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Chemicals cycle in ecosystems. Concept 36.3. Basic pattern of chemical cycling. Three general steps Producers incorporate chemicals from the nonliving environment into organic compounds - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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BASIC PATTERN OF CHEMICAL CYCLING
Three general steps
Producers incorporate chemicals from the nonliving environment into organic compounds
Consumers feed on the producers, incorporating some of the chemicals into their own bodies and releasing some back to the environment in waste products
As organisms die, decomposers break them down, further supplying the soil, water and air with chemicals in inorganic form. The producers gain a renewed supply of raw materials for building organic matter and the cycles continue.
THE NITROGEN CYCLE
Nitrogen fixation
Process that converts the nitrogen gas to ammonia (NH3)
Nitrification
Process that converts ammonium to nitrates
AmmoniumNH4
NitratesNO3
Form of N that
producers can use
THE WATER CYCLE
Transpiration
Evaporation from the plant’s leaves
Maple tree – could enter 200 liters back into the atmosphere!
CARBON CYCLE IMPACTS
Deforestation
Clearing of forest for agriculture, lumber and other uses
Adds 20% of CO2 added to atmosphere
80% is from worldwide burning of fossil fuels
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
Process by which atmospheric gases trap heat close to Earth’s surface and prevent it from escaping into space
Global Warming
Overall rise in Earth’s average temperature
NITROGEN CYCLE IMPACTS
Eutrophication
Rapid growth of algae in bodies of water, due to high levels of nitrogen and often phosphate
Acid Rain
Precipitation that carries acid back to Earth’s surface
WATER CYCLE IMPACTS
Deforestation
Drawing water from river or aquifers for household use or crop irrigation
BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION
Process by which pollutants become more concentrated in successive trophic levels of a food web
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