Tag: species, communities and ecosystems

An ecosystem is made up of biotic and abiotic components. Biotic components include plants, animals, microorganism. Abiotic components include nonliving things such as water, air, temperature, materials of the soil. Essential material includes minerals like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous. Cycling of materials include release of minerals back to the environment. 

There are various of abiotic reservoirs in which the nutrients are recycled, released and stored in atmosphere. Atmosphere is the reservoir of carbon and nitrogen. Hence, these cycles are also called atmospheric cycles. Water is the reservoir of hydrogen and oxygen. Hence, these cycles are called as hydrological cycles. Bedrock is the reservoir of phosphorous. Hence, it is also called as sedimentary cycle.

Biogeochemical cycles are also called as nutrient cycles. It includes gaseous cycles such as carbon cycle, oxygen cycle and sedimentary cycle. Sedimentary cycle consists of weathering of an existing rock followed by the erosion of minerals, transport and deposition. It has earth's crust as the reservoir pool. Examples of sedimentary cycle include sulphur cycle, phosphorous cycle, iron cycle, calcium cycle.

There are various nutrient cycles in an ecosystem which recycles the essential nutrients. The cycles are also called as biogeochemical cycles. Gaseous nutrient cycles include carbon cycle, oxygen cycle, nitrogen cycle. In these cycles, the element is released in the air. Sedimentary nutrient cycles include sulphur cycle, phosphorus cycle. In these cycles, the element is released in the sedimentary rocks.

A biogeochemical cycle is also called as nutrient cycle. It is of various types such as sedimentary cycle, gaseous cycle. Sedimentary cycle consists of weathering of an existing rock followed by the erosion of minerals, transport and deposition. It has earth's crust as the reservoir pool. The sulphur cycle is a sedimentary cycle without an atmospheric component. 

For the sedimentary type of biogeochemical cycles, the reservoir is earth's crust as the nutrients do not take any gaseous form rather they are either mineralized of immobilized but ultimately return to earth's crust by decomposition, leaching etc.

The inorganic nutrients cycle though more than the organisms, however, they also enter into the atmosphere, the oceans and even rocks. Since these chemicals cycle through both the biological and the geological world, we call the overall cycles biogeochemical cycles. 

Biogeochemical cycles are nutrient cycles. These are the cycles which are responsible for the recycling the nutrients which are present in the geosphere and atmosphere. The nutrient recycling takes place in the ecosystem and biomes. The recycling of nutrients helps in maintaining the nutrients in the available form for the uptake by the organisms.

The path through which a nutrient travels as it moves from the air, water or soil into the bodies of living organisms and back to the air, water or soil is called a biogeochemical cycle. It is required to maintain the nutrient level in the ecosystem.

Source of maximum sulfur is/reservoir of sulfur is rocks. It is found in the form of iron pyrites, evaporite rocks in the form of anhydrite and baryte and calcium and magnesium carbonates.