BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

Prepared by:
ARNOLD B. FONOLLERA, PhD

Biological Sciences Department

College of Science & Computer Studies
De La Salle University - Dasmariñas

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

4.0 GOSPEL REFLECTION

Numbers 35:33-34

You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be
made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. You shall
not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of
the people of Israel.”

INSTRUCTION:

Using the space below, write a reflection essay based on the Bible verse above. In your essay,
how do you relate the bible verse with the topic of change and material cycles? How do you think
this bible verse interconnect to this module?

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Title Page
4.0 Gospel Reflection 2
4.1 Expected Learning Outcomes 4
4.2 Introduction 4
4.3 Nitrogen Cycle 4
4.4 Phosphorus Cycle 5
4.5 Sulfur Cycle 6
4.6 Ecosystem Changes associated with the Nutrient Cycles. 7
Key Takeaways 9
Available Books and Online Resources 9
Formative Assessment 10

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

4.1 EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

• Understand and describe the processes of biogeochemical cycling of some important
nutrients.
• Appreciate the significance of the nutrient cycling in ecosystem functioning.
• Identify and promote awareness of human impacts to the biogeochemical cycles.

4.2 INTRODUCTION.

The statement that "Everything must go somewhere" means that all materials in the
ecosystem are continually recycled and used over and over. no matter what you do, and
no matter what you use, it has to go somewhere.

An essential requirement for all living organisms to carry out their life functions are nutrients.
Essential nutrients categorized as macronutrients are required in fairly large quantities such
as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. While micronutrients such
as iron, zinc, copper and iodine are utilized in small amounts. All of these nutrients constitute
matter in their simplest form or in complexed in a compound are is not lost but merely moves
through different places in nature while at the same time transforming into another form in
every movement it takes. The movement occur continuously from the nonliving environment
to the living organisms, and back to the nonliving environment. This cyclic movement of
minerals from their reservoirs either in the air, water and soil, to the living components, and
back to the reservoirs is called nutrient cycling or biogeochemical cycles.

The reservoir represents the natural capital or nutrient pool from which the elements
accumulated in large quantities during its long history on Earth. The continuous cycling of
nutrients from the natural capital or nutrient pool in the abiotic component of environment to
the living beings and then back to the nutrient pool together with other interrelated
biochemical reactions are what fuel life on earth. These reactions utilize the energy from the
sun to take gases from the air and nutrients from the soil, and the resulting energy and
chemical compounds move through all plants and animals on the earth. We will look at the
flow of three kinds of atoms within communities and between the biotic and abiotic portions
of the ecosystem: nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

4.3 Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is one of the basic elements that compose proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA.
Proteins are the major structural components of all living things. Growth of plants will be
limited if there is not enough nitrogen in the soil. About 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen
gas (N2). However, in this state, nitrogen cannot be used by organisms. Before nitrogen can
be made available to plants and animals, it must be fixed by nitrogen-fixing bacteria found
in the nodules of legumes such as soybean, mungo and peas which convert nitrogen (N 2) to

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

ammonia (N3) of ammonium (NH4+) by a process called nitrogen fixation. When these
bacteria die, ammonia or ammonium is released and used by other bacteria as energy
source. A small portion of gaseous nitrogen is fixed in the air by lightning and the fixed
nitrogen is brought down to the soil by rain.

In a process called nitrification, ammonia or ammonium is converted to nitrites (NO 2-) by

nitrifying bacteria in the soil. Some of these bacteria convert nitrites into nitrates (NO 3-),

When ammonia and nitrates that are released in the soil are dissolved in wet soil, they are
absorbed by roots of plants and become incorporated into plant proteins. These plant
proteins are then eaten by animals by which animal proteins are formed.

In ammonification, metabolic wastes such as urea, uric acid and remains of animals and
plants are broken down by decomposers releasing ammonia or ammonium in the process.
These substances will then undergo nitrification converting them to nitrites then to nitrates.

Nitrates not used by plants are converted by denitrifying bacteria to nitrogen gas which is
released to the atmosphere. Some of the gaseous nitrogen is converted by nitrogen-fixing
bacteria to ammonia and ammonium, thereby repeating the cycle.

4.4 Phosphorus Cycle

Compounds of phosphorus (P) circulate through water, the Earth’s crust and living organisms
in the phosphorus cycle. Most of these compounds contain phosphate ions (PO 43-), which
serve as an important nutrient. In contrast to the other cycles, the movement of phosphorus
does not include the atmosphere. The major reservoir for phosphorus is phosphate salts
containing PO43- in terrestrial rock formations and ocean bottom sediments. The phosphorus
cycle is slow compared to the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles.

As water runs over exposed rocks, it slowly erodes away inorganic compounds that contain
phosphate ions. The running water carries these phosphate ions into the soil where they can
be absorbed by the roots of plants and by other producers. Phosphate compounds are also
transferred by food webs from producers to consumers, eventually including detritus feeders
and decomposers. In both producers and consumers. Phosphates are a component of
biologically important molecules such as nucleic acids and energy transfer molecules such
as ADP and ATP. Phosphate is also a major component of vertebrate bones and teeth.

