The Nutrient Cycle

Soil Development: Nutrient Cycle

What a soil is like depends on how it forms. The three
most important factors in soil composition (makeup) are:

Weathering
rock that
(part)?

How big or small are the grains of

make up the mineral component

Organic Matter

How many nutrients are in the

soil? How

on:

fast are they used or replenished? This depends

Nutrient Cycle
Organic Matter:

When living things (like plants or

animals) die, they decompose to enrich the soil with new
nutrients which plants need.

Nutrient Cycle
Organic Matter:

When living things die, they

decompose to become a part of the soil there. Leaves, twigs, and
branches fall from trees. Dead trees fall over and rot. Animals die and
insects and bacteria begin to break them down. As they break down,
or decompose, the chemicals in them seep into the soil, becoming
nutrients which help new plants grow.

Nutrient Cycle
Decomposers:

Animals, insects, fungi, and

bacteria all help break down this organic matter
into nutrients that plants can use.

Nutrient Cycle
Organic Matter:

The more nutrients a soil has,

the better plants can grow there. Places with lots of plants
will tend to have more organic matter and nutrients than
places that have few plants.

Climate
The average weather for an area over a long time
limits what things can live there. The two most
important factors are:

Rainfall

is it usually wet or dry?

Seasons is it hot all the time, are there 4

seasons
is it always

(winter, spring, summer, fall), or

cold?

Climate
Rainfall:

The amount of precipitation (rain, snow,

sleet, hail) a place gets can affect what kind and how many
plants will grow there

Rainforest

Forest

Grassland

Desert

Climate
Seasons:

The amount of sunlight and how hot or cold

a place gets over the course of a year also affects what
kinds of plants can grow there

Rainfall:

Temperate
ical

Latitude:

Polar

Wet

Dry

Arid (very dry)

Climate & Soil

Biomass:

The types and amounts of plants and

animals found in a place will help determine what the soil is
made up of, because when there are more plants and
animals, more organic matter returns to the soil.

Climate & Soil

Desert soils
Dry, sandy, very
little
organic matter,
gritty

Tropical
grassland
soils
High in silt &
clay, weathered,
gray, sticky

Grassland
soils
Topsoil humus
rich, fertile
farming soil,
subsoil sandy &

Forest soils
Dark, humus
rich,
high mineral
content,

Climate & Soil

Northern Colorados soil is mostly Grassland soils.

Colorado lies on the western edge of the Great
Plains, a vast area of grasslands that runs through

Cornell Notes:
Nutrient
Cycle
Earth Science
Brentwood Middle School
6th Grade
Mr. Fearns Class

Topic/Objective: Nutrient Cycle

Essential Question: How

are nutrients introduced to
the soil?

Plants need:
Sunlight
Air (carbon dioxide:
CO2)
Water (H2O)
Nutrients in the
soil
in order to survive

Nutrients

Nutrient Cycle
Organic Matter living things or
the products of living things;
humus
Decompose when organic
matter is broken down to its

Decomposers: Animals, insects,

fungi, & bacteria help break down
organic matter into nutrients that
plants can use

Nutrient Cycle:
1. living things die
2. they decompose
3. soil enriched with
new nutrients
4. Nutrients help
plants grow

Climate & Soil

Climate - average weather for a place
over time
Climate = Sunlight + Rainfall
Soil development affected by
climate

Climate & Soil

Climate which plants & animals
live there
more plants and animals = more
organic matter returns to the soil

Summary:
The Nutrient Cycle is the
process where organic matter
breaks down to create nutrients
in the soil. Plants need these
nutrients to survive. Factors
such as climate affect how
much organic matter is added