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Ecology Unit

Ecology Unit. Nutrient Cycles. Why are major nutrients cycled?. All living things need them Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen Phosphorus. Carbon Cycle. Why: Carbon needed by plants and animals to build carbohydrates How: Cycled by cellular respiration, photosynthesis and decomposition

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Ecology Unit

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  1. Ecology Unit Nutrient Cycles

  2. Why are major nutrients cycled? • All living things need them • Carbon • Hydrogen • Oxygen • Nitrogen • Phosphorus

  3. Carbon Cycle • Why: Carbon needed by plants and animals to build carbohydrates • How: Cycled by cellular respiration, photosynthesis and decomposition • Where? Plants produce carbs; animals eat plants • How? When animals die, carbon returned to soil • Human impact: When plants are cut down in large numbers, not enough CO2 is cycled • When fossil fuels are burned CO2 released • With increased CO2, there is increase in Earth’s temperature (global warming) and acid rain

  4. Carbon Cycle

  5. Nitrogen Cycle • Needed by plants & animals (proteins) • Occurs through decomposition and nitrogen fixation • Nitrogen fixing bacteria is found around plant roots changing atmospheric N into form that plants can absorb • Animals eat plants • When animals die, bacteria reduce remains into Nitrogen which is reabsorbed into the soil • Methane contains nitrogen, when nitrogen is introduced into the atmosphere in large amounts, contributes to acid rain

  6. Nitrogen Cycle

  7. Phosphorus Cycle • When rocks erode, they release phosphorus into the soil • Plants utilize phosphorus to grow • Animals eat plants • When animals die and release wastes, phosphorus returns to the soil

  8. Phosphorus Cycle

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