carbon and nitrogen cycle essay

Matter is constantly cycled between living and nonliving parts of the environment. Processes like photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation allow the carbon and nitrogen cycles to regenerate needed substances by recycling earth's atoms. All Matter Cycles One of the ways nature recycles is through the carbon cycle You know about recycling, right? We all probably sort our trash to save things like aluminum cans, plastic bottles and newspaper. We all probably also know why we do it: to conserve resources. What would happen if we didn't conserve resources? Well, the things that are used to make up those products might become more scarce, leading companies to search for more raw, natural resources from the environment, which drives up prices. In some cases, new ways would have to be engineered to make those products if new sources can't be found. Recycling is just a good idea, and nature is a master recycler. Even when humans don't, nature will get its way and cycle atoms and molecules back again. Carbon and nitrogen are great examples of how nature does this. Cycling of CarbonOne of the ways that nature recycles matter is through the carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is carbon cycling through the global environment. Carbon is a chemical element and a key component of many systems in the biosphere, from acting as part of the earth's thermostat to being one of the key elements in photosynthesis, which is when plants make sugars for energy. In order for the ecosystem to function properly, all parts need an adequate supply of carbon. This is usually not a problem since nature is efficient at carbon cycling. Since the process is a cycle, we need to pick some place to begin. If carbon does not enter land plants by photosynthesis, it can be taken into the ocean One of the biggest reservoirs of carbon is the atmosphere, which is about 0.038% carbon dioxide. There are two ways for carbon.
Introduction. A key issue in understanding the nitrogen (N) cycle is to determine human-induced perturbations to the natural N cycle. Such determination involves first understanding, describing, and quantifying the natural N cycle at global, regional, and local scales. The concentration of N species in the environment varies greatly over short distances. This natural variability can make it difficult to evaluate human influences on the N cycle. Ideally, all the components of the natural N cycle should be measured with known precision and accuracy. In practice, this is impossible. In reality, estimates are made of the magnitude of the major components of the N cycle based on fragmentary measurements. There are large uncertainties on the magnitude of the estimated natural fluxes of N and the natural storage of N in the N reservoirs. For example, the estimates of marine N fixation range from 40-200 million metric tons/yr, atmospheric deposition of organic-N 10-100 million metric tons/yr and, terrestrial ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4+) emissions 91-186 million metric tons N/yr. One reason for such large uncertainties is that the natural world is large and heterogeneous and it has been widely modified by a variety of human influences. This makes it exceedingly difficult to measure the natural N cycle. Once estimates of the natural N cycle are made, then estimates of human perturbations to the natural N cycle can be made. Human activities influence the N cycle through interacting physical, chemical and biological processes. In estimating N fixation by fossil-fuel combustion, N-fixation rates are estimated based on data on, for example, combustion temperature, combustion process, and the N content of the fuel. N fixation by legumes is estimated based on extrapolation of N-fixation measurements at a small number of specific locations. In some situations, it is easy to determine.
THE NITROGEN CYCLEAbout 78 percent of the atmosphere is made up of free nitrogen, or nitrogen that is not combined with other elements.All living things need nitrogen to build proteins and certain other body chemicals.However, most organisms -- including plants, animals, and fungi -- cannot get the nitrogen they need from the free nitrogen in the air.They can use only nitrogen that is combined with other elements in compounds.But how are these nitrogen-containing compounds made?Nitrogen transferred from the non-living portion of the environment into living things:Certain kinds of bacteria are able to use the free nitrogen in the air to make nitrogen compounds through a process known as nitrogen fixation.Most of the nitrogen fixation on Earth occurs as a result of the activity of bacteria.Some of these bacteria live in the soil.Others grow inside special structures on the roots of certain plants, including beans, clover, alfalfa, peas, and peanuts.One family of nitrogen compounds produced by nitrogen-fixing bacteria consists of substances called nitrates.Nitrates can be taken from the soil by plants.Inside the plants, the nitrogen in the nitrates is used to make compounds such as proteins.The compounds made by the plants can be used by animals, fungi, and other organisms that cannot use nitrates directly.Look at the illustration below and trace the steps of the nitrogen cycle from the free nitrogen in the air to the nitrogen in the bodies of animals.
Short notes on Carbon Cycle, Nitrogen Cycle and Sulphur Cycle!Various materials including different nutrients and metals move in the ecosystem in a cyclic manner. The major reserves or storage compartment of the materials are known as reservoirs. When the major reservoir of a nutrient is in the atmosphere, it is known as a gaseous cycle, e.g., nitrogen cycle, which has its reservoir in the form of nitrogen gas (N2) constituting about 78% of the atmosphere.Image Curtsey: esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/education/carbon_toolkit/images/carbon_cycle.jpgWhen the reservoir is in the earth’s crust or sediments, it is known as a sedimentary cycle e.g., phosphorus cycle-which has its reserve as phosphate rocks. Sulphur cycle is an example of an intermediate type, which has reservoir both in soil and the atmosphere.Movement of the materials from one reservoir to another may be driven by physical agents like wind or gravitational energy. It may also be due to chemical energy, e.g., when the water body reaches saturation-the reservoir is chemically full and therefore, no longer can hold it as such.Then the material usually is precipitated out. The average time for which a material (molecule of a substance) remains in a reservoir is known as its residence time.Nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus etc. move in circular paths through biotic and abiotic components and are known as biogeochemical cycles.Water also moves in a cycle, known as hydrological cycle. The nutrients to move through the food chain and ultimately reach the detritus compartment (containing dead organic matter) where various microorganisms carry out decomposition.Various organically bound nutrients of dead plants and animals are converted into inorganic substances by microbial decomposition that are readily used up by plants (primary producers) and the cycle starts afresh.1. Carbon Cycle: The.
Cycles On any REAL TREE operation, there are cycles galore! In this section, we will look at several of them. In nature, the materials needed by all organisms in an ecosystem are reused or recycled. Nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and other nutrients move through ecosystems in a predictable pattern or cycle. These nutrient cycles in nature are called biogeochemical cycles. Look at the word biogeochemical and see if you can figure out what these cycles are all about. Bio means life. Geo means earth. Chemical means of or relating to chemistry. From those meanings, you could say that biogeochemical is a word that we would describe the connections between plants and animals, the earth, and the chemistry of how they live. Let's look further. Plants and animals are pretty easy to understand. They are the living parts of an ecosystem or habitat. The earth is also pretty easy to understand. It's the habitat or location where an organism lives. It's the chemistry that you might find a bit tricky. The nutrients needed and used by all living things are made up of chemical elements and molecules. This is the chemistry of life. This section is going to take a look some of the ways these chemicals or nutrients are cycled through nature. Without these cycles, living things could not survive. Click a link below to get started! Oxygen Cycle The Carbon Cycle Carbon is an element found in nature. It's in the graphite that make up the lead of your pencil. It's found in the shiniest diamonds and in the gasoline we use to run our cars. It's one of the most important elements found on earth. Carbon is also found in all living organisms. In fact, living things are full of carbon! Carbon is one of the elements that cycles through nature. The Carbon Cycle is one of the biogeochemical cycles. During photosynthesis, plants combine carbon dioxide from the air and hydrogen from water to make.