Inorganic ions are charged particles that do not contain carbon atoms bonded together. While organisms are mainly built from carbon-containing molecules, their functions rely on inorganic ions such as nitrate, hydrogen and calcium. This essay will detail some of the roles of specific ions and describe how animals, plants and bacteria use them. Productivity in an ecosystem in the soil is limited in part by the availability of fixed nitrogen in the soil. Nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots of leguminous plants reduce atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium using ATP and reduced NAD.
Land plants need phosphate as a fertilizer or nutrient. Humans affect the phosphorus cycle by moving phosphorus around and it becomes runoff. When it is in run-off, it can end up in large stores of water and the
Phosphorus Cycle The phosphorus cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. Unlike many other biogeochemical cycles, the atmosphere does not play a significant role in the movement of phosphorus, because phosphorus and phosphorus-based compounds are usually solids at the typical ranges of temperature and pressure found on Earth. The production of phosphine gas occurs only in specialized, local conditions. Low phosphorus (chemical symbol, P) availability slows down microbial growth, which has been shown in studies of soil microbial biomass. Soil microorganisms act as sinks and sources of available P in the biogeochemical cycle.
For instance Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere is synthesized by plants, which is ingested and metabolized by animals, which is converted to Carbon Dioxide during respiration and decay. Humans remove over 40% of the photosynthetic that effort plants in order to support human enterprises. When humans burn fossils fuels that increases the atmosphere Carbon Dioxide by 35%, then during the combustion stage the present of air (oxygen), Carbon Dioxide and water molecules are release into the atmosphere. Human has an impact on the Phosphorus Cycle as well as the Carbon Cycle. The Phosphorus Cycle is representative of the cycle of all biologically important mineral nutrients-those elements that have their origin in the rock and soil minerals of the Lithosphere, such as iron, calcium, and potassium.
What are the three trophic levels? There are three trophic levels in our ecosystem. The first trophic level is Producers: Organisms that capture energy from the sun or chemical reactions to convert carbon dioxide to organic matter; most producers are green plants. (Boorse,Wright,2011) The second trophic level is Consumers which are organisms that derive their energy from feeding on other organisms or their products. (Boorse, Wright, 2011) The third trophic level is Decomposers, these organisms feeding actions are a result of rotting or organic material.
The dead zone is littered with the carcasses of dead sea animals. There are 405 dead zones reported world-wide. Natural and Human Impact Dead zones can be caused by both natural and human impact on the environment. High levels of chemical nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) cause algae blooms to flourish. After the algae accumulate, it dies, decomposes and depletes the oxygen in the ocean creating a dead zone.
There is another type of organism that cleans up after the others, and they are called detritivores. Detritivores (or decomposers) use energy from waste or dead organisms, and they complete the cycle by returning nutrients back into the soil or carbon dioxide to the air. The number of trophic levels is limited by the amount of energy available, which is always set. Trophic levels can include tertiary consumers, quaternary consumers, and so on until there is no longer any more energy available for the biggest and neediest consumers. Energy starts from the resource, which would be the sun in almost all cases.
Biochar is made by slow cooking plant wastes until it becomes a carbon-rich char that is mixed with soil and buried underground. This process keeps the carbon created by the plant waste in the soil instead of being released into the atmosphere. Charcoal has positive effects on plant life. It adds a source of carbon to plants, speeds water drainage, allows good air flow in the soil and stops the growth of bacteria and fungi. The company Carbon Gold who will help to create the product, states that it is an effective way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Some of runoff enters rivers flowing water towards ocean where water cycle had started. Another cycle which is part of the ecosystem is the nitrogen cycle. All living organisms require a source of nitrogen from which to manufacture proteins, nucleic acids and other nitrogen containing compounds. Plants take up most of nitrogen they need in form of nitrate (NO3- ) ions from the soil. Ammonification is the production of ammonia from organic compounds such as urea.
The substance that absorbs sunlight is chlorophyll, which is mainly contained in chloroplasts. This energy is used to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water into sugars. This conversion creates the waste product oxygen, which is used by humans for breathing. Without being able to photosynthesise plants will stop growing and die. In a plant growing in the dark the chlorophyll will slowly be destroyed causing them to use their food reserves.