1. Biogeochemical Cycles

2. Vocabulary Matching Biotic Abiotic Population Omnivore Decomposer
Detritivore
Community
Trophic level
Ecosystem
Herbivore
Plant eater
Animal that eats dead animals
A group of the same species
A feeding level in an ecosystem
Living things in an ecosystem
Plant and animal eater
Various species living in the same area
Non-living things in an ecosystem
Organism that recycles organic material back into the ecosystem
All the living and non-living things in a given area

3. Summarize In 5-8 sentences…….. Describe the model to the right.
What is this a model of?
Why does it get narrower at the top?
How is this related to energy?

4. Cycles: Key Vocabulary
Water Cycle: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration/recharge, ground water, runoff
Carbon Cycle: photosynthesis, respiration, fossil fuels, decay/decomposition, plants, animals, greenhouse gas, carbonate, combustion
Nitrogen Cycle: free nitrogen/nitrogen gas (N2), nitrogen fixation, lightening, nitrifying bacteria, nitrification, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, decay/decomposition, denitrifying bacteria, denitrification, plants, animals, eutrophication
Phosphorous Cycle: long term phosphorous cycle, short term phosphorous cycle, phosphate ion, plants, animals, birds, decay/decomposition, limestone, erosion, eutrophication.

5. Biogeochemical Cycles
Just as water cycles through the ecosystem, so do elements necessary for life
Some of the more important elements to life include oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur
A biogeochemical cycle is the movement of a certain chemical through the living (bio-) and non-living (geo-) parts of the ecosystem

6. Water Cycle
Water is a major part of life on Earth and is recycled from the atmosphere, to the surface, below ground, and back again
This action of water cycling is called the hydrologic cycle

7. Carbon dioxide/Oxygen Cycle
Living things need oxygen for cellular respiration.
Plants take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis
Organisms take in this oxygen and release carbon dioxide through respiration

8. The Carbon dioxide/Oxygen Cycle
Carbon and oxygen make up molecules (carbohydrates, sugars) needed for life
Plants use sunlight to change carbon dioxide (and water) into sugar and oxygen
Animals consume plants as food (eat the sugars) and breath out carbon dioxide, returning carbon to the atmosphere
Carbon can also be stored as fossil fuels and in rocks (limestone), when fossil fuels and wood are burned, carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere

9. Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is an element found in proteins and is needed for life
Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the atmosphere, but is not available for use by organisms which require nitrogen in the form of ammonium (NH4+) or nitrate (NO3-)
Specialized bacteria living with plants can capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a usable form, this process is called nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen enters the food web when plants absorb it from the soil and convert it into proteins which are eaten by consumers
Denitrifying bacteria live in the soil and release nitrogen gas into the atmosphere

10. Phosphorous Cycle
Phosphorous is used by organisms for growth and development, it is a limiting factor to the growth of plants
The phosphorous cycle begins when the weathering of rocks releases phosphorous which moves from soil to producers and then to consumers
Phosphorous may leach into ground water and end up in the sediment at the bottom of a body of water where it may become rock again