Ecosystems Processes:

Nutrient Cycles
STRUCTURE
5
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Objectives
5.3 Nutrient Cycling: Linking the
Biotic and Abiotic
5.4 Carbon Cycle
5.5 Role of Nutrient cycles in nature
5.6 Recapitulation
5.7 Conclusion
5.8 Unit-end exercise
5.9 The Teacher Section

46 BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS

5.1
We have seen how ecotones are links between ecosystems. Links also exist
within an ecosystem. Various components of an ecosystem are
interdependent. Such dependencies may be for food, shelter or even
reproductive activity. Frequent interactions among the components of an
ecosystem are common. In the last Unit, we looked at the various components
of an ecosystem (i.e. the structure of an ecosystem). In this unit, we will
understand the kinds of processes take place in an ecosystem (i.e. the
functions of an ecosystem). We will particularly study the process of nutrient
cycling in detail.

5.2
On completion of this unit, you should be able to:
J Understand that several bio-chemical processes take place in an
ecosystem
J Define nutrient cycling and describe the carbon cycle
J Appreciate and state the significance of the role of nutrient cycling in
ecosystem functioning
5.3 NUTRIENT CYCLING: LINKING THE BIOTIC AND
ABIOTIC
The two major processes that form the basis of ecosystem functioning are
energy flow and nutrient cycling. In this Unit, we will look at nutrient cycling
in detail.
Simply put, nutrient cycling is the cycling of nutrients required by living
organisms, through different parts of the biosphere.
Living organisms need food to grow and to reproduce. Any food or element
required by an organism to live, grow, or reproduce, is called a nutrient.
Depending on the amount it is needed in, a nutrient can be classified as a
macronutrient (needed in large quantities, e.g., carbon, oxygen, hydrogen,
nitrogen, phosphorous, etc.), or a micronutrient (needed in small quantities
e.g., iron, zinc, copper, iodine, etc.). In nature, the nutrient elements and
their compounds continuously move from the nonliving environment to the
living organisms, and back to the nonliving environment. This cyclic movement
of minerals from their reservoirs (air, water and soil), to the living components,
and back to the reservoirs is called nutrient cycling or biogeochemical
cycles.

BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS 47

 5.3.1
Fill in the blanks
1. The two major bio-chemical processes in an ecosystem are
___________ ___________ and ____________ _________________
2. Any food or element required by an organism to live, grow, or reproduce,
is called a ___________________
3. Depending on the quantity in which a nutrient is required by a living
organism, nutrients can be broadly categorized as _____________
and ___________
5.4 CARBON CYCLE
Each nutrient e.g. carbon, oxygen, phosphorous, magnesium and so on,
follows a unique cycle. Some elements like oxygen and nitrogen, cycle quickly
and so are readily available for use by organisms. Others, such as phosphorous,
magnesium, etc., take time for cycling, as they are released slowly. It is
usually such slow cycling nutrients that become the limiting factors for plant
growth (for more details, refer the box on ‘Law of Minimum’ in Unit 2). It is for
this reason that such nutrients are supplied to crop species through synthetic
fertilizers.
In this section, we will look at examples of two significant nutrient cycles—
Carbon and Nitrogen.
As you know, Carbon is the basic building block of carbohydrates, fats,
proteins and other organic elements necessary for life. The Carbon cycle is
based on carbondioxide gas which makes up (see Unit 1) about 0.03 per
cent of atmosphere and is also dissolved in water (the hydrosphere).
Producers (mainly, the green plants on land) absorb carbon-di-oxide from the
atmosphere, and through the process of photosynthesis, convert it into
complex carbohydrates. Then the process of respiration, breaks down the
carbohydrates giving energy, and converting carbon back to carbon-di-oxide,
releasing it back to atmosphere or in the water for re-use by producers. This
linkage between photosynthesis and respiration (on land and in water)
circulates carbon in the biosphere and is a major part of the Carbon cycle.

