home » Exploitation » What role does the biological cycle play? The role of the biosphere in nature

What role does the biological cycle play? The role of the biosphere in nature

Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation

Branch of the Baikal State University of Economics and

driving license in Bratsk

Faculty of Finance and Credit

on Environmental Management

TOPIC: The cycle of substances, the role and place of man in the biosphere.

Completed: st-ka gr. N-02

Ponomareva A.E.

Scientific director:

Epifantseva E.I.

Bratsk-2004

CONTENT:

Introduction……………………………………………………………..3

1. Cycle of substances: concept, types……………………..…..4

1.1 Carbon cycle………………………………………………………6

1.2 Nitrogen cycle…………………………………………..7

2. The concept of environmental pollution…………………..13

3. Noosphere as a new stage in the evolution of the biosphere…………15

Conclusion………………………………………………………..19

List of references…………………………….20

Introduction

The biosphere is the part of the globe within which life exists. For this special shell of the Earth, three conditions are most important. Firstly, it contains a lot of liquid water, which automatically implies the presence of a fairly dense atmosphere and a certain temperature range. Secondly, a powerful stream of radiant energy from the Sun falls on it. Thirdly, it contains pronounced interfaces between matter in different phase states - gaseous, liquid and solid.

It should be noted that man (with his scientific and technological progress) occupies the main, fundamental place in the cycle of substances in the biosphere. Not to mention its dominant place in the natural environment. The development of science and technology has resulted in pollution of the atmosphere, waters, and soils of our planet. Since the advent of man, the biosphere has been forced to adapt to all the emerging and emerging needs of humanity. Environmental protection is a complex problem that can only be solved through the joint efforts of specialists from various fields of science and technology. The most effective form of protecting the environment from the harmful effects of industrial enterprises is the transition to low-waste and non-waste technologies, and in agricultural production to biological methods of weed and pest control. This will require solving a whole complex of complex technological, design and organizational problems.

1.Cycle of substances: concept, types.

Academician V.R. Williams wrote that the only way to give something finite the properties of the infinite is to force the finite to rotate along a closed curve, that is, to involve it in a cycle.

All substances on planet Earth are in the process of biochemical circulation. There are two main cycles: big(geological) and small(biotic).

The Great Cycle lasts millions of years. Rocks are destroyed, weathered and carried by streams of water into the World Ocean, where they form powerful marine strata. Some chemical compounds dissolve in water or are consumed by the biocenosis. Large slow geotectonic changes, processes associated with the subsidence of continents and the rise of the seabed, the movement of seas and oceans over a long period of time lead to the fact that these strata return to land and the process begins again.

The small cycle, being part of the large one, occurs at the level of biogeocenosis and consists in the fact that nutrients from soil, water, and air accumulate in plants and are spent on creating their mass and life processes in them. The decay products of organic matter under the influence of bacteria are again decomposed into mineral components accessible to plants, and are drawn into the flow of matter by them.

The return of chemicals from the inorganic environment through plant and animal organisms back to the inorganic environment using solar energy and chemical reactions is called biochemical cycle.

Three groups of organisms participate in the cycle of substances:

Producers(producers) - autotrophic organisms and green plants that, using solar energy, create the primary production of living matter. They consume carbon dioxide, water, salts and release oxygen. Some chemoseptic bacteria that are capable of creating organic matter belong to this group.

Decomposers(reducing agents) - organisms that feed on organisms, bacteria and fungi. Here, the role of microorganisms is especially great, completely destroying organic residues, turning them into final products: mineral salts, carbon dioxide, water, simple organic substances that enter the soil and are again consumed by plants.

As a result of photosynthesis on land, 1.5 * 10 10 -5.5 * 10 10 tons of plant biomass are created annually, which contains about 3 * 10 18 KJ of energy. The entire increase in living matter is 8.8.10 11 t/year. The total mass of living matter on Earth includes about 500 thousand species of plants and about 2 million species of animals.

The rate of formation of a biological substance (biomass), i.e. the formation of a mass of substance per unit time, is called ecosystem productivity.

