Biogeochemical Cycles. Nitrogen Cycle
The flow of energy through the biosphere is unidirectional: sunlight energy is incorporated into ecosystems through photosynthesis, and is lost through respiration. The elements essential for life are transferred from the environment. But the substances from which living organisms, are made consist of chemical elements , which are both constant in from (i.e., they cannot be degraded into unusable form) and finite (i.e., they are not continuously supplied from an external source). Therefore, the flow of these elements through the ecosystems must be cyclical. Moreover, the fluxes of synthesized and decomposed (oxidized) organic matter must be strictly balanced. These cycles are termed biogeochemical cycles because their flow patterns involve both living organisms and non-living environment.
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