Nutrient cycle

Nutrient cycle refers to the movement and exchange of organic and inorganic matter back into the production of living matter. The process is regulated by food web pathways that decompose matter into mineral nutrients. Nutrient cycles occur within ecosystems. Ecosystems are interconnected systems where matter and energy flows and is exchanged as organisms feed, digest, and migrate about. Minerals and nutrients accumulate in varied densities and uneven configurations across the planet. Ecosystems have many biogeochemical cycles operating as a part of the system, for example the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, etc. All chemical elements occurring in organisms are part of biogeochemical cycles. In addition to being a part of living organisms, these chemical elements also cycle through abiotic factors of ecosystems such as water (hydrosphere), land (lithosphere), and the air (atmosphere); the living factors of the planet can be referred to collectively as the biosphere. All the nutrients—such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur—used in ecosystems by living organisms are a part of a closed system; these nutrients are recycled but not gained or lost.

Overview

Nutrient cycles are important processes in both ecosystems and the biosphere. The regulation of these cycles involves the conservation of matter and the stoichiometry of the cycle processes. Nutrient cycles are both hydrological and atmospheric components. For example, the water cycle is the circulation of water, whereas the nitrogen cycle mainly involves atmospheric nitrogen being metabolically incorporated into biological tissues.

Types of nutrient cycles

Carbon cycle

The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere of the Earth.

Nitrogen cycle

The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among the atmosphere, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems.

Phosphorus cycle

The phosphorus cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

Sulfur cycle

The sulfur cycle is the collection of processes by which sulfur moves to and from minerals (including the waterways) and living systems.

See also

• Biogeochemical cycle
• Ecology
• Ecosystem
• Biosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Atmosphere

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  Nutrient cycle

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  Home composting in Roubaix

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  Diagram of the nutrient cycle

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  Simple food web

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  Whale pump illustration

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  Darwin's earthworm illustration

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  Fallen tree in Berge nature reserve