On land, the total volume of biomass is 6.6 * 10 12 tons, which is about 4.5 * 10 18 kJ of solar energy. The biomass of the oceans is significantly less than on land, i.e. 3 * 10 10 tons. In the ocean, the mass of animals is 30 times greater than the mass of plants, and on land the mass of plants is 98-99% of the total biomass. The biological productivity of land and ocean is approximately equal, since the ocean biomass consists mainly of unicellular algae, which is renewed daily. Land biomass is renewed within 15 years.

1.1 Carbon cycle

The energy cycle is connected with the circulation of substances. Most more characteristic of processes occurring in the biosphere is the carbon cycle. Carbon compounds are formed, changed and destroyed. The main pathway of carbon is from carbon dioxide to living matter and back. Part of the carbon leaves the cycle, being deposited in sedimentary rocks of the ocean or in fossil combustible substances of organic origin (peat, coal, oil, flammable gases), where the bulk of it has already been accumulated. This carbon takes part in the slow geological cycle.

The exchange of carbon dioxide also occurs between the atmosphere and the ocean. In the upper layers of the ocean there is a large amount of dissolved co the amount of carbon dioxide in equilibrium with the atmosphere. In total, the hydrosphere contains about 13*10 13 tons of dissolved carbon dioxide, and the atmosphere contains 60 times less. Life on Earth and the gas balance of the atmosphere are supported by relatively small amounts of carbon participating in the small cycle and contained in plant tissues (5 * 10 11 t), in animal tissues (5 * 10 9 t).

1.2 Nitrogen cycle

The nitrogen cycle plays an important role in biosphere processes. They involve only nitrogen, which is part of certain chemical compounds.

Its fixation in chemical compounds occurs during volcanic activity, during lightning discharges in the atmosphere during the process of its ionization, and during the combustion of materials. Microorganisms play a decisive role in nitrogen fixation.

Nitrogen compounds (nitrates, nitrites) in solutions enter plant organisms, participating in the formation of organic matter (amino acids, complex proteins). Part of the connections

nitrogen is carried into rivers, seas, and penetrates into groundwater. From compounds dissolved in sea water, nitrogen is absorbed by aquatic organisms, and after they die, it moves into the depths of the ocean. Therefore, the concentration of nitrogen in the upper layers of the ocean increases markedly.

One of the most important elements of the biosphere is phosphorus, which is part of nucleic acids, cell membranes, and bone tissue. Phosphorus also participates in the small and large cycles and is absorbed by plants. Sodium and calcium phosphates are poorly soluble in water, and in an alkaline environment they are practically insoluble.

The key element of the biosphere is water. The water cycle occurs by evaporating it from the surface of water bodies and land into the atmosphere, and then being transported by air masses, condensing and falling as precipitation.

The average duration of the general cycle of exchange of carbon, nitrogen and water involved in the biological cycle is 300-400 years. According to this rate, the mineral compounds bound in the biomass are released. Soil humus substances are released and mineralized.

Different substances have different rates of exchange in the biosphere. Mobile compounds include: chlorine, sulfur, boron, bromine, fluorine. Passive ones include silicon, potassium, phosphorus, copper, nickel, aluminum and iron. The circulation of all biogenic elements occurs at the level of biogeocenosis. The productivity of the biogeocenosis depends on how regularly and completely the cycle of chemical elements occurs.

Human intervention negatively affects the circulation processes. For example, deforestation or disruption of the processes of assimilation of substances by plants as a result of pollution lead to a decrease in the intensity of carbon assimilation. An excess of organic elements in water under the influence of industrial wastewater causes rotting of reservoirs and excessive consumption of oxygen dissolved in water, which prevents the development of aerobic (oxygen-consuming) bacteria. By burning fossil fuels, fixing atmospheric nitrogen in industrial products, and binding phosphorus in detergents (synthetic detergents), humans disrupt the cycle of elements.

The rate of cycles of nutrients is quite high. The turnover time of atmospheric carbon is about 8 years. Each year, approximately 12% of the carbon dioxide in the air is recycled into the cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. The total cycle time for nitrogen is estimated at more than 110 years, for oxygen at 2500 years.

