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RncYCIINC
Wnit" energ)/ flowsthroughon ecosystem,
uater and
$$J H{ T I t I E $ minerals, such as carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.
are recycled and reused. Each substance trauels through a
biogeochemical ( wt-oh-ctt-oh-KEM-i_kuhl) cycle, mou ing
Definebiogeochemical
cycle.
from the abiotic portion of the enuironment, suchas the
o atmosphere,into liuing things,and back again.
Tracethestepsof thewatercycle.

I
Summarizethemajorsteps THE \ruATER CYCLE
inthenitrogen
cycle.
water is crucial to life. cells contain 70 percent to 90 percent water,
a and water provides the aqueous environment in which most of liteu
Describethesteps chemical reactions occur. The availability of water is one of the kep
of thecarbon
cycle. factors that regulate the productivity of terrestrial ecosystem ,
However, very little of the available water on Earth is trapped withi@
living things at any given time. Bodies of water such as lakes, river6.
streams, and the oceans contain a substantial percentage of ttp
Earth's water. The atmosphere also contains water-in the form d
water vapor. In addition, some water is found below ground. wats
in the soil or in underground.folmations of porous rock is known an
:, 1-]-:.-i"-.,,

FIGURE 22-5
I In thewater cycle,
waterfallsto Earth's
I surface as precipitation.
Some water
I reenters theatmosphere byevaporation
I andtranspiration.Some waterrunsinto
I streams, lakes,
rivers,
andoceans.0ther
I waterseeps through thesoilandinto
I the groundwater.Followthepathways
I of thewatercyclein thefigure.

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22
 ground water. The movement of water between these various reser-
'.oirs, known as the water cycle, is illustrated in Figure 22-5. :==.::
Three important processes in the water cycle are evaporation,
Modeling Ground Water
:ranspiration, and precipitation. Evaporation adds water as vapor
:o the atmosphere. Heat causes water to evaporate from the Materialsdisposable gloves,lab
,:(eans and other bodies of water, from the soil, and from the bod_ apron,3 L plastic
bottle(cutin
half),
smallstones(250mL),dry
resof living things. At least 90 percent of the water that evaporates
sodwithgrass,watet,graduated
:rom terrestrial ecosystems passes through plants in a process cylinder,
500mLbeaker
called transpiration. In transpiration, plants take in water through Procedure
ireir roots, and they release water and take in carbon dioxide
irrough the stomata in their leaves. Animals also participate in the
'h,-atercycle, but their impact is less significant
than that of plants.
oc
1. P uton yourl abapronand
Animals drink water or obtain it from their food. They release this disposablegloves.
b-aterwhen they breathe, sweat, or excrete.
2. Invertthetop halfof the plastic
water leaves the atmosphere through precipitation. The amount bottleandplaceit insidethe
n[ rrater the atmosphere can hold depends on abiotic factors, such bottomhalfof the bottleto
ds temperature and air pressure. once the atmosphere becomes forma column.
sarurated with water vapor, precipitation occurs in the form of 3. Place the stonesin the bottom
raia. snow, sleet, hail, or fog. of the inverted
top halfof the
bottle.Placea chunkof drysod
with grasson top of thesrones.
4. Pour250mL.ofwateroverthe
TFIE CARBON CYCLE sod,andobservehow the water
penetrates thesoilandmoves
throughthecolumn.
liliiryether,photosynthesis and cellular respiration form the basis of
' '- carbon cycle, which is 5. Whenthewateris no longer
illustrated in Figure 22-6.During photos5m_ draining,remove thetop half
tfdi'tpsis.
plants and other autbtrophs use carbon dioxide (COr), along of thecolumnandpourthe
mfi water and solar energy,to make carbohydrates. Both autotrophs waterfromthe bottomof the
;snr heterotrophs use oxygen to break down carbohydrates during columnintoa beaker. Measure
thevolumeof liquidin the
Carbon dioxide beaker.
Analysis Whatis thevolumeof

,,*.*'"'{ibFng4
thewaterthatdrained through
thesod?Howmuchof thewater
remained in thesoil?Whereooes
Photosynthesis thewatergo whenapplied to a
\
€ellular
respiration I \'-"-tr
Combustion
reallawnor crop?Whatmightthe
fateof fertilizeror pesticidesbe
thatareappliedto a lawnor crop?
$
^- T -.Es&.
*r

Carbon existsin theatmosphere in the

formof carbondioxide. Cellular
resoira-
Death and
tion,combustion, anddecomposition
decomposition of organicmatterarethe threemajor
sourcesof carbondioxide. Byburning
largeamounts of fossilfuels,humans
areincreasingthe amountof carbon
dioxidein theatmosphere.

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 cellular respiration. The byproducts of cellular respiration are carb
dioxide and water. Decomposers release carbon dioxide into :' -
atmospherewhen they break down organic compounds.