Phosphate can be lost from the cycle for long periods of time when it is washed from the land
into streams and rivers and is carried to the sea. There it can be deposited as marine
sediment and remain trapped for millions of years. Someday, geological processes may
uplift and expose these seafloor deposits, from which phosphate can be eroded to start the
cycle again.

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Because most soils contain little phosphate, it becomes a limiting factor for plant growth on
land unless phosphorus as phosphate salt mined from the earth is applied to the soil as a
fertilizer. Phosphorus is also scarce in water thus, limiting the growth of producer populations

in many freshwater bodies because phosphate salts are only slightly soluble in water and
thus do not release many phosphate ions that producers need as nutrients.

Human activities associated to deforestation affecs the phosphorus cycle through the
extraction of large amounts of phosphate from the earth to make fertilizers, thus reducing the
phosphate levels in tropical soils. Topsoil that is eroded from fertilized crop fields, lawns and
golf courses carried large quantities of phosphate ions runoffs into streams, lakes and
oceans. There they stimulate the growth of producers such as algae and various aquatic
plants. Phosphate-rich runoff from the land can produce huge populations of algae, which
can upset chemical cycling and other processes in lakes.

4.5 Sulfur Cycle

In this cycle, sulfur circulates through the biosphere beginning underneath the earth locked
in rocks and minerals and in the form of sulfate (SO 42-) salts or buried deep under ocean
sediments. Sulfur also enters the atmosphere from several natural sources. Hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) – a colorless, highly poisonous gas with a rotten egg smell – is released from
active volcanoes and from organic matter broken down by anaerobic decomposers in flooded
swamps, bogs and tidal flats. Sulfur dioxide (SO2), a colorless and suffocating gas also
comes from volcanoes.

Particles of sulfate (SO42-) salts, such as ammonium sulfate, enter the atmosphere from sea
spray, dust storms and forest fires. Plant roots absorb sulfate ions and incorporate the sulfur
as an essential component of many proteins.

In the oxygen-deficient environments of flooded soils, freshwater wetlands and tidal flats,
specialized bacteria convert sulfate ions to sulfide ions (S2-). The sulfide ions can then react
with metal ions to form insoluble metallic sulfides, which are deposited as rock or metal ores
which are often extracted by mining and converted to various metals and the cycle continues.

Human activities have affected the sulfur cycle primarily by releasing large amounts of sulfur
dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere. We release sulfur to the atmosphere in three ways: First,
we burn sulfur-containing coal and oil to produce electric power. Second, we refine sulfur-
containing oil (petroleum) to make gasoline, heating oil, and other useful products. Third, we
extract metals such as copper, lead, and zinc from sulfur-containing compounds in rocks that
are mined for these metals. In the atmosphere, SO 2 is converted to droplets of sulfuric acid
(H2SO4) and particles of sulfate (SO32-) salts, which return to the earth as acid deposition,
which in turn can damage ecosystems.

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

4.6 Ecosystem Changes associated with the Nutrient Cycles.

Anthropogenic impacts of modern technology is now transferring some chemical

elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and carbon through the air, water, soil and
biosphere at rates that faster than natural processes. As our populations increases, so does
our utilization of resources and rates of transfer increases as well. This is a fast- emerging
problem resulting from rates of transfer which became significantly large for a particular
element that pollution of the environment eventually became apparent. Our urban society
has garnered much of the use of resources and has contributed to much of the release of
various compounds and chemicals into the biosphere, soil, water and atmosphere and thus,
constitute the biggest malefactor of environmental problems. Among the very common
environmental problems are the following:

Eutrophication and Fishkills. Eutrophication is generally defined as an increase in

suspended nutrients in water bodies such as nitrogen and phosphorus that promoted
increase in algal growth, which adversely degrade water quality. For example, increased
phytoplankton biomass can increase turbidity, reduce light penetration, and decrease levels
of oxygen, all of which ultimately have negative consequences for organisms that live in the
lake. Not only are the effects of eutrophication detrimental to lake biota, but they also pose a
risk to human health in the form of harmful algal blooms.

Generally, the process of eutrophication is natural for water bodies. As time passes, a buildup
of nutrients, sediment, and plant material, slowly fill the lake basin and eventually, the process
ends when the basin becomes colonized by terrestrial vegetation. But due to human
activities, nutrient inputs have greatly increased the pace at which eutrophication can occur.

Human-induced eutrophication also called cultural eutrophication, is attributed to increased

phosphorus inputs from sources such as agricultural fertilizers or partially treated sewage. A
negative impact of eutrophication and increased algal growth is a loss of available oxygen,
known as anoxia. These anoxic conditions lead to fishkills and death of other aquatic
organisms such as amphibians. While it is true that algae produce oxygen, but only when
there is enough light. Eutrophication reduces the clarity of water and underwater light. When
waterbodies become eutrophic, algae are starved of light. Competition ensues causing a
large population of algae to die, thereupon decomposers acting on the dead algae depletes
oxygen levels in the water further. As a result, eutrophication sets in, leading to an anoxic
and lethal environment for aquatic organisms.