The circulation of substances in nature implies a general consistency of place, time and speed of processes at levels from the population to the biosphere. This consistency of natural phenomena is called ecological balance, but this balance is mobile and dynamic.

Biological cycle

The biological cycle of chemical elements occurs thanks to solar energy captured by plants. Plants in the light absorb carbon dioxide and water, absorb minerals from the soil and release oxygen. Land plants release oxygen into the atmosphere, and aquatic plants release oxygen into the water. Plants in the dark, animals, fungi and microbes, both in the dark and in the light, absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide into the external environment. Heterotrophic organisms mainly obtain other substances from plants. The absorption and release of oxygen and carbon dioxide by plants and animals is balanced, so the gas composition of the Earth's atmosphere remains fairly constant for a long time.

Thanks to green plants that carry out the process of photosynthesis, complex molecules of organic substances are created in the biosphere. The energy contained in them is used for vital processes by heterotrophic organisms. This is the cosmic function of the green plants of the biosphere. Without living matter, the work of a solar ray would be reduced only to moving gaseous, liquid and solid bodies across the surface of the planet and temporarily heating them. Living matter acts as a giant battery and a unique transformer of bound radiant energy from the Sun. Solar energy without living matter would not perform creative activity on Earth, since it could neither stay on it nor be transformed into the energy necessary for this.

Solar energy is captured primarily by plants. But all living matter takes part in retaining and transforming the energy of the Sun contained in them, moving it across the surface, as well as from the external to the deeper layers of the planet. This process is carried out through reproduction, subsequent growth and movement of organisms. Reproduction rate, according to V.I. Vernadsky, is the rate of transmission of geochemical energy in the biosphere.

Biogeocenosis

The elementary structural and functional unit of the biosphere is biogeocenosis. It is in biogeocenosis that organisms and their habitats are closely mutually adapted to each other and thanks to this, the biological circulation of substances takes place - the basis for the infinity of life on the planet. In the course of the biological cycle, limited reserves of chemical substances become infinite, since they are in continuous circular circulation. Therefore, the circulation of substances in the form of biogeochemical cycles is a necessary condition for the existence of the biosphere. The entire cycle of substances in the biosphere occurs thanks to one source of energy - the Sun. A close relationship has been established between the amount of solar energy entering the planet and the amount of living matter produced. Thus, as a result of many years of research by scientists from different countries, it was possible to calculate that approximately 150-200 billion tons of dry organic matter are formed annually in the biosphere. Thus, the creation of the doctrine of the biosphere was an important achievement of mankind. For the first time, living nature began to be viewed as an integral system that closely interacts with the abiotic environment. IN AND. Vernadsky laid the foundations for modern scientific ideas about the planetary and cosmic significance of life, about the interconnection and interaction of living and inanimate nature.

The role of plants in nature

Green plants create conditions on Earth for the existence of all living organisms. They release oxygen, which is necessary for respiration, and serve as the main source of food for all animals. Even the most bloodthirsty predator depends on the plants that feed its prey.

The formation of the gas composition of atmospheric air, as is known, is also directly dependent on plants. Green plants during the process of photosynthesis release about 510 "tons of free oxygen per year. One hectare of corn releases 15 tons of oxygen per year, which is enough for the breathing of 30 people. All atmospheric oxygen passes through green matter in about 2000 years. In 300 years, plants absorb as much carbon, how much of it is contained in the atmosphere and waters. The annual chemical energy of photosynthesis products was 1000 times higher than the energy production at the end of the 20th century by all power plants in the world. It has been established that the plants of the Earth annually form more than 177 billion tons of organic matter in the process of photosynthesis.

Plants participate in the formation of humus, which is the most essential part of the soil and ensures its high fertility. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the molecules of many organic substances include atoms of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and often other elements (iron, cobalt, magnesium, copper). All of them are extracted by plants from the soil or aquatic environment in the form of salt ions, mainly in oxidized form. Mineral salts are not washed out from the surface layers of the soil, since vegetation constantly absorbs some of the minerals from the soil and transfers them to animals for food. Animals, just like plants, after they die, transfer minerals back into the soil, from where they are again absorbed by plants.

