ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENCE
 What is Biogeochemical Cycle?

▪ Biogeochemical cycles mainly

refer to the movement of
nutrients and other elements
between biotic and abiotic
factors.
▪ The term biogeochemical is
derived from “bio” meaning
biosphere, “geo” meaning the
geological components and
“chemical” meaning the
elements that move through a
cycle.
WATER CYCLE OXYGEN CYCLE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

CARBON CYCLE SULFUR CYCLE NITROGEN CYCLE

 WATER CYCLE

The water cycle,

also known as the
hydrologic cycle or the
hydrological cycle, is a
biogeochemical cycle that
describes the continuous
movement of water on,
above and below the
surface of the Earth.
 Four (4) stages in the Water Cycle

01 EVAPORATION
02 CONDENSATION
03 PRECIPITATION
04 COLLECTION
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON CYCLE

Carbon cycle is the

process where carbon
compounds are interchanged
among the biosphere, geosphere,
pedosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere of the earth.
 Steps in Carbon Cycle
1. Carbon present in the atmosphere is absorbed by
plants for photosynthesis.

2. These plants are then consumed by animals and

carbons gets bioaccumulated into their bodies

3. These animals and plants eventually die, and upon

decomposing, carbon released back into the atmosphere.

4. Some of the carbons that is not released back into

the atmosphere eventually become fossil fuels.

5. These fossil fuels are then used for man-made activities,

which pump more carbon into the atmosphere.
OXYGEN CYCLE
 OXYGEN CYCLE

• Oxygen cycle is a biogeochemical cycle

about the movement of oxygen.

• Circulation of oxygen in various forms

through nature. Maintains the amount of
oxygen in the atmosphere.

• Oxygen cycle refers to the movement of

oxygen through the atmosphere,
biosphere and the lithosphere.
 Steps in Oxygen Cycle

1. Plants release oxygen into the atmosphere as a by

product of photosynthesis.

2. Animals take in oxygen through the process of

respiration animals then break down sugars and food.

3. Carbon dioxide is released by animals and used in

plants in photosynthesis.
Oxygen in balanced between atmosphere and the
ocean.
 SULFUR CYCLE

The sulfur cycle describes

the movement of sulfur through
the atmosphere, mineral forms,
and through living things.
Although sulfur is primarily
found in sedimentary rocks or
sea water, it is particularly
important to living things
because it is a component of
many proteins.
 All living things
require sulfur, in
order to make
protein.
 First, sulfur
reserves are found in
the lithosphere and
are released by
weathering.
 In addition,
Hydrogen Sulfide
and Sulfur Dioxide
Gas is released into
the atmosphere by
volcanic eruptions,
hot springs and
bogs.
 Marine algae
produce Dimethyl
Sulfide that enters
the atmosphere
as tiny droplets.
 Sulfur Dioxide
Gas also forms
when Dimethyl
Sulfide reacts with
oxygen gas.
 Sulfur Dioxide
reacts with
oxygen in the
atmosphere and
creates Sulfur
Trioxide.
 - The Sulfur Trioxide
react with water in
the atmosphere to
produce sulfuric acid.
- Sulfur Trioxide also
reacts with the
ammonia in the
atmosphere to
produce Sulfate Salt.
 The Sulfuric Acid and Sulfate Salt fall to the earth by
precipitation like rainfall. The soil absorbs this sulfate salts,
plants then absorb the sulfur by absorbing the sulfate salts
from the soil.
 Animals in turn,
get sulfur by eating
the plants and the
animals release
sulfur when they
decay. As animals
decay, they release
sulfate salts and
Hydrogen Sulfide.
 Aerobic bacteria,
breaks down the
Hydrogen Sulfide
into the sulfur gas,
and the Aerobic
Bacteria converts
the sulfur into
Sulfate Salt, which
again the plants
absorb.
PHOSPHORUS
CYCLE
 P H O S P H O R U S C YC L E
Phosphorus is not found in the atmosphere.

Phosphorus is essential for plants and animals

growth as well as the health of microbes inhabiting
the soil
Phosphorus is very important for the production of
DNA and RNA helps to make up cell membrane and
t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f AT P
Four key steps
P h o s p h o r u s c yc l e i s a s l o w p ro c e s s 01 W E AT H E R I N G
a n d i nvo l ve s fo u r key ste ps .

ABSORPTION 02

03 DECOMPOSITION

SEDIMENT 04
Phosphorus Cycle Process
NITROGEN CYCLE

The nitrogen cycle is a

biogeochemical process
that transforms the inert
nitrogen present in the
atmosphere into a more
usable form for living
organisms.
 Five (5) stages in Nitrogen Cycle

01 Nitrogen Fixation
02 Nitrification
03 Assimilation

04 Ammonification
05
Denitrification
Nitrogen in Atmosphere

Nitrogen is the primary gas in the

atmosphere, making up 78.084 percent by
volume in dry air. It is a colorless, odorless, and
tasteless gas that exists in the form of a
diatomic molecule (N2) in the atmosphere.
 BACTERIA
Nitrogen-
• Free-living (nonsymbiotic) nitrogen-fixing bacteria:
(Anabaena, Nostoc, Azotobacter, Beijerinckia & Clostridium) fixing
• Mutualistic (symbiotic) nitrogen-fixing bacteria: bacteria
Rhizobium (associated with plants in the pea family)
Azospirillum species (associated with cereal grasses)

• Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria
Nitrifying (Nitrosomonas)
bacteria
• Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria
(Nitrobacter)
 BACTERIA • Thiobacillus denitrificans
• Micrococcus denitrificans Denitrifying
• Species of Serratia bacteria
• Pseudomonas
• Achromobacter

Bacteria:
Decomposers (Penicillium, Bacillus thuringiensis, and Bacillus)
Bacteria and
Fungi Fungi:
(Mushrooms, Molds, Yeasts, and Lichens)
 Nitrogen
Cycle Process
Nitrogen Fixation

During nitrogen fixation, atmospheric nitrogen

(N2) is converted into ammonia (NH3) by
nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Nitrogen-
Inert Ammonia &
fixing Ammonium
Nitrogen
Bacteria
Nitrification

Nitrification is the process by which ammonia

is converted into nitrite (NO2-) and then into
nitrate (NO3-) by nitrifying bacteria.

Ammonia & Nitrifying

Ammonium Bacteria Nitrites Nitrates
Assimilation

Assimilation is the process by which plants absorb nitrate

from the soil and use it to build proteins and other organic
molecules.

Proteins
Plants and other
Nitrates
Roots important
Compounds
Ammonification

Ammonification is the process by which organic nitrogen

compounds are broken down into ammonia by decomposer
bacteria.

Waste, Dead
Ammonia &
Animals and Decomposers Ammonium
Plants
Denitrification

Denitrification is the process by which nitrate is converted

back into atmospheric nitrogen by denitrifying bacteria.

Nitrogen
Denitrifying
Nitrates Gas or Inert
bacteria
Nitrogen