Carbon Cycle

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As the carbon cycle figure shows, some carbon lies deep in the earth in
fossil fuels. This is released into the atmosphere as CARBON-DI-OXIDE only
when these fuels are extracted and burnt. Another way in which sedimentary
carbon enters the atmosphere is volcanic eruptions.
The oceans also play a major role in regulating the level of carbon-di-oxide in
the atmosphere. Carbon-di-oxide is readily soluble in water. Some of the
carbon-di-oxide is therefore dissolved in the oceans and seas. Part of this is
again removed by the marine producers (small green plants called algae).
Also, in these ecosystems, some organisms use carbon-di-oxide or other
forms of carbon to build shells and skeletons. When these organisms die
and as their bodies settle down at the bottom of the oceans, the Carbon
contained in them gets stored in the ocean floor. In fact most of the earth’s
carbon is stored in the ocean floor sediments and on the continents. This
carbon enters the cycle at a very slow pace as the sediments dissolve. This
carbon then becomes dissolved in the water and then enters the atmosphere.
At this point it is important to understand that Carbon plays a key role in the
temperature regulation mechanism of our earth (refer ‘Green House Effect’
Unit 1)—If too much carbon is removed, the earth will cool; if too much Carbon
is generated, the earth will get hotter.
5.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF NUTRIENT CYCLING
Existence of life depends on continuous cycling of nutrients from the nutrient
pool (in the abiotic component of environment) to the living beings and then
back to the nutrient pool. These complex series of invisible, delicately
balanced, and interrelated biochemical reactions fuel life on earth. These
reactions use the power of 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. These nutrient cycles, driven directly or
indirectly by incoming solar energy and gravity, include the carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, phosphorous, sulphur and hydrologic (water) cycles.
Also, biogeochemical (nutrient) cycles connect past, present and future forms
of life. Thus some of the carbon atoms in the skin of your nose may once
have been a part of a petal, a dinosaur’s skin, or even a diamond!
5.6 RECAPITULATION
J Nutrient cycles are the link between abiotic and biotic components of
ecosystems. By the process of nutrient cycling, the nutrients from
their pool (mainly in the soil, in some cases the atmosphere), fuelled
by the energy from the sun, get converted into organic substances,
then enter into a chain of biotic elements through food chains (more on
food chains in the next unit). Again, as the biotic components finish
their life-cycles and die, the nutrients come back to their pool.
J Human activities have impacted these cycles leading to disbalance in
nature. For example, humans have intervened in earth’s phosphorous
cycle in three ways. 1. By mining large quantities of phosphate rock

BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS 49

 GLOBAL WARMING
As you know, Troposphere, the lower-most layer in the
atmosphere, traps heat by a natural process called the
‘greenhouse effect’. The amount of heat trapped depends
on the concentrations of heat-trapping gases or
‘greenhouse’ gases. Carbon-di-oxide is one of them.
Recent studies have shown a sharp increase in carbon
dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. This increase
is due to disturbance in the carbon cycle, mainly
attributed to fossil fuel burning and fast-shrinking forest
cover due to rapid and rampant felling of trees and
clearing of forest lands for other uses and priorities.
This has enhanced the greenhouse ability of the
troposphere, resulting in increased heat trapping and
rise in global mean temperature of the earth. This
phenomenon is referred to as ‘Global Warming’. Some
possible effects of global warming are: impacts on
agriculture and food production; severe impacts on
natural ecosystems like damage to their ability to
regulate themselves; sea level rise due to melting of
polar ice caps—this may threaten about one third of
world’s population and a third of the world’s economic
infrastructure concentrated in coastal regions. Food and
freshwater supplies to certain human communities may
also be affected, and disease patterns are also likely to
be altered.

mainly for use in inorganic fertilizers and detergents; 2) A lot of available

phosphate is removed by humans in the process of cutting large
numbers of trees in the rainforests (where once the trees are cut, the
soil nutrient gets washed away very rapidly in the rains, making the
forest land unproductive); 3) adding excess phosphate to aquatic
ecosystems in runoff of animal wastes (from livestock), runoff of fertilizers
from cropland, and also discharge of sewage (detergents have very
high level of phosphates). We have already looked at the impacts of
too much nutrients in (refer box ‘Too Much Nutrients’ in this unit) water
bodies. Scientists estimate that human activities have increased the
natural rate of phosphorous release into the environment by over 3
folds. This is just one example of human interference into the natural
cycling of nutrients. Such changes in turn have influenced both abiotic
as well as the biotic components of nature.

50 BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS

 TOO MUCH NUTRIENTS!
Eutrophication is a natural process by which
waterbodies gradually age and become more productive.
Three main stages explain the process of eutrophication.
These are oligotrophy, mesotrophy and eutrophy.
Stagnant water bodies go through these stages as part
of their life cycles. In nature eutrophication is a slow
process and may take thousands of years to progress.
When one or more of these stages is sped up or even
skipped over completely, the natural balance is disrupted
and may destroy the ecosystem. Human activities have
accelerated this process tremendously. The nitrates and
phosphates from synthetic detergents, domestic
sewage, agricultural run-off and some industrial wastes,
give unnatural nourishment to algae (microscopic plants),
causing them to flourish in huge amounts on
waterbodies. As the algal growth explodes, it forms a
cover on the water surface. This could starve the
submerged life in the waterbody of oxygen and sunlight
which are vital for life and photosynthetic activity. If
uncontrolled, they choke the oxygen supply normally
shared with other organisms like fish, etc., living in water.
When these algae die, their decomposition uses up even
more oxygen. As a result, the water becomes deficient
in oxygen, fish die of suffocation and bacterial activity
decreases. These conditions encourage organisms that
can survive in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic
organisms) to increase in number and attack the organic
wastes. When anaerobic organisms break down organic
substances, they release foul-smelling gases such as
methane and hydrogen sulphide, which are harmful to
the oxygen-requiring (aerobic) forms of life. Such
disturbances slowly lead to the death of all forms of life
in the waterbodies. This phenomenon is known as
eutrophication.

