1. ECOLOGY BIO GEOLOGICAL CYCLES
Essential elements and nutrients

2. Chemistry Basics Elements  a unique type of atom
there are 92 natural elements occurring on earth
The study of elements needed for life is called organic chemistry or biochemistry
The essential elements for life are MACRO
Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen for carbohydrates
Nitrogen Amino Acids and proteins
Phosphorus ATP and ADP
Potassium enzymes
Sulfur amino acids and proteins
Calcium membrane function
Magnesium chlorophyll and enzymes

3. Bio-geological cycles
Biogeological cycle refers to the elements that move from geosphere to biosphere and back to geosphere.
Each cycle may have a corresponding link in the atmosphere and hydrosphere
Most important 4 are the:
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Phosphorus cycle
Water cycle.

4. The Carbon Cycle Carbon is an essential element for all life
Carbon is the 4th most abundant element in the universe.
It is the element that anchors all life.
All organic compounds contain Carbon
The Carbon cycle begins in the atmosphere as CO2.

5. Two Cycles: Long Term and Short term
Long Term  Geological
Geological cycle begins with the birth of earth.
Initial carbon came with the earth and meteors.
Carbon was present in atmosphere as C02 through volcanism.
Carbon combined with elements in earth’s crust to create minerals like calcium carbonate.
Carbon erodes from this storage into oceans.

6. Short Term Cycle Start at C02 in the atmosphere
Plants photosynthesis to convert carbon into carbohydrates
Consumer’s eat
Both plants and animals use energy through cellular respiration and return carbon to the air
Decay returns carbon to the ocean and soil.

8. How industry influences Carbon Cycle
Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are old plants and animals that have decayed after millions of years.
The carbon comes from the organisms that died
Coal is a type of fossil fuel just from plants
The carbon is a long term storage.
Releasing the carbon puts it back in the atmosphere

9. What We Burn the Most

10. Where Does C02 Come From

11. Carbon Yearly and Seasonal

12. The US and Greenhouse emissions
Greenhouse gases emitted by the United States are from the following :
Carbon dioxide (CO2) –fossil fuels, respiration
Methane (CH4)-cows and landfills
Nitrous oxide (N2O) –fossil fuels, volcanoes
Water vapor (H2O) natural steam / evaporation.

13. The Transportation & Industry Sectors emit the greatest amount

14. Greenhouse Emission per Country

15. Greenhouse Gas emission

16. Carbon
When analyzing the carbon cycle scientists refer to the storage and release as either a sink or source.
Source: where carbon is coming from
Sink: where carbon is stored
Short term sink = animals, plants, top soil
Long term = deep ocean, rainforest, deep soils and rocks, fossils

17. Balancing Carbon: Sources vs. Sinks
Sinks-places to store
Sources  Ways it gets into atmosphere
Forests
Grasslands
Ocean  especially deep oceans
Deep in forest soils
Natural sources
Forest fires
Volcanoes
Respiration
Anthropogenic Sources
Transportation
Slash and burn
Deforestation
Energy usage
Warming planet
From ocean
From rocks

19. Major components of the Atmosphere
Nitrogen
Oxygen
Carbon dioxide
Argon
Methane
Water vapor
Nitrogen oxide
Sulfur oxide
Atmospheric dust

20. How the Atmosphere influences climate
The atmosphere acts as a protective bubble surrounding our planet
Protects against gamma rays and X rays
Protects us from large temperature changes with the green house gasses.
Also causes our sky to be blue by refracting sunlight
Causes the water cycle.