Red Tides. “Red tide” is the common name for what is scientifically described as “harmful
algae blooms.” Harmful algae blooms (HAB) are the sudden proliferation of one or more
species of microscopic plants either algae or phytoplankton, which live in the ocean and
produce neurotoxins that can cause negative and sometimes fatal effects in fish, birds,
marine mammals, and even humans.

There are approximately 85 species of aquatic plants that can cause harmful algae blooms.
In high concentrations, some HAB species causes the characteristic reddish color of the

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water, but other species can turn the water green, brown, or purple, while others, or do not
even discolor the water at all. Red tides are caused by the rapid multiplication of
dinoflagellates, a type of phytoplankton due to the sudden abundance of nutrient in seawater
which triggered the explosive growth of dinoflagellates. Coastal water pollution from human
sewage, agricultural runoff, and other sources contributes to red tides, along with rising
ocean temperatures. On the other hand, red tides and harmful algae blooms sometimes
occur where there is no apparent link to human activity.

Although these species of algae or phytoplankton have created serious health concerns for
humans, they remain as essential elements in the foundation of the food chain, without which,
higher life forms, including humans, would not exist and could not survive.

Acid rain, also called acid deposition or acid precipitation with a pH of about 5.2 or below
caused by the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination of
NO and NO2) from human activities. These are mainly the product of fossil fuel combustion.
Acid deposition can reduce the pH of aquatic environments and lower biodiversity. In
terrestrial ecosystems, it weakens trees, depletes soil of important plant nutrients and buffers
and can release aluminum bound to soil particles and rock in its toxic dissolved form. Acid
rain contributes to the corrosion of surfaces and is responsible for the deterioration of
limestone and marble buildings and monuments.

Acid rain can be significantly reduced by getting sulfur out of fossil fuels. Aside from being a
pollutant itself, sulfur was discovered to interfere with pollution control technologies and
therefore needs to be removed from the fuel for significant air pollution reduction strategy to
work. Studies have shown show the benefits of sulfur reduction far outweigh the costs, even
though required refinery investments continue to be significant. In fact, the European Union
developed the Euro-IV, near-zero sulfur fuel which significantly reduced total fuel costs by
increasing fuel economy. The considerable potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions
adds further to the health, environmental, and social benefits of sulfur reduction.

Biogeochemical Cycle Sustainability Goal. It is clear that if we are to maintain a quality

environment on Earth, the biogeochemical cycles need to operate within ranges of transfer
and storage necessary to sustain healthy ecosystems. This is one reason why
understanding biogeochemical cycles is very important. For example, when it became
apparent that the release of sulfur into the atmosphere is seriously degrading the quality if
the atmosphere, the European Union has strived significantly to control these emissions. We
are still a long way in fully understanding the complexities of the biogeochemical cycles.
Currently, there are very large uncertainties in the measurement of fluxes of chemical
elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and other. Understanding these natural
processes intensively will allow us to better address environmental problems in the future.

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Key Takeaways

• Before nitrogen can be made available available to plants and animals, it must be fixed
by nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in the nodules of legumes such as soybean, mungo and
peas which convert nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (N3) of ammonium (NH4+) by a process
called nitrogen fixation
• In contrast to the other cycles, phosphorus does not include the atmosphere. The major
reservoir for phosphorus is phosphate salts containing PO 43- in terrestrial rock formations
and ocean bottom sediments. The phosphorus cycle is slow compared to the water,
carbon and nitrogen cycles.
• Eutrophication is generally defined as an increase in suspended nutrients in water bodies
such as nitrogen and phosphorus that promoted increase in algal growth, which adversely
degrade water quality
• Harmful algae blooms (HAB) are the sudden proliferation of one or more species of
microscopic plants either algae or phytoplankton, which live in the ocean and produce
neurotoxins that can cause negative and sometimes fatal effects in fish, birds, marine
mammals, and even humans.
• Acid rain, also called acid deposition or acid precipitation with a pH of about 5.2 or below
caused by the emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination
of NO and NO2) from human activities

Available Books:

• Enger ED and Simth BF. 2006. Environmental Science: A Study of Interrelationships.

10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
• Guzman RS and Guzman RZ. 2000. Environmental Education for Sustainable
Development. Wisdom Advocate Publishing
• Lee SJ and Añes ML. 2010. Lecture Notes in Environmental Science: The Economy of
Nature and Ecology of Man. 2nd edition. C&E Publishing Inc.
• Miller GT and Spoolman SE. 2013. Environmental Science. 14th International Edition.
Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

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Module 4.0 Change & Material Cycles

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

ASSESSMENT TITLE Change and Materials Cycle

ASSESSMENT TYPE Formative No. 1 Est.
Duration
OUTCOMES
ASSESSED

TOTAL POINTS GRADE

POINTS RECEIVED

INSTRUCTION:

This is an ESSAY type of assessment. Use the space below and answer the following
questions:

1. Biogeochemical Cycles are “life-support systems”? Explain this

statement.
2. How does mining of minerals alter the biogeochemical cycles?
3. In what way does recycling and reusing help in keeping the
biogeochemicals stable?
4. Explain the link between deforestation and nutrient cycling?

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