Vegetation has a great influence on climate, water bodies, wildlife and other elements of the biosphere, with which it is closely interconnected. Plants live on vast expanses of land: tundras, forests, steppes. They inhabit the watery expanses of ponds, lakes, swamps, rivers, seas, oceans and are able to live even on bare rocks and shifting sands. Such plants that reproduce and spread without human intervention are called wild plants. Today, about 500 thousand species of wild plants are known on the globe.

Biological cycle. Each group of organisms plays a specific role in the biosphere. Plants are intermediaries between the Sun and the Earth. They create primary organic matter through photosynthesis under the influence of sunlight. Therefore, plants are producing organisms. Animals feed on plants or other animals, i.e., ready-made organic substances; These are consumer organisms. By eating organic matter, animals move them along the earth's surface. Along the way, they spread spores and seeds and thereby contribute to the spread of plants and fungi.

Fungi and bacteria decompose the remains of dead organisms. They convert organic substances into inorganic ones, which are again consumed by plants. Thus, bacteria and fungi are destructive organisms. When organic matter decomposes, heat is released, i.e. energy that was once absorbed from the Sun by plants. If destroyer organisms disappeared, the biosphere would be poisoned, since many decay products of organic substances are poisonous.

Thus, living organisms transfer matter and energy from one part of the biosphere to another. This transfer of substances and energy forms a biological cycle. Like the water cycle, it connects all parts of nature into a single whole. Disruption of the biological cycle by humans threatens with catastrophic consequences.

Biosphere and life of the Earth. The role of living organisms as powerful natural forces has long been underestimated. This is explained by the fact that, compared to other shells, the mass of living matter seems insignificant. If the earth's crust is imagined as a stone bowl weighing 13 kg, then the entire hydrosphere placed in this bowl would weigh 1 kg, the atmosphere would correspond to the weight of a copper coin, and living matter would correspond to the weight of a postage stamp.

However, for billions of years, from generation to generation, living organisms processed the substance of the earth’s shells. The total amount of substance they transformed was many times greater than the mass of the organisms themselves. The interaction of living beings with each other and with inanimate bodies forms a single “organism” of nature.

The doctrine of the biosphere as a special shell inhabited by living organisms and changing under their influence was developed by the brilliant Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky. It was he who showed that the biosphere is a very active shell. The combined activities of living organisms, including humans, shape and transform the geographic environment.

Distribution of living matter in the biosphere. Life is distributed very unevenly in the biosphere. The bulk of living organisms are concentrated at the boundaries of contact between air, water and rocks. Therefore, the surface of the land and the upper layers of the waters of the seas and oceans are more densely populated. This is due to the fact that the conditions here are the most favorable: a lot of oxygen, moisture, light, and nutrients. The thickness of the layer most saturated with organisms is only a few tens of meters. The further up and down from it, the rarer and more monotonous life is. The greatest concentration of life is observed in the soil - a special natural body of the biosphere.

Living matter is distributed unevenly not only vertically, but also across the area. Most organisms are concentrated on land. Their mass is 750 times greater than the mass of the inhabitants of the hydrosphere. In terms of the amount of living matter per unit area, the ocean is close to continental deserts.

Substances enter living organisms from soil, air, and water. Water evaporates from the oceans and rises to the layers of the atmosphere, forming rain. Green plants use the water that enters the soil. While maintaining their vital functions, they simultaneously release the oxygen necessary for life. At the same time, without exposure to oxygen, the processes of decomposition and rotting of plants could not occur. What is the name of this vicious circle that makes life possible on Earth, and what are its features?

The main concept of ecology

The biological cycle is the circulation of chemical elements that arose simultaneously with the origin of life on our planet, and which occurs with the participation of living organisms.