21. Green House Effect

23. Nitrogen cycle

25. The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen exists as an unusable Gas N2.
It represents 79% of our atmosphere
Nitrogen is essential for protein, DNA and many other parts of life.
Nitrogen needs to be converted by special bacteria for organisms to utilize.
The nitrogen cycle is dependent on these nitrogen fixing bacteria

26. Vocabulary
Nitrogen fixation- process by which unusable nitrogen is converted to NH3 (ammonia)
Nitrification- process where ammonia is put into nitrite and nitrates which are usable by plants. Ammonia can be toxic to most plants.
Denitrification- process by which nitrogen in the soil is returned to the atmosphere
Nitrogen fixing bacteria- bacteria that turn nitrogen and ammonia into to nitrate

27. How Nitrogen gets fixed (changed)
Lightning- approximately 5-8% is converted this way.
Nitrogen gas is split by lightning and comes down in rain as nitric acid.
Bacteria – approximately % is currently fixed this way.
Bacteria convert Nitrogen gas to nitrates or ammonium and plants take it up.
Industrial – 50% of nitrogen is fixed this way
It is changed from nitrogen gas in the atmosphere to ammonia, which plants take up.
This includes inorganic fertilizers and combustion

28. Nitrogen fixing Bacteria
Live in nodules of legumes like beans, chick peas, lentils, lima beans and soy.
Use to organically improve nitrogen of soil in a garden.

29. Nitrogen fixed by Industry
Increasingly more and more nitrogen is being added to our environment through production of fertilizers, explosives and combustion.
Excess nitrogen causes acid rain and pollution.

30. Percentage of Nitrogen Introduced by Anthropogenic Sources

31. How is Nitrogen converted through bacteria
Nitrogen is converted using special bacteria
N2 is converted to NH3 in the soil = ammonia and ammonium.
It is then converted into nitrites and nitrates.
Both ammonium, nitrites and nitrates are used by organisms.
Nitrogen returns to the soil as decay happens.
Returns to atmosphere as gasses are released by bacteria and decomposers  Denitrification

32. How Nitrogen Cycles Back to the Atmosphere
Once nitrogen is in the plants, animals eat the plants.
Organisms excrete nitrogen in the form of Urea or Uric acid this ends up in the soil
Organisms die and decay the nitrogen ends up in the soil and organisms that acted as decomposers
From there the Nitrogen is changed back to gas by the process of denitrification.

33. Nitrogen in the Atmosphere
denitrification
Industrial
Lightning
Bacteria
Nitrates
Nitrates
Ammonium
Food Chain

34. Simple Cycle The nitrogen cycle begins in the atmosphere
This is converted to ammonia by bacteria or lightning
If By lightning goes from N2 to NO3 directly.
By bacteria it goes through several steps : N2 to NH3 to NO2 to NO3
N03 is taken up by plants to yield protein.
Nitrogen is returned to soil in decay and manure.
NO3 goes to atmosphere by denitrifying bacteria

35. When Nitrogen Becomes a Problem
Excess nitrogen leeches into water bodies
Nitrogen is a limiting resource/factor  A limiting factor is something that limits the growth, reproduction or distribution of organisms (ex: water, food, shelter)
It stimulates massive algae growth.
The algae suffocates the ecosystem by blocking sunlight and taking up large amount of oxygen when it dies.
This causes Hypoxia-condition in which oxygen levels are too low to support life also called Dead zones

36. Eutrophication- process by which growth of a nuisance plant (algae) is stimulated due to the addition of a limiting resource (usually nitrogen or phosphorus) and leads to pollution of the water body.

37. Problems with Nitrogen
Currently largest problem is due to increases amounts of inorganic fertilizer and excess waste from Feed lots.
Second largest problem is due to combustion of fossil fuels

41. Dead Zones
The largest hypoxic zone currently affecting the United States, and the second largest hypoxic zone worldwide, is the northern Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Mississippi River.

45. Phosphorus Cycle

47. Very similar to the sources of nitrogen.
Sources of Phosphorus
Very similar to the sources of nitrogen.

48. Sources of Phosphorus

49. Problems with Excess Phosphorus
Similar to excess nitrogen, phosphorus causes an overgrowth of algae in water and eventually leads to hypoxia.