ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 1

(SCIE 102)

ASYNCHRONOUS MODULE (WEEK 5)

BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Identify the significance of biogeochemical cycles.
2. Discuss the life processes involved in the biogeochemical cycles; and
3. Relate the key elements continuously through living and non-living systems and its
importance.

INTRODUCTION

Biogeochemical cycle is the recycling of organic molecules between living organisms and
their environment. The key elements such as water contains hydrogen and oxygen, which is
essential to all living processes. The hydrosphere is the area of the Earth where water movement
and storage occurs. On or beneath the surface, water occurs in liquid or solid form in rivers, lakes,
oceans, groundwater, polar ice caps, and glaciers. And it occurs as water vapor in the
atmosphere. Carbon is found in all organic macromolecules and is an important constituent of
fossil fuels. Nitrogen is a major component of our nucleic acids and proteins and is critical to
human agriculture. Phosphorus, a major component of nucleic acid (along with nitrogen), is one
of the main ingredients in artificial fertilizers used in agriculture and their associated environmental
impacts on our surface water. Sulfur is critical to the 3-D folding of proteins, such as in disulfide
binding.

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

Not all elements have the same biogeochemical cycle. Some biogeochemical cycles are simple,
while others are quite complex. Let's discussed the simple biogeochemical cycle phosphorus
takes. Phosphorus is an element that is essential for living things. It is necessary for the production
of DNA and cell membranes, and is important for the formation of bones and teeth. The cyclic
movement of phosphorus (P) through water, the earth’s crust, and living organisms is called
Phosphorus cycle.

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 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 2
(SCIE 102)

Figure 1. Organic phosphate moves through

the food web and to the rest of the ecosystem.

Most of phosphorus compounds in this cycle contain phosphate ions (PO43-) or the
hydrogen phosphate ion (HPO42-) which are an important plant nutrient. When phosphate ions
wash away, they soak into the soil. Plants are starving for phosphate, so their roots gobble it up
and incorporate it into their tissues.

When an animal eats the plant, the phosphate transfers to the animal's tissue. When the animal
dies, decomposing bacteria cycle the phosphate back into the soil. The phosphate can either be
gobbled up by plants again or stay in the soil. If the soil conditions are right, any phosphate
remaining in the soil can slowly reform back into rocks. You help recycle phosphorus, too! For
example, a plant like spinach is full of elements like phosphorus. When you eat it, your body
incorporates this element to form strong bones and teeth. In this way, the phosphorus is slowly
released from terrestrial rocks by weathering and the action of acid rain. It then dissolves into the
soil and is taken up by plants. It is often a limiting factor for soils due to its low concentration and
solubility. For this reason, people often fertilize soil by adding phosphorous as phosphates mined
form the ground. Phosphorus is a key element in fertilizer. A fertilizer labelled 6-24-26 contains
6% nitrogen, 24% phosphorus and 26% potassium. Lack of phosphorus also limits the growth of
producer populations in many freshwater streams and lakes. This is because phosphate
compounds are only slightly soluble in water and do not release many phosphate ions to
producers in aquatic systems.

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As water runs over exposed rocks, it slowly erodes inorganic compounds that contain
phosphate ions. Water carries these ions into the soil, where they are absorbed by the roots of
plants and by other producers. Phosphate compounds are then transferred by food webs from
producers to consumers and eventually to detritus feeders and decomposers.

Much of the phosphate that erodes from rocks is carried into rivers and streams and into
the ocean, phosphates can be deposited as marine sediments and remain trapped for millions of
years. Over time, geological processes uplift and exposed some of these seafloor deposits. The
exposed rocks are eroded, freeing up the phosphorus to re-enter the phosphorus cycle.
Phosphorus does not cycle through the atmosphere because few of its compounds exists as a
gas. Phosphorus also cycles slower than water, carbon and nitrogen.

Figure 2. Simplified model showing the circulation of various chemical forms of phosphorus (mostly phosphates) in the cycle, with
major harmful impacts shown by the red arrows.

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HUMAN IMPACT ON PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

 Removal of large amounts of phosphate from the earth to make fertilizers, disrupt the
phosphorus cycle.

 By clearing tropical forests, we expose the topsoil to increased erosion, which reduces
phosphate levels in the tropical soils.

