{"id":3242,"date":"2017-02-11T00:14:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T00:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-biology2\/?post_type=chapter&p=3242"},"modified":"2024-04-26T02:52:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T02:52:14","slug":"introduction-to-biogeochemical-cycles","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-biology2\/chapter\/introduction-to-biogeochemical-cycles\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction to Biogeochemical Cycles","rendered":"Introduction to Biogeochemical Cycles"},"content":{"raw":"

Discuss the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur<\/h2>\r\nEnergy flows directionally through ecosystems, entering as sunlight (or inorganic molecules for chemoautotrophs) and leaving as heat during the many transfers between trophic levels. However, the matter that makes up living organisms is conserved and recycled. The six most common elements associated with organic molecules\u2014carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur\u2014take a variety of chemical forms and may exist for long periods in the atmosphere, on land, in water, or beneath the Earth\u2019s surface. Geologic processes, such as weathering, erosion, water drainage, and the subduction of the continental plates, all play a role in this recycling of materials. Because geology and chemistry have major roles in the study of this process, the recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is called a biogeochemical cycle<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nThe cycling of these elements is interconnected. For example, the movement of water is critical for the leaching of nitrogen and phosphate into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Furthermore, the ocean itself is a major reservoir for carbon. Thus, mineral nutrients are cycled, either rapidly or slowly, through the entire biosphere, from one living organism to another, and between the biotic and abiotic world.\r\n
Head to this website to learn more about biogeochemical cycles.<\/a><\/div>\r\n

What You\u2019ll Learn to Do<\/h2>\r\n