Biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and nitrogen.
Review the biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and nitrogen. Based on your research, answer the following questions:
1.What are the features of the phosphorus and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and how are these similar and different from the carbon cycle? (8 marks)
2.Explain the influences that humans can have on these cycles and explain why this is the case. (2 marks)
3.Based on your research, indicate whether the following question is true or false and defend your conclusion based on the research information available: If we don’t change our demands on nitrogen and phosphorus, we will run out of them in the near future.
Biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus and nitrogen
The phosphorus cycle encompasses numerous living and nonliving environmental reservoirs and various transport pathways. The global phosphorus has four major components: tectonic uplift and exposure of phosphorus-bearing rocks to the forces of weathering; physical erosion and chemical weathering of rocks producing soils and providing dissolved and particulate phosphorus; riverine transport of phosphorus to lakes and the ocean; and sedimentation of phosphorus associated with organic and mineral matter and burial in sediments. Carbon cycles through the environment at different spatial and temporal scales. The carbon cycle can be characterized as two interconnected subcycles. One subcycle consists of carbon exchange among living things and the second subcycle comprises long-term cycling of carbon through geologic processes. The biogeochemical cycles of phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon are interconnected via key processes such as photosynthesis, decomposition, and respiration from local to global scales.
