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Chapter 20: Biogeochemical Cycles

  • Page ID
    92899
    • Boundless
    • Boundless

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    Learning Objectives
    • Objective 1
    • Objective 2
    • Objective 3
    • Objective 4

    • 20.1: Introduction to Biogeochemical Cycles
      The recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is called a biogeochemical cycle. It is important to remember that while matter and energy are processed in cycles, they are not necessarily moving in a simple circle and do not really have a beginning or an end. Today, anthropogenic activities are altering all major ecosystems and the biogeochemical cycles they drive.
    • 20.2: The Biogeochemical Cycles
      The matter that makes up living organisms is conserved and recycled. The six most common elements associated with organic molecules—carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur—take a variety of chemical forms and may exist for long periods in the atmosphere, on land, in water, or beneath the Earth’s surface. Geologic processes, such as weathering, erosion, water drainage, and the subduction of the continental plates, all play a role in this recycling of materials.
    • 20.3: Eutrophication and Dead Zones
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    Summary

    Summary to be added


    This page titled Chapter 20: Biogeochemical Cycles is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Boundless.