Biogeochemical cycles are the transportations and transformations of chemicals in ecosystems (UCAR, n.d.). Some chemicals can be a part of a plant or an animal one day and then be a part of a river the next day. Biogeochemical cycles are of extreme importance for the planet, as they help to use energy and preserve matter at the same time. The most common biogeochemical cycles are carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles. The purpose of this paper was to summarize these three cycles.
The carbon cycle is one of the most commonly known cycles, as carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the greenhouse gases. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants through the photosynthesis of CO2 into O2. Then carbon moves to animals as they eat plants. After that, carbon moves to the slay through the decay of animals’ dead bodies and fecal masses. At the same time, carbon moves to the atmosphere as animals exhale and fuels are burned. Carbon also moves from the atmosphere to oceans as bodies of water absorb some carbon.
Another crucial cycle is the nitrogen cycle. Most of the nitrogen exists in the atmosphere in the form of nitrogen gas (N2), which is unusable for animals and plants. It can become useable only when the molecules of nitrogen are broken during a lightning strike or some bacteria. Plants absorb nitrogen from the soil, and animals get the nitrogen by eating plants. Nitrogen returns to the soil as organic residues.
The third most important biogeochemical cycle is the water cycle. Waterfalls on the soil as rains, movies to the oceans and bodies of water through ground waters, and then evaporates from the surface of water bodies. Plants absorb water from the soil, and animals drink water from water bodies. The water returns to the soil as the animals die and decay.
Biogeochemical cycles play an important role in the conservation of life on Earth. In particular, the cycles ensure that all the elements are reused in the ecosystem. Without such cycles, life would be impossible, as the matter would not be reused. The biogeochemical cycles demonstrate how different forms of life are connected to each other.
References
UCAR. (n.d.). Biogeochemical Cycles. Web.