Er:€?aaeraee*xr €EeeCarb*ea Cy*E*

F{urc"ae.E't
In the last 150 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide in t:,
atmosphere has risen nearly 30 percent. Almost half of this increa..
has occurred in the last 40 years. Human activities are responsi: -
for the increase. Our industrial society depends on the ener.-
released by the burning of fossil fuels-coal, oil, and natural ga'.
Fossil fuels are the remains of organismsthat have been transforrni:
by decay, heat, and pressure into energy-rich organic molecule'.
Burning releasesthe energy in these molecules, but it also releas=":
carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also added to the atmosphere :
the burning of vegetation.Today large areasof tropical rain forest ar.
being burned to create farmland and pasture for cattle. The burnir-
of vegetation adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and tf-.
destruction of vegetation removes plants that could have absorb'::
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.

FIGURE22-7
Thisfigureshowsthe cyclingof nitro-
genwithinan ecosystem. Bacteriaare
tvcLw
fr1rxnNE€Ee*Gsru
responsible for manyof the stepsin the
nitrogen cycle,includingtheconversion AII organisms need nitrogen to make proteins and nucleic acic.
of atmospheric nitrogenintoammonia. The complex pathway that nitrogen follows within an ecosystem'.
Nitrogen{ixing bacterialivein thesoil called the nitrogen cycle. Consider how nitrogen cycles within ti-.
or in the rootsof plants.Plantstakeup
terrestrial ecosystemshown in Figure 22-7.Nitrogen gas,Nr, mak:.
theammonia produced by thebacteria.
Animals getnitrogen by eatingplants up about 78 percent of the atmosphere,so it might seem that njtr--
or otheranimals. gen would be readily availablefor living things. However,shortag=.

1r-":t$1., *€"€*
nitrogen (Nf

*=.- Death Waste Death

; :j i (urine and feces) :'-,
i.":
Assimilation3
Denitrifying \
bacteria ""**-'./ Decomposers

Nitrates S- b
(Nor)& Ammonificationi
b*&tr ' \*w# '
l{itrogen-fixing

,n,i%--.*' Hu ba;teria in soil

22
, HA PT ER
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 of nitrogen often limit the productivity of plants-and therefore the
productivity of ecosystems.Most plants can use nitrogen only in
ihe form of nitrate. The process of converting nitrogen gas to
:ritrate is called nitrogen fixation. organisms rely on the actions of
lacteria that are able to transform nitrogen gas into a usable form.
separate groups of nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas
urto ammonia, then nitrite, and then nitrate, which plants can use.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria live in the soil and in the roots of some
hinds of plants, such as beans, peas, clover, and alfalfa.These plants
inve evolved a complex mutualistic relationship with nitrogen-fixing
aacteria. The plant provides the bacteria with a home-airtight
su'ellings on its roots-and supplies them with carbohydrates. In
atchange,the bacteria produce usable nitrogen for the plant. Excess
itrogen produced by the bacteria is released into the soil.

Recycling Nitrogen
The bodies of dead organisms contain nitrogen, mainly in proteins
and nucleic acids. Urine and dung also contain nitrogen. Decom-
fosers break down the corpses and wastes of organisms and
rclease the nitrogen they contain as ammonia. This process is
ffiiown as ammonification (ah-vntru-i-fi-KAy-shuhn).
Through ammon_
Ldcation,nitrogen that would otherwise be lost is reintroduced into
:he'ecosystem.
Bacteria in the soil take up ammonia and oxidize it into nitrites,
IO, , and nitrates, NOr-. This process, called nitrification
m:-tri-fi-KAY-shuhn),
is carried out by bacteria. The erosion of nitrate-
nch rocks also releases nitrates into an ecosystem. plants use
a.itrates to form amino acids. Nitrogen is returned to the atmos-
F,irerethrough denitrification. Denitrification occurs when anaero-
n,icbacteria break down nitrates and release nitrogen gas back into
rne atmosphere.
Plants can absorb nitrates from the soil, but animals cannot.
Animals obtain nitrogen in the same way they obtain energy_by
eating plants and other organisms and then digesting the proteins
;andnucleic acids.

1. Descibethe biogeochemical
cycle. 5. Throughwhat process
doesmostwatervapor
2. Wheredo nitrogen-fixing bacterialive?What enterthe atmosphere?
Explainthe process.
crucialfunctiondo they perform? 6. CRITICAL THINKING Exptain two waysthat the
3. Describe
the roleof decomposers
in the nitrogen burningof vegetationaffectscarbondioxidelev-
cycle. els in the atmosphere.
Howdo you think the
removalof vegetationaffectsoxygenlevelsin
4. Howhasthe burningof fossilfuelsaffectedthe
the atmosphere?
carboncycle?

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