in the food chain, including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Carbon Sequestration: The process by which carbon is stored in natural or artificial carbon sinks (like forests, soils, or oceans) rather than released into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas.
Bioremediation: The use of living organisms to break down or eliminate environmental pollutants.
Eutrophication: The process by which excess nutrients (like nitrogen and phosphorus) in aquatic systems lead to excessive plant growth and oxygen depletion, leading to fish kills and ecosystem degradation.
Acid Rain: The deposition of acidic pollutants in the atmosphere that can cause environmental damage to ecosystems and infrastructure.
Global Warming: The increasing global temperatures caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere, leading to dramatic changes in climate patterns and sea levels.
Climate Change: The global changes in temperature, precipitation, and other climate variables caused by human activities (primarily burning of fossil fuels and deforestation).
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide) emitted by an individual or organization, including transportation, energy use, and waste.
Carbon cycle: The movement of carbon through Earth's atmosphere, oceans, living organisms, and rocks.
Nitrogen cycle: The process by which nitrogen is converted from one chemical form to another, including fixation, nitrification, and denitrification.
Oxygen cycle: The process by which oxygen is cycled between the atmosphere, water bodies, and organisms.
Water cycle: The continuous process by which water is evaporated, condensed, and precipitated from the atmosphere, and flows through the environment.
Phosphorus cycle: The movement of phosphorus through the environment, including its release from rocks and sediment, uptake by plants, and transfer to animals.
Sulfur cycle: The movement of sulfur through the environment, including its release from rocks and sediment, and its transformation into various forms through biological and geological processes.
Iron cycle: The movement of iron through the environment, including its release from minerals and its role in various biological processes.
Mercury cycle: The movement of mercury through the environment, including its release from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, and its impact on human health and ecosystems.
Calcium cycle: The movement of calcium through the environment, including its uptake by plants and animals, and its role in maintaining healthy soils and ecosystems.
Chromium cycle: The movement of chromium through the environment, including its release from mining and other industrial activities, and its impact on soil and water quality.
"Major biogeochemical cycles include the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the water cycle."
"In each cycle, the chemical element or molecule is transformed and cycled by living organisms and through various geological forms and reservoirs."
"The abiotic compartments are the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere."
"Atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants through photosynthesis, which converts it into organic compounds that are used by organisms for energy and growth."
"Carbon is then released back into the atmosphere through respiration and decomposition."
"Carbon is stored in fossil fuels and is released into the atmosphere through human activities such as burning fossil fuels."
"Atmospheric nitrogen gas is converted by plants into usable forms such as ammonia and nitrates through the process of nitrogen fixation."
"Nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere through denitrification and other processes."
"In the water cycle, the universal solvent water evaporates from land and oceans to form clouds in the atmosphere, and then precipitates back to different parts of the planet."
"Precipitation can seep into the ground and become part of groundwater systems used by plants and other organisms, or can runoff the surface to form lakes and rivers."
"Subterranean water can then seep into the ocean along with river discharges, rich with dissolved and particulate organic matter and other nutrients."
"There are biogeochemical cycles for many other elements, such as oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, calcium, iron, sulfur, mercury, and selenium."
"There are also cycles for molecules, such as water and silica."
"There are also cycles for synthetic compounds such as for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)."
"In some cycles, there are geological reservoirs where substances can remain or be sequestered for long periods of time."
"Biological processes include the influence of microorganisms, which are critical drivers of biogeochemical cycling."
"Microorganisms have the ability to carry out wide ranges of metabolic processes essential for the cycling of nutrients and chemicals throughout global ecosystems."
"Without microorganisms, many of these processes would not occur, with significant impact on the functioning of land and ocean ecosystems and the planet's biogeochemical cycles as a whole."
"Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and using large amounts of fertilizer can disrupt cycles, contributing to climate change, pollution, and other environmental problems."