The patterns inherent in the cycle of substances solve the main problems of maintaining life on Earth. After all, the reserves of nutrients on the entire surface of the Earth are not unlimited, although they are huge. If these reserves were only consumed by living beings, then at one moment life would have to come to an end. The scientist R. Williams wrote: “The only method that allows a limited quantity to have the property of infinity is to make it rotate along the path of a closed curved line.” Life itself decreed that this method should be used on Earth. Organic matter is created by green plants, while non-green matter is broken down.

In the biological cycle, each species of living beings takes its place. The main paradox of life is that it is maintained through processes of destruction and constant decay. Complex organic compounds are destroyed sooner or later. This process is accompanied by the release of energy and the loss of information characteristic of a living organism. Microorganisms play a huge role in the biological cycle of substances and the development of life - it is with their participation that any form of life is included in the biotic cycle.

Links of the biochain

Microorganisms have two properties that allow them to occupy such an important place in the circle of life. Firstly, they can adapt very quickly to changing environmental conditions. Secondly, they can use a wide variety of substances, including carbon, to replenish energy reserves. None of the higher organisms possess such properties. They exist only as a superstructure over the fundamental basis of the kingdom of microorganisms.

Individuals and species of various biological classes are links in the cycle of substances. They also interact with each other using different types of connections. The cycle of substances on a planetary scale includes private biological cycles in nature. They are carried out mainly through food chains.

Dangerous inhabitants of house dust

Saprophytes, the permanent “residents” of house dust, also play a significant role in the biological cycle. They feed on a variety of substances that are part of house dust. At the same time, saprophytes produce rather toxic feces, which provoke allergies.

Who are these creatures invisible to the human eye? Saprophytes belong to the arachnid family. They accompany a person throughout his life. After all, dust mites feed on house dust, which also includes human skin. Scientists believe that saprophytes were once inhabitants of bird nests, and then “moved” into human homes.

Dust mites, which play a large role in biological turnover, have very small sizes - from 0.1 to 0.5 mm. But they are so active that in just 4 months one dust mite can lay about 300 eggs. One gram of house dust can contain several thousand mites. It is impossible to imagine how many dust mites there can be in a house, because it is believed that up to 40 kg of dust can accumulate in a human home in one year.

Cycle in the forest

In the forest, the biological cycle is most powerful due to the penetration of tree roots into the depths of the soil. The first link in this turnover is usually considered to be the so-called rhizosphere link. The rhizosphere is the thin (3 to 5 mm) layer of soil around a tree. The soil around a tree's roots (or "rhizosphere soil") is typically very rich in root exudates and various microorganisms. The rhizosphere link is a kind of gate between living and inanimate nature.

The consumption link is in the roots, which absorb minerals from the soil. Some of the substances are washed back into the soil by precipitation, but most of the nutrients are returned during two processes - litter and decay.

The role of litter and waste

Litter and litter have different meanings in the biological cycle of substances. Litter includes tree cones, branches, leaves, and grass debris. Researchers do not include trees in litter - they are classified as litter. Decay can take decades to decompose. Sometimes litter can serve as food material for other tree species - but only after reaching a certain stage of decomposition. The waste contains many substances belonging to the ash class. They slowly enter the soil and are used by plants for further life.

What does the litter depend on?

Litter has a slightly different meaning in the biological cycle. Within a year, its entire volume passes into the litter layer and undergoes complete decomposition. Ash elements enter biotic circulation much faster. However, in fact, litter is part of the biological turnover already when the leaves are on the tree. The litter rate depends on many factors: climate, weather in the current and previous years, and the number of insects. In the forest-tundra it reaches several centners, in forests it is measured in tons. The largest amount of litter in forests occurs in spring and autumn. This figure also varies depending on the year.

As for the organic composition of needles and leaves, they undergo the same changes during the cycle. Unlike litter, green leaves are usually rich in phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen. The litter, as a rule, is rich in calcium. Insects and animals have a great influence on the biological cycle. For example, leaf-eating insects can significantly speed it up. However, the greatest influence on the rate of turnover is exerted by animals during the decomposition of litter. Larvae and worms eat and crush the litter and mix it with the upper layers of the soil.

