Different Types of Biogeochemical Cycles – Imaluop

Now we are going to discuss different types of biogeochemical cycles occurring in our earth which are very important for maintaining proper availability of biochemicals for sustaining life on our earth.  

What is Biogeochemical Cycles: 

Biogeochemical cycle is the rotation of different chemicals in biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere where different chemicals are exchanged between biotic factors and abiotic factors in the environment.

Major elements present in living systems are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and phosphorus which are available in our environment and also present in living systems but the chemical should be rotated among them for proper availability.  

Types of Biogeochemical Cycles:  

Depending on the phase of the chemical and their interactions with the environment biogeochemical cycles are two types – gaseous cycle which includes carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, oxygen cycle, water cycle and another one is sedimentary cycle like phosphorus cycle and sulphur cycle. 

Carbon Cycle: 

It is a Biogeochemical Cycle in which carbon content rotates in the environment through the biotic and abiotic factors. 

In plant photosynthesis occurs in which plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and it assimilates in organic food prepared by the plant. When any animal takes the organic food from the plant, the food inside the animal is used to produce metabolic energy and it occurs through the process of cellular respiration.

In cellular respiration oxygen is used to break down the food molecules and the energy is released but in this process carbon dioxide is produced as a byproduct which mixes with atmospheric so the carbon dioxide again comes back to the atmosphere. 

A part of carbon is used in the structural form of a plant and when the plant dies the residue of the plant is converted into fossil fuels which is a rich form of carbon. Then when we burn fossil fuels to get energy then it again converts into carbon dioxide which mixes with the atmosphere to rotate the carbon cycle.  

Oxygen Cycle: 

We and other animals take oxygen from the atmosphere for cellular respiration in which the food molecules react with oxygen and break down to release metabolic energy in the form of ATP and we exhale the carbon dioxide because it is produced in cellular respiration as a byproduct.

When plants take the carbon dioxide to produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis then they use carbon dioxide and produce oxygen as a byproduct which is mixed with atmosphere through the stomata so by this way oxygen content of our earth rotate which is known as oxygen cycle. 

Nitrogen Cycle: 

Nitrogen is very important for plant growth but plants are not able to use all the nitrogen form present in our earth because the atmospheric gaseous nitrogen is not usable by the plant.

The soil bacteria convert the atmospheric gaseous nitrogen into different nitrogen compounds which are present in soil and the plant can absorb the nitrogen compounds present in soil but when the plant dies the plant body is decomposed and the denitrifying bacteria present in soil convert the nitrogen compounds in plant into atmospheric nitrogen. 

Phosphorus Cycle: 

Phosphorus is an important component of living systems and it is present in rocks in different mineral forms and it reaches in soil by the process of weathering and becomes available for plants.

The phosphorus present in soil is absorbed by the plant for their growth and animals get phosphorus when they take plants as food so by this way phosphorus comes inside plants and animals from the rock and soil.

When the animals and plants die their body decomposes by the activities of different microorganisms present in soil and during the breakdown of the organic material present in plant and animal body come again into the soil, by this way phosphorus cycle occurs in our earth. 

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