5.7 CONCLUSION
Nutrients are available on the earth in fixed quantities. Through nutrient
cycling, the various nutrients necessary for life on earth, move from the
respective nutrient pool (in the abiotic components) to the biotic
components and back. In nature, the nutrient cycles operate in a balanced
manner.

BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS 51

 5.8
1. Describe the process of nutrient cycling and exemplify it.
2. Comment on the statement ‘human disturbances to nutrient cycling
date back to the invention of agriculture’
3. Nutrient cycles are the link between abiotic and biotic components of
ecosystems. Elaborate.

5.9
C-O Exchange Cycle
Each nutrient e.g. carbon, oxygen, phosphorous, magnesium and so on,
follows a unique cycle. Some elements like oxygen and nitrogen, cycle quickly
and so are readily available for use by organisms. Others, such as phosphorous,
magnesium, etc., take time for cycling, as they are released slowly from
their pool (rocks in the earth, including the oceanic floors). It is usually such
slow cycling nutrients that become the limiting factors for plant growth. It is
for this reason that such nutrients are supplied to crop species through
synthetic fertilizers.
One simple way of explaining these cycles to learners is through the example
of the water cycle—the process of evaporation and transpiration of water from
water bodies and plants, formation of water vapours, and their condensation.
Another cyclical process, which can be explained in a simplified manner, is
the carbonoxygen exchange cycle. Carbon is the basic building block of
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) and other organic
compounds necessary for life. This cycle is specifically important to understand
because carbon-di-oxide is the key component of nature’s temperature
regulation mechanisms. If too much of carbon-di-oxide is removed from
atmosphere, the Earth will cool; and vice versa. Even slight changes in the
Carbon cycle can affect climate and thus life on earth. The following activity
called ‘untangling the cycle’ can help you in explaining the C-O exchange on
our planet and some consequences of increasing carbon-di-oxide is proportion
in the atmosphere.
Group size: 8 or more
Duration: 30 45 minutes
Requirements: Paper, pens/pencils, pins to put on tags
Objective: To describe the C-O exchange in atmosphere
Procedure:
a) Prepare sets of tags/badges, with each set having 4 tags—‘carbon-di-
oxide’, ‘oxygen’, ‘Plants’ and ‘Animals’. Prepare enough sets so that
each student will get one tag.

52 BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS

 b) Ask students to make groups of 8 or 12 or 16 (multiples of four, remaining
can be designated as observers) and ask each group to stand in a
circle. Distribute the tags to the group members at random and ask
them to pin them on their dress.
c) Tell students to follow your instructions as you call them out:
Call out ‘ANIMALS’ and tell all those with ‘Animal’ card to extend their
RIGHT hands to the centre of the circle; Next call out ‘O2’ and ask
these to extend their LEFT hands. Now ask the ‘ANIMALS’ to reach
for the LEFT hands of O2. This symbolizes that ANIMALS breathe O2.
d) Now ask ‘PLANTS’ to extend their RIGHT hands. Next call out ‘carbon-
di-oxide’ and ask them to extend their LEFT hands. Since PLANTS
need carbon-di-oxide for making food, ask them to take hold of carbon-
di-oxide by holding the LEFT hands of carbon-di-oxide with their extended
right hands.
e) Ask ‘PLANTS’ to hold the RIGHT hands of O2 with their LEFT hands,
since they release O2.
f) Ask ‘ANIMALS’ to hold the RIGHT hands of carbon-di-oxide with their
LEFT hands, since they exhale carbon-di-oxide. (LEFT hands are used
for giving and the RIGHT for taking).
g) Now the players are all tangled up. Tell them that the left hand link
signifies giving out of a gas, while the right hand link signifies ‘taking
in’ of a gas. Let each student confirm that it is so in her/his case. Their
task is now to untangle this jumbled network to form a circle. They
must not release hands to do this. Once untangled, a circle will be
formed which represents the cycling of O2 and carbon-di-oxide between
plants and animals.
Discussion
Depict the simplified cycle on the board and initiate an indepth discussion on
the carbonoxygen exchange cycle. You may wish to discuss the possible
impacts that humans have had on this cycle through deforestation, fossil fuel
burning, etc. Asking a few ‘plants’ to drop their hands, or raising the number
of ‘carbon-di-oxide’ in the circle can actually demonstrate this. What effects
will such incidents have on the cycle?
5.9.1 C-O EXCHANGE CYCLE: THE FEEDBACK
(credit points:5)
Share with us one teaching idea (besides this one) that has helped you
explain an abstract concept better in your classroom OR develop an interactive
teaching idea to explain water cycle to students.

BASICS OF ECOLOGY & LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS 53