 Eroded topsoil and fertilizer washed from fertilized crop fields and lawns carry large
quantities of phosphate ions into streams, lakes and oceans. It causes an increase in the
growth of cyanobacteria (blue-green bacteria), green algae and aquatic plants and this
growth results in decreased oxygen content in water, which then kills other aquatic
organism in the food web.

SULFUR CYCLE

Elemental or pure sulfur is commonly found in underground deposits or near

natural hot springs or volcanoes. It’s also found in the combined form in many minerals.
Sulfur plays a vital role in organisms, especially as a minor but essential component of
proteins. Sulfur compounds are important determinants of the acidity of rainfall, surface
water and soil.

Sulfur in Lithosphere
a. Sulfur is the thirteenth most abundant element in Earth’s crust and the ninth
most abundant in sediments.
b. Sulfur in lithosphere is mobilized by slow weathering of rock material.
Dissolved in runoff, it moves with river water and deposited in the
sediments in oceans.

Sulfur in Hydrosphere
a. Main storage of sulfur in the oceans is through dissolved sulphate. The
most volatile sulfur composed in sea water is dimethyl sulfide (CH3)2S),
which is produced by algal and bacterial decays. Its highest concentrations
are in coastal marshes and wetlands.

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 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 5
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b. Sulfur is the second most abundant compound in rivers with concentrations

fluctuating highly with seasons and frequency of drought, flood and normal
flow. Rivers transport about 110 million tons of sulfur per year to the
oceans.

Sulfur in Soil and Biosphere

a. Sulfur is a major nutrient in the biosphere and is concentrated mainly in soil

from where it enters the biosphere through plant uptake. Its mains sources
are deposition from the atmosphere, weathering of rocks, release from
decay of organic matter and anthropogenic fertilizer, pesticides and
irrigation water.
b. Rich organic soils may have up to 0.5% sulfur by dry weight. Sulfur in soil
are mainly as organic or inorganic compounds.
c. Plants take up sulfur from the soil mainly as sulphate and it is passed on
with the food chain in the biosphere.
d. Death of living organisms when aerobic decay and decomposition brings
back sulfate into the soil.
e. Anaerobic decomposition in soil releases part of organic sulfur as hydrogen
sulfide (H2S), dimethyl sulfide (CH3)2S) and other organic compounds into
the atmosphere.

Sulfur in the Atmosphere

Six important sulfur compounds are released into the atmosphere due to interaction of
processes between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere.
a. Carbonyl Sulfide (COS) – the most abundant sulfur in the atmosphere and
in nature that is mainly produced by decomposition processes in soil,
marshes and wetlands along oceans coasts and areas of ocean upwelling
that are rich in nutrients.
b. Carbon disulfide (CS2) – more reactive than COS and has similar sources.
The inputs are from fossil fuel combustions.
c. Dimethyl sulfide (CH3)2S) – it is the most natural gas released from oceans
and its higher concentrations are during the night.

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d. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) – mainly produced in nature during anaerobic

decay in soils, wetlands, salt marshes and other areas of stagnant water
which maximum concentrations occurring over tropical forests.
e. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) – the natural source is oxidation of hydrogen sulfide
and its major source is combustion of fossil fuels.
f. Sulfate aerosol (SO42-) – the largest natural source of sulphate aerosol
particles originate from sea spray. Sea spray are sulfate falls back to
oceans but some is carried over the continents to be included in deposition
processes.

Figure 3. The sulphur cycle. Sulfur is mainly present in rocks, soil and water. It cycles through ecosystems when it is taken in by
organisms. Combustion of fossil fuels causes increased levels of atmospheric sulfur compounds, which create problems related
to acid precipitation.

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 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 7
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HUMAN IMPACT ON SULFUR CYCLE

 Human release large quantities of sulfur, primarily through burning fossil fuels.
 Sulfur emissions rival those of natural processes and acid rain are caused by sulphuric
acid produced by fossil fuel use.
 Sulfur dioxide and sulphate aerosols cause human health problems, damage buildings
and vegetation.
 Sulfur dioxide and sulphate aerosols cause the absorption of UV radiation and create
greenhouse effects due to rising CO2 concentrations.

Resources:

 Cunningham, W. P. (2020). Principles of environmental science. Boston: Wiley.

 Enger, E. D. (2012). Environmental science. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Henry, G. (2012). Environmental science and engineering. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
 Luvine, J. (2013). Earth evolution of habitable world. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
 Miller, G. (2020). Environmental science. Boston: Cengage

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