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Carbon Cycle What is carbon An element The basis of life of earth Found in rocks, oceans, atmosphere The same

same carbon atoms are used repeatedly on earth. They cycle between the earth and the atmosphere.

Plant use carbon dioxide:


Plants pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to make food

photosynthesis. The carbon becomes part of the plant (stored food). Carbon Cycle
When organisms eat plants, they take in the carbon and some of it

becomes part of their own bodies.


When plants and animals die, most of their bodies are decomposed

and carbon atoms are returned to the atmosphere.


Some are not decomposed fully and end up in deposits underground

(oil, coal, etc.).


Cycle Repeats Over and Over and Over and Over

Carbon in the Oceans


Additional carbon is stored in the ocean. Many animals pull carbon from water to use in shells, etc. Animals die and carbon substances are deposited at the bottom of the

ocean.
Oceans contain earths largest store of carbon.

Human Impact
Fossil fuels release carbon stores very slowly

Burning anything releases more carbon into atmosphere especially

fossil fuels
Increased carbon dioxide in atmosphere increases global warming Fewer plants mean less CO2 removed from atmosphere

What We Need to Do
Burn less, especially fossil fuels Promote plant life, especially trees

Nitrates are recycled via microbes

Nitrification
This involves two oxidation processes The ammonia produced by ammonification is an energy rich substrate

for Nitrosomas bacteria They oxidise it to nitrite: NH3 + 11/2O2 NO2- + H2O + 276kJ

This in turn provides a substrate for Nitrobacter bacteria oxidise the nitrite to nitrate: NO3- + 1/2O2 NO3+ 73 kJ

This energy is the only source of energy for these prokaryotes They are chemoautotrophs

Nitrogen from the atmospher

Atmospheric Pollution
This also happens inside the internal combustion engines of cars The exhaust emissions of cars contribute a lot to atmospheric pollution

in the form of NOx


These compounds form photochemical smogs They are green house gases They dissolve in rain to contribute to acid rain in the form of nitric

acid
The rain falling on soil and running into rivers They contribute to the eutrophication of water bodies

Conclusion
Adding nitrate fertiliser clearly helps the growth of both plants The presence of microbes permits the peas to grow much better than

the oats
The peas grow better in the presence of the microbes than they do

with nitrate fertiliser added


The difference is due to the present of mutualistic nitrogen fixing

bacteria which live in the pea roots. Nitrogen Fixers


Cyanobacteria are nitrogen fixers that also fix carbon (these are

photosynthetic)
Rhizobium bacteria are mutualistic with certain plant species e.g.

Legumes
They grow in root nodules Azotobacter are bacteria associated with the rooting zone (the

rhizosphere) of plants in grasslands

The human impact

eutrophication
Nutrient enrichment of water bodies Nitrates and ammonia are very soluble in water They are easily washed (leached) from free draining soils These soils tend to be deficient in nitrogen When fertiliser is added to these soils it too will be washed out into

water bodies
There algae benefit from the extra nitrogen This leads to a serious form of water pollution

The Future of Industrial Nitrogen Fixation Food production relies heavily upon synthetic fertilisers made by consuming a lot of fossil energy Food will become more expensive to produce Nitrogen fixing microbes, using an enzyme system, do the same process at standard temperatures and pressures essentially using solar energy Answer: Genetically engineered biological nitrogen fixation? Making Things Better The need for synthetic fertilisers can be reduced by cultural practices Avoiding the use of soluble fertilisers in sandy (free draining soil) prevents leaching Rotating crops permits the soil to recover from nitrogen hungry crops (e.g. wheat) Adding a nitrogen fixing crop into the rotation cycle Ploughing aerates the soil and reduces denitrification Draining water logged soil also helps reduce denitrification Return to the Atmosphere Denitrification

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