Photosynthesis in nature

Plants can use sunlight to replenish energy reserves. They do this in two stages. At the first stage, light is captured by the leaves; in the second, energy is used for the process of carbon sequestration and the formation of organic substances. Biologists call green plants autotrophs. They are the basis for life on the entire planet. Autotrophs are of great importance in photosynthesis and biological circulation. They convert the energy from sunlight into stored energy through the formation of carbohydrates. The most important of these is the sugar glucose. This process is called photosynthesis. Living organisms of other classes can access solar energy by eating plants. Thus, a food chain appears that ensures the circulation of substances.

Patterns of photosynthesis

Despite the importance of the process of photosynthesis, it remained unexplored for a long time. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, the English scientist Frederick Blackman carried out several experiments with the help of which it was possible to establish this process. The scientist also revealed some patterns of photosynthesis: it turned out that it starts in low light, gradually increasing with light flows. However, this only happens up to a certain level, after which increased light no longer speeds up photosynthesis. Blackman also found that gradually increasing temperature with increasing light promotes photosynthesis. Increasing the temperature in low light does not speed up this process, nor does increasing the light in low temperature.

The process of converting light into carbohydrates

Photosynthesis begins with the process of photons from sunlight hitting chlorophyll molecules located in the leaves of plants. It is chlorophyll that gives plants their green color. Energy capture occurs in two stages, which biologists call Photosystem I and Photosystem II. Interestingly, the numbers of these photosystems reflect the order in which scientists discovered them. This is one of the oddities in science, since reactions first occur in the second photosystem, and only then in the first.

A photon of sunlight collides with 200-400 chlorophyll molecules located in a leaf. In this case, the energy increases sharply and is transferred to the chlorophyll molecule. This process is accompanied by a chemical reaction: the chlorophyll molecule loses two electrons (they, in turn, are accepted by the so-called “electron acceptor,” another molecule). And also when a photon collides with chlorophyll, water is formed. The cycle in which sunlight is converted into carbohydrates is called the Calvin cycle. The importance of photosynthesis and the biological cycle of substances cannot be underestimated - it is thanks to these processes that oxygen is available on earth. Mineral resources obtained by humans - peat, oil - are also carriers of energy stored during the process of photosynthesis.

In this work, we invite you to consider what the biological cycle is. What are its functions and importance for our planet. We will also pay attention to the issue of the energy source for its implementation.

What else you need to know before we consider the biological cycle is that our planet consists of three shells:

  • lithosphere (the solid shell, roughly speaking, this is the earth on which we walk);
  • hydrosphere (where all water can be attributed, that is, seas, rivers, oceans, and so on);
  • atmosphere (gaseous shell, the air we breathe).

There are clear boundaries between all layers, but they are able to penetrate each other without any difficulty.

Cycle of substances

All these layers make up the biosphere. What is the biological cycle? This is when substances move throughout the biosphere, namely in the soil, air, and living organisms. This endless circulation is called the biological cycle. It is also important to know that everything begins and ends in plants.

Beneath lies an incredibly complex process. Any substances from the soil and atmosphere enter plants, then into other living organisms. Then the bodies that have absorbed them begin to actively produce other complex compounds, after which the latter are released out. We can say that this is a process that expresses the interconnectedness of everything on our planet. Organisms interact with each other, that’s the only way we exist to this day.

The atmosphere was not always as we know it. Previously, our air shell was very different from the current one, namely, it was saturated with carbon dioxide and ammonia. How then did people appear who use oxygen to breathe? We should thank the green plants that were able to bring the state of our atmosphere into the form necessary for humans. Air and plants are absorbed by herbivores, and they are also included in the menu of predators. When animals die, their remains are processed by microorganisms. This is how humus is obtained, which is necessary for plant growth. As you can see, the circle has closed.

Energy source

The biological cycle is impossible without energy. What or who is the source of energy for organizing this interchange? Of course, our source of thermal energy is the star Sun. The biological cycle is simply impossible without our source of heat and light. The sun heats up:

  • air;
  • soil;
  • vegetation.

During heating, water evaporates and begins to accumulate in the atmosphere in the form of clouds. All water will eventually return to the Earth's surface in the form of rain or snow. After its return, it saturates the soil and is absorbed by the roots of various trees. If the water has managed to penetrate very deeply, then it replenishes groundwater reserves, and some of it even returns to rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.

As you know, when we breathe, we absorb oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. So, trees also need solar energy in order to process carbon dioxide and return oxygen to the atmosphere. This process is called photosynthesis.

Biological cycles

Let's start this section with the concept of “biological process”. It is a recurring phenomenon. We can observe which consist of biological processes that are constantly repeated at certain intervals.

The biological process can be seen everywhere, it is inherent in all organisms living on planet Earth. It is also part of all levels of the organization. That is, we can observe these processes both inside the cell and in the biosphere. We can distinguish several types (cycles) of biological processes:

  • intraday;
  • daily allowance;
  • seasonal;
  • annual;
  • perennial;
  • centuries-old.

The annual cycles are most pronounced. We see them always and everywhere, we just have to think a little about this issue.

Water

Now we invite you to consider the biological cycle in nature using the example of water, the most common compound on our planet. It has many capabilities, which allows it to participate in many processes both inside and outside the body. The life of all living things depends on the H 2 O cycle in nature. Without water, we would not exist, and the planet would look like a lifeless desert. She is able to participate in all vital processes. That is, we can draw the following conclusion: all living beings on planet Earth simply need clean water.

But water is always polluted as a result of some process. How then can you provide yourself with an inexhaustible supply of clean drinking water? Nature took care of this; we should thank the existence of that same water cycle in nature for this. We have already looked at how this all happens. Water evaporates, collects in clouds and falls as precipitation (rain or snow). This process is commonly called the “hydrological cycle”. It is based on four processes:

  • evaporation;
  • condensation;
  • precipitation;
  • water flow

There are two types of water cycle: large and small.

Carbon

Now we will look at how biological occurs in nature. It is also important to know that it ranks only 16th in terms of percentage of substances. May occur in the form of diamonds and graphite. And its percentage in coal exceeds ninety percent. Carbon is even part of the atmosphere, but its content is very small, approximately 0.05 percent.

In the biosphere, thanks to carbon, a simple mass of various organic compounds is created that are needed by all living things on our planet. Consider the process of photosynthesis: plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and process it, resulting in a variety of organic compounds.

Phosphorus

The importance of the biological cycle is quite large. Even if we take phosphorus, it is found in large quantities in bones and is necessary for plants. The main source is apatite. It can be found in igneous rock. Living organisms are able to obtain it from:

  • soil;
  • water resources.

It is also found in the human body, namely it is part of:

  • proteins;
  • nucleic acid;
  • bone tissue;
  • lecithins;
  • phytins and so on.

It is phosphorus that is necessary for the accumulation of energy in the body. When an organism dies, it returns to the soil or sea. This promotes the formation of rocks rich in phosphorus. This is of great importance in the biogenic cycle.

Nitrogen

Now we will look at the nitrogen cycle. Before that, we note that it makes up about 80% of the total volume of the atmosphere. Agree, this figure is quite impressive. In addition to being the basis for the composition of the atmosphere, nitrogen is found in plant and animal organisms. We can find it in the form of proteins.

As for the nitrogen cycle, we can say this: nitrates are formed from atmospheric nitrogen, which are synthesized by plants. The process of creating nitrates is commonly called nitrogen fixation. When a plant dies and rots, the nitrogen it contains enters the soil in the form of ammonia. The latter is processed (oxidized) by organisms living in soils, which is how nitric acid appears. It is capable of reacting with carbonates that saturate the soil. In addition, it should be mentioned that nitrogen is also released in its pure form as a result of rotting plants or during the combustion process.

Sulfur

Like many other elements, it is very closely related to living organisms. Sulfur enters the atmosphere as a result of volcanic eruptions. Sulfide sulfur can be processed by microorganisms, which is how sulfates are born. The latter are absorbed by plants; sulfur is part of essential oils. As for the body, we can find sulfur in:

  • amino acids;
  • squirrels
Share:

Similar articles