ENVIRONMENTAL CYCLES AND

PROCESSES

BioGeoChemical Cycles

The term biogeochemical is derived from:

‘bio’ meaning ‘biosphere’,
‘geo’ meaning ‘the geological components’,
and ‘chemical,’ meaning the elements move through a
cycle.

The biosphere is where living organisms are found on, above, and
below the Earth’s surface. It is thus one large ecosystem characterized
by biotic (living things), abiotic (non-living) factors, and energy working
together as a single unit

The term ‘biosphere’ (‘Bios’ means ‘life’ and ‘sphaira’ means sphere)
was coined by geologist Eduard Suess in 1875. It is part of the five
levels of organization in an ecosystem.

The three main components that make up the biosphere are:

1. Lithosphere (Earth’s crust)
2. Hydrosphere (Water)
3. Atmosphere (Air)

The earth obtains energy from the sun which is radiated back as heat,
rest all other elements are present in a closed system. The major
elements include:

 Carbon
 Hydrogen
 Nitrogen
 Oxygen
 Phosphorus
 Sulphur

These elements are recycled through the biotic and abiotic

components of the ecosystem.

Energy flows directionaly through the ecosystem, entering as

sunlight (for photoautotrophs) or inorganic molecules (for
chemoautotrophs) and leaving as heat. The ways in which inorganic
elements and some inorganic or organic compounds move between
the various living and nonliving forms based on their locations on earth
are called biogeochemical cycles.

In summary, biogeochemical cycles refers to the overall

chemical cycles or movement of nutrients and other elements through
both the biological (biotic) and the geological (abiotic) world. Each
chemical has its own unique cycle, but all of the cycles do have some
things in common.

In the context of biogeochemical cycles, let’s explore the

differences between reservoir and exchange pools:
Reservoirs:
The reservoir is the primary source or nutrient storehouse for a
specific chemical element. It holds the element for long periods of
time. Generally, reservoirs are large and consist of abiotic (non-living)
factors such as the atmosphere.

Examples:
 In the nitrogen cycle, the atmosphere serves as the major reservoir
for nitrogen.
 In the water cycle, oceans, glaciers, and lakes act as reservoirs.

Exchange Pool:
The exchange pool is characterized by rapid exchange of
elements. It holds the element for short periods of time. Exchange
pools are smaller and are represented by biotic (living organisms)
factors, along with a minor part of the abiotic phase.

Examples:
 In the nitrogen cycle, plants and animals serve as exchange pools.
Nitrogen moves from soil nitrates absorbed by plants to herbivores
and then to carnivores in a food chain.
 In the water cycle, the atmosphere acts as an exchange pool for
water, holding it (in the form of water vapor) for just a few days.

Types of Biogeochemical Cycles

Biogeochemical cycles are basically divided into two types:

 Gaseous cycles – Includes Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, and the

Water cycle.
 Sedimentary cycles – Includes Sulphur, Phosphorus, and the Rock
cycle.

Among all, the most common biogeochemical cycles (Gaseous cycles)

are briefly described below :

The Water Cycle

The water cycle (also known as the hydrologic cycle) is the paths
water takes through its various states - vapor, liquid, soil - as it moves
throughout the ocean, atmosphere, groundwater, streams, etc. This
biogeochemical cycle is responsible for maintaining weather
conditions. The water in its various forms interacts with the
surroundings and changes the temperature and pressure of the
atmosphere.

In the water cycle, energy is supplied by the sun, which drives

evaporation whether it is from ocean surfaces or from treetops. The
sun also provides the energy; which drives the weather systems, which
move water vapor from one place to another.
Stages of Water Cycle
1) Evaporation

Is the reverse process in which liquid water becomes gaseous.

Once water condenses, gravity takes over and the water is pulled to
 the ground. Gravity continues to operate, either pulling the water
underground or across the surface. In either event, gravity continue
to pull water lower and lower until it reaches the oceans and other
such depressions may also serve as lowest basin into which water
can be drawn.

Evaporation can occur on raindrops, and on free water

surfaces such as seas and lakes. It can even occur from water
settled in vegetation, soil, rocks and snow. There is also evaporation
caused by human activities. Heated buildings experience
evaporation of water settled on its surfaces. Evaporated moisture is
lifted into the atmosphere from the ocean, land surfaces, and water
bodies as water vapor. Some water vapor always exists in the
atmosphere.

i. Transpiration

Is the biological process that occurs mostly in the day. Water

inside of plants is transferred from the plant to the atmosphere as
water vapor through numerous individual leave openings. Plants
transpire to move nutrients to the upper portion of the plants to
cool the leaves exposed to the sun. Leaves undergoing rapid
transpiration can be significantly cooler than the surrounding air.
Transpiration is greatly affected by the species of plants that are in
the soil and is strongly affected by the amount of light to which the
plants are exposed. Water can be transpired freely by plants until a
water deficit develops in the plant and it water-releasing cells
(stomata) begin to close. Transpiration the continues at a must
lower rate. Only a small portion of the water that plants absorb are
retained in the plants.

- Transpiration is very important for maintaining moisture

conditions in the environment.

2) Condensation

Is the process by which water vapor changes it’s physical

state from a vapor, most commonly, to a liquid. Water vapor
condenses onto smaller airborne particles to form dew, fog, or
clouds. The most active particles that form clouds are sea salts,
atmospheric ions caused by lightning, and combustion products
containing sulfurous and nitrous acids. Condensation is brought
about by cooling of the air or by increasing the amount of vapor in
the air to its saturation point. When water vapor condenses back
into a liquid state, the same large amount of heat (600 calories of
energy per gram) that was needed to make it a vapor is released to
the environment.

3) Precipitation

Occurs when water condenses from gaseous sate in the

atmosphere and falls to earth. Frozen water is a part of the global
water cycle, it is stored as permafrost in the soil.
Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the
atmosphere and falls back to the earth. Precipitation is the process
 that occurs when any and all forms of water particles fall from the
atmosphere and reach the ground.

There are 2 sub-process that cause the clouds to release

precipitation,
the coalescence process and the ice-crystal process.

Precipitated water may fall into a water body or it may fall

onto the land. It is then dispersed several ways. The water can
adhere to objects on or near the planet surface or it can be carried
over and trough the land into the stream channels, or it may melt
and change into raindrops.

4) Runoff

When rainfall is small and infrequent, a high percentage of

precipitation is returned to the atmosphere by evaporation. The
portion of precipitation that appears in surface streams is called
runoff. Runoff is flow from a drainage basin or watershed that
appears in surface streams. It generally consists of the flow that is
unaffected by artificial diversions, storages or other works that
society might have on or in a stream channel.

Runoff may consists of component contributions from such

sources as:
Surface runoff, Subsurface runoff or ground water runoff.

Surface runoff travels over the ground surface and trough

surface channels to leave a catchment area are called a drainage
basin or watershed. The portion of the surface runoff that flows
over the land surface towards the stream channels is called
overland flow. The total runoff confined in the stream channels is
called the streamflow.

PROCESS OF STREAMFLOW IN PRECIPITATION &

RUNOFF STAGE IN WATER CYCLE

i. Interception

Is the process of interrupting the movement of water in the

chain of transportation events leading to streams. The interception
can take place by vegetal cover or depression storage in puddles
and in land formations such as rills and furrows.

Additionally, interception of the water on the ground surface

during freezing and sub-freezing conditions can be substantial. The
interception of falling snow and ice on vegetation also occurs. The
highest level of interception occurs when it snows on conifer forests
and hardwood forest that have not yet lost their leaves.

ii. Infiltration
Is the physical process involving movement of water through
the boundary area where the atmosphere interfaces with the soil.
The surface phenomenon is governed by soil surface conditions.
Water transfer is related to porosity of soil and the permeability of
the soil profile. Typically, the infiltration rate depends on the
puddling of the water at the soil surface by the impact of raindrops,
the texture and structure of the soil, the initial soil moisture
 content, the decreasing water concentration as the water moves
deeper into the soil filling of the pores in the soil matrices, changes
in the soil composition, and to the swelling of the wetted soils that
in turn close cracks in the soil.

iii. Percolation

Is the movement of the water though the soil and it’s layers,
by gravity and capillary forces. The prime moving force of
groundwater is gravity. Water that is in the zone of aeration where
air exists is called vadose water. Water that is in the zone of
saturation is called groundwater. For all practical purposes, all
groundwater originates as surface water. Once underground, the
water is moved by gravity. The boundary that separates the vadose
and the saturation zones is called the water table. Usually the
direction of water movement is changed from downward and a
horizontal component to the movement is added is based on the
geologic boundary conditions.

5) Storage

There are three basic locations of water storage that occur in the
planetary water cycle:

 Water stored in the atmosphere

 Water is stored on the surface of the earth
 Water stored in the ground

Water storage in the atmosphere can be moved relatively quickly

from one part of the planet to another part of the planet. The type of
storage that occurs on the land surface and under the ground largely
depend on the geologic features related to the type of soil and the
types of rocks present at the storage locations. Storage occurs as
surface storage in oceans, lakes, reservoirs, and glaciers; underground
storage occurs in the soil, in aquifers, and in the crevices of rock
formations.

Importance of BioGeoChemical Cycles

These cycles demonstrate the way in which the energy is used.
Through the ecosystem, these cycles move the essential elements for
life to sustain. They are vital as they recycle elements and store them
too, and regulate the vital elements through the physical facets. These
cycles depict the association between living and non-living things in
the ecosystems and enable the continuous survival of ecosystems.It is
important to comprehend these cycles to learn their effect on living
entities. Some activities of humans disturb a few of these natural
cycles and thereby affecting related ecosystems. A closer look at these
mechanisms can help us restrict and stop their dangerous impact.
 Importance of Water Cycle (Hydrologic Cycle)
The water cycle is an important process that enables the
availability of water for all living organisms and regulates
weather patterns on our planet it is also integral part of other
biogeochemical cycles.

Here are some of the ways in which the water cycle is important to
humans:
 Provides drinking water: The water cycle ensures that there is a
continuous supply of fresh water for humans to drink.
 Supports agriculture: The water cycle is essential for the growth of
crops and other plants that humans rely on for food.
 Helps to regulate the climate: The water cycle plays an important
role in regulating the Earth's climate.

Reporters:
Hadchick, Jennifer T.
Velasco, Mearose F.

Submitted to:

Mrs. Fatima M. Eto