Unit – II Natural Resources

 Material cycles-
Nitrogen, Carbon, Sulphur, Phosphorus and Water Cycles.

 Mineral Resources

 Energy Resources:

Conventional and Non-Conventional: Coal, Petroleum,

Natural Gas, Nuclear Fuel, Hydro- Electric, Solar, Biomass,
Wind, Tidal, Geothermal.

 Hydrogen as alternative future source of Energy.

Material cycles
 Types of Biogeochemical cycle
Biogeochemical cycles are generally of two types.
 1. Gaseous cycle
 Gaseous cycle elements move through the atmosphere.
The elements have a main reservoir in the gaseous phase,
which is very important in the cycle.
 For eg. Nitrogen and Carbon, cycles.
 2.Sedimentary Cycle
 In a sedimentary cycle elements move from land to water
to sediments .Elements fixed under this cycle do not have a
gaseous phase.
 Generally Sulphur and Phosphorous cycle is under going in
this category.
 The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is an essential element in all living things, where it is a crucial component

of organic molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids.

Atmospheric nitrogen is almost all in the form of nitrogen gas (N2), which composes
78 percent of the atmosphere by volume .

Nitrogen (N) is one of the most dynamic elements in the earth’s biosphere; it
undergoes transformations that constantly convert it between organic, inorganic,
gaseous, and mineral forms.

The nitrogen cycle represents one of the most important nutrient cycles found in
terrestrial ecosystems .

Nitrogen cycle is the cycle in which atmosphere nitrogen is converted into its
compounds such as nitrates and combined nitrogen again passing back to the
atmosphere.

The to & fro flow of nitrogen is achieved through several process.

 Ammonification

Here, organic nitrogen from dead plants and soil organisms is converted to
ammonium (NH4+) by mineralisation.

 Mineralisation is the decomposition of organic matter to NH4+ which is a

usable nutrient ion.

This is an inorganic form of nitrogen (plants cannot absorb organic nitrogen).

Many different soil organisms are involved in the ammonification process

including bacteria and fungi.

These soil organisms break down organic matter using the carbon and energy
produced, but nitrogen is released.
 Nitrification
This is the oxidation of ammonium ions from mineralisation to
nitrate anions via chemoautotrophic bacteria.

These are organisms that aid in the nitrification process i.e.

nitrosomonas and nitrobacter.

They use energy obtained by oxidization-reduction reactions in the

conversion of NH4+ to NO2-, and use carbon from CO2 in the soil
atmosphere.

Nitrosomonas convert ammonium to nitrite and nitrobacter convert

nitrite to nitrate. pH has an impact upon which part of the process can
occur.
 Denitrification
 This refers to the change (via denitrifying bacteria) of nitrate to gaseous forms of
nitrogen such as nitrogen gas (N2) or nitrous oxide (N2O).

The process is rapid and large amounts of N2 are lost from the soil system and end
up in the atmosphere.

This typically happens when there is a lack of oxygen in the soil, for instance when
the soil is too wet. As a soil dries out, denitrification ceases.

 Nitrate and nitrite are reduced by denitrifying bacteria, which can use these
nitrogen oxides in place of oxygen for their metabolism.

 Denitrification is a bacterial process that occurs in anaerobic (oxygen-limited)

environments such as waterlogged soil or sediment.
 Nitrogen Fixation
 During nitrogen fixation nitrogen gas (N2) is converted back to ammonium
(NH4+) by bacteria in soil or water, or by bacteria which have a symbiotic
relationship with plants, such as rhizobium bacteria on the roots of legumes.
 Nitrogen fixation is the conversion, by bacteria, of nitrogen gas
into ammonium (NH4+) and then organic nitrogen (proteins, nucleic acids, and
other nitrogen-containing compounds).
 The microorganisms that carry out nitrogen fixation are highly specialized. Each
one carries a special enzyme complex, called nitrogenase, that allows it to carry
out fixation .
 Nitrogen-fixing microbes, may be either free-living or growing in association
with higher organisms such as legumes (in which case the process is called
symbiotic nitrogen fixation).
 Because they are able to form these symbiotic associations with nitrogen-fixing
bacteria, legumes can produce seeds and leaves with more nitrogen than other
plants. When they die, they return much of that nitrogen to soil, enriching it for
future growth.
Carbon Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Carbon Cycle…
Carbon Cycle…

ppm
Carbon Cycle…
Carbon Cycle…
Carbon Cycle…
Carbon Cycle