Three important cycles in the biogeochemical cycle are the carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen cycles. Each cycle has their own different roles in the ecosystem. One is in the air, one in the minerals of rocks, and the other one in the soil, and air. The Carbon cycle, which is carbon dioxide, is in the air, and is also used for photosynthesis. Humans, animals, and plants breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide.
Humans in general are diverting or removing 40% of photosynthetic effort of land plants in order to support human enterprises. Burning fossil fuels has amplified atmospheric carbon dioxide by 35% over preindustrial levels. The phosphorus cycle is representative of all the 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. Phosphorus exists in various rock and soil minerals as the inorganic ion phosphate (PO43-). Phosphate is incorporated into many molecules essential for life such as ATP, adenosine triphosphate, which is important in the storage and use of energy.
Running head: Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen Cycles Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen Cycles and Human Effects Lateta M. Thompson Everest University- South Running head: Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen Cycles 1 Carbon, Phosphorus, and Nitrogen Cycles Many years ago carbon dioxide was abundant prior to life. Carbon can be found in the World’s atmosphere, as well as emitted from the burning of fossil fuels and even breathed out of many species’ mouth, including humans. All plants get rid of this gas through the process called respiration. With the ever growing population humans have an impact because we are cutting down trees which lessen the amount of CO2 transferred to oxygen thus in turn lowers our air quality. The ozone layer which is our protector from the sun is impacted with the increase of burning fossil fuel such as oil, coal, and natural gas which increases atmospheric carbon dioxide.
| | The FACTS-I experiment is testing how elevated CO2 influences tree growth, carbon concentration in soils, and other factors over a ten-year period. | Greenhouse Effect | The greenhouse effect is caused by atmospheric CO2 but is necessary to keep the surface of the Earth at a habitable temperature. | | Increased levels of atmospheric CO2 could cause global warming and significant climatic change. | | Life on Earth is protected from dangerous radiation by a protective layer or ozone molecules present in the atmosphere.
Through photosynthesis, plants take in carbon and the carbon becomes parts of the plants body. Then the animals in the ecosystem eat the plants which then transfer the carbon to the animal’s tissues and all the other animals in the ecosystem. After taking in the carbon, the decomposers in the ground eat dead animals and other dead matter and then return the carbon to the atmosphere. The marine cycle of carbon is a little different because through photosynthesis of algae and other non-living carbonates, the ocean takes in carbon which is then passed to the marine life by the animals eating the algae and other carbonates. Phosphorus is in the lithosphere of the earth and is found in the rock and soil minerals.
Automobiles and energy production use fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide absorbs infrared energy that is emitted from the Earth and prevents it from being sent into space. The infrared energy is trapped in the atmosphere and heats the Earth. In a year 21.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is produced.
Humans pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere burn everyday by burning using excessive energy, fossil flue and even by simply breathing we are releasing more and more carbon dioxide. Who are the winners and losers among marine organisms in a more acidic ocean? There are some creatures in the world ocean that may benefit from the higher amount of carbonic acid such as photosynthetic algae and sea grass. Much like plants, both of these organisms breathe in carbon dioxide in order to live. However, there is a larger list of organisms that do not benefit from the carbonic acid in the world ocean.
“Their influence is known as the greenhouse gases, which are carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and water vapor”(“American Meteorological Society 2007”). These gases mixes with the sun ultraviolet rays, disburse into the earth atmosphere with harmful results. Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is one way the human activities effects the environment. Carbon dioxide from the exhaust of cars in heavily polluted cities, farming machinery such as tractors, and smokestacks of refinery companies are just some of the ways carbon dioxide gases are release into the atmosphere by human contributors. The nitrous oxide gases affect the aquatic ecosystem food web chains, which leads from the smallest phytoplankton up to the largest mammal, which is man.
These four processes crucial to plant life are photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis, photoperiodism and phototropism. Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants take light energy from the sun or another source, convert it into chemical based energy, and then use this energy to survive. The light energy becomes organic molecules, which make up some fundamental structures inherent to each plant. Photosynthesis also plays a part in the ever-important process of helping to sustain human life. Carbon dioxide is pulled from the environment outside of the plant and used as a part of photosynthesis to acquire energy and to run life-sustaining processes.
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration Abstract In order for plants to live, they must have an energy source. This energy source is achieved through two metabolic processes known as cellular respiration and photosynthesis. These two reactions can be affected by a series of environmental factors and in this lab pH levels are being experimented on in order to see the effects of pH on oxygen production in photosynthesis and oxygen consumption in cellular respiration. To conduct this experiment, an enclosed apparatus was used and a number of leaf disks were used to represent the reaction of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Introduction All organisms and their individual cells need a source of energy and air supply